Review of A Few Corrections: A Novel (Paperback)

Midway through this exquisite novel the narrator recalls, through an alcoholic mist, that, "the most distant object visible by day--the sun-- lies some eight minutes away at the speed of light.The most distant visible by night--the Great Andromeda Galaxy--lies two million light-years away.In terms of visible boundaries, then, night is some 100 billion times bigger than day."Clearly (or murkily), that leaves much to explore.The primary object of exploration in A Few Corrections, Wesley Sultan, the quintessentially American salesman, has departed for the great darkness beyond life, and the obituary of the man is less than illuminating.The narrator methodically seeks to shed light on this mystery.

While the novel is organized around the attempt to make a few corrections to the memory of this rather ordinary Midwestern life, Brad Leithauser makes more than a few fascinating connections, extending to the extraordinary.Some connections work as metaphor.Of Wesley's sister, the babbling Adelle, he writes, "Her monologue is a wandering creek of so gentle a propulsion, you have to take on faith the notion that you'll eventually get out of the woods and into open waterways."The connections work at the larger structural level of the novel, which will have the careful reader returning to the beginning of chapters and earlier parts of the book to confirm the revelations.For fans of Brad Leithauser, there are even connections to his other works of fiction and poetry.I'm anxious to see where this novel will connect to his future work.

The novel is filled with humorous vignettes and is beautifully written.(It's better when you read it aloud.)Though Wesley Sultan is elusive, the narrator reaches small epiphanies with those who aid him in his quest.Leithauser treats his characters with great warmth and understanding.He also effectively evokes an earlier and lost time.A Few Corrections is fast-paced: it's a good read.At the same time, its richness makes it a good re-read, too.



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Review of Women (Paperback)

as the first book of charles bukowski's that i ever read, "Women" holds a special place in my heart.it is an insane story of henry chinaski and his misunderstandings and communications with women. autobiographical to an extent, this book, and all of bukowski's, arespecial because they are so graphically and emotionally honest. no one elsepaints such candid portraits of the human psyche in its most degenerate andpolitically incorrect situations.no other author can put so muchvulgarity into a work and make it sound as natural as bukowski does. everything and every word in his novels have a place and a meaning, makinghis writing style so refreshingly satisfying, that you can't help but tolive vicariously through his beautiful insanity."women"introduced me to this great american poet/novelist, and it is my beliefthat this book definitely makes for a proper introduction to his works.

Product Description

Low-life writer and unrepentant alcoholic Henry Chinaski was born to survive. After decades of slacking off at low-paying dead-end jobs, blowing his cash on booze and women, and scrimping by in flea-bitten apartments, Chinaski sees his poetic star rising at last. Now, at fifty, he is reveling in his sudden rock-star life, running three hundred hangovers a year, and maintaining a sex life that would cripple Casanova.

With all of Bukowski's trademark humor and gritty, dark honesty, this 1978 follow-up to Post Office and Factotum is an uncompromising account of life on the edge.

About the Author

Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for fifty years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was twenty-four, and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp (1994).

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Review of The Strong, Silent Type (Paperback)

Simply stated, The Strong, Silent Type by C. Kelly Robinson is one of the best books this reviewer has read so far in 2005. Although he has four novels under his publishing belt, Robinson's name is not as widely known as say, Eric Jerome Dickey or E. Lynn Harris. However, if Robinson keeps writing compelling tales like this, he will no longer be a silent bestseller, but a prominent and popular author.

While Dickey is the king of drama and Harris brings the DL heat like no other, Robinson ranks supreme in storytelling. He goes back to the basics of a well-written story and combines flawed characters and an engaging plot, with a few twists to boot. More than anything, readers will appreciate the unique and refreshing storyline.

The main character, Deacon Davis, is an ex-professional football star who works as an executive director of the American Dream Party, a political organization started by his late father. But when Deacon stutters horribly during an important nationally televised interview, he is forced to resign. Frustrated that his tongue had failed him and cost him his job, he's determined to do something about his stuttering and get back to fulfilling the duty of continuing his father's work.

He seeks professional help at the Speech Recovery Clinic, where he meets Maria Oliver, an attractive speech therapist. Before either of them knows it, they are breaking the clinic's fraternizing rule and if anyone finds out, she too, will be out of a job. Adding to her stress is another dilemma. While battling with drugs in the past, she gave her baby to her brother, Thomas and his wife to raise as their own. Now, when Maria is clean and sober with a successful career, she can't deny the maternal feelings she has. She wants her son back. Despite Thomas's litigation threats, she wants her son to know the truth, that she is his mother, not his aunt.

Maria's not the only person wanting truth revealed. Deacon's brother, Miles plans to write a tell-all book, detailing his theory that his father's mysterious death was not an accident, but an assassination. However, there are a few holes in Miles' theory, and Deacon knows the one person who can confirm or shatter Miles' suspicions.

The Strong, Silent Type is a great read. C. Kelly Robinson has a masterful way with descriptions that truly bring characters to life.The scenes are vivid and the dialogue, authentic. Robinson should not only be commended for penning an intriguing tale, but he should be applauded for enlightening a few readers, like this reviewer, about the impact stuttering has on people who have the communication disorder. If you're looking for a book that has it all--romance, suspense, drama and excellent writing--pick up The Strong Silent Type. You won't be disappointed.




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Review of The Dart League King: A Novel (Paperback)

I always find myself more critical of books I simply pull off the shelf in the bookstore.It's as if they owe me more for their being picked at random, as if their cover were false advertising if they don't sing in my hands.It was with this in mind that I was first skeptical of The Dart League King.Morris' premise is all well and good:small-town guy Russell Harmon lays his self worth on his performance in one dart match with a former dart champion.

But then came the clichés.Russell snorts cocaine on the first page, and reveals his debt to a small-time drug dealer by the third.He lives in his mother's basement and can't hold a steady job.His ex-girlfriend walks into the bar, and Russell repeatedly compares her breasts to grapefruits.By the end of the first chapter I was ready to see if I could return the book to Barnes & Noble, get my money back.

I read on, however, and got hooked.Dart League King is a thriller wearing the bulky overcoat of literary fiction, and once you get past Morris' need to overwrite, it's an entertaining read.The intersections between his characters--one an anal-retentive DEA agent, the next a lovingly psychotic drug dealer--are real and well rendered.

Two elements of the novel left me unsettled long after I put the book down.The first is a gratuitous subplot about a recent college grad embarking on a career as a serial killer.The second is Morris' seeming inability to convincingly write female characters.Beyond the attractive young woman at the bar (she sleeps with two characters in the course of the novel), the only other women here are an all-but-faceless drowning victim and a sexless shrew of a wife.If Morris can write complex and interesting male characters, he ought to give the reader a bit more with his female ones.

All in all, I am glad I picked Dart League King off the shelf.I recommend you do as well, though I can't guarantee you won't suffer some buyer's remorse.




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