1 to 5 of 5
Review Date: 9/2/2008
Helpful Score: 2
A densely written portrait of the financial machinations of the second half of the 19th century, as American was urbanizing and the age of the robber barons was in full, bull and bear roar. Philadelphia stands in for most of the business activity, and corruption, in the era, and Dreiser presents his financier with a mostly dead-pan, straightforward reporting style that avoids bias, while detailing the manipulations of the markets and the age.
Review Date: 1/14/2009
I generally don't read children's literature, but Rushdie is so notable I thought I'd take a chance. This book is both clever and intriguing, focused on a young boy and his magical quest to return the power of storytelling to his father. Rushdie has a lovely, imaginative time with funny names, wonderful descriptions, and the kind of repetition that children's books and all legends employ to increase the connection of reader and tale. Characters are very well individuated and also very funny.
There is a little politics under the covers, pro-democracy and anti-totalitarianism, but it's pretty mild. More than that, Rushdie draws from both his cultures, as well as much modern culture, even the Beatles! But it all fits together, and the adventure is both exciting and funny. I highly recommend it.
There is a little politics under the covers, pro-democracy and anti-totalitarianism, but it's pretty mild. More than that, Rushdie draws from both his cultures, as well as much modern culture, even the Beatles! But it all fits together, and the adventure is both exciting and funny. I highly recommend it.
Review Date: 1/17/2009
A beautifully writen and elegantly translated novel of a man superbly sure of himself, an engineer who sees the world in a purely technical sense. When he begins to lose his foothold on rationality, he takes a journey to Europe, ending up in Greece, where by chance and perhaps fate, he discovers his emotions and his past, enlightment and tragedy.
Review Date: 7/31/2009
A typical workman-like mystery of this middle part of Grimes's series. Her more recent books are more imaginative and emotionally rich.
Review Date: 1/17/2009
The first in the Skip Langdon series set in New Orleans, in which Skip is a young police officer during Mardi Gras.
1 to 5 of 5
