Review:
What a great book! Quick read as it is really short. This is a compelling argument for being a feminist.
Review:
This book returns to Three Pines and provides the explanation for the three trees that gave the village it's name. That part is pretty wonderful. The rest, well, I dunno. I would not really call this book a mystery (though it is), it is more an examination of loss and abuse. This sounds more unpleasant then it actually is, but be prepared--the road is bumpy. I can only barely recommend this book as it was hard for me to enjoy significant portions of it. I truly hope that this is the end of Gamache trying to deal with the corruption he is constantly trying to root out of everywhere he goes. Unlikely.
Review:
The writing is excellent. The story is humble. I never built a connection with Zorrie. It seemed that she was disconnected from herself for most of her life. This is odd because the NYT reviewer saw this book as a look at connections and community. I would disagree. I think that this is a look at someone who does not expect much from life and gets what she expects. She dodges some bullets and catches others full on, but seems to plod on lonely and alone over so much of the canvas of her life. I definitely did not enjoy this peek into country life and it doesn't reflect any experience I had in Indiana, so it is truly hard for me to relate. Hunt does not give one much to grab onto in Zorrie's life experiences or in her perception of the world. The writing, though, is masterful.
Review:
Opening with the death of a child was rather horrifying. In general, however, this was a very interesting novel and brought back some of the joy of the characters of three pines that came from earlier in the series. There were moments towards the end when I was worried that the whole plot had been lost, but there was a graceful recovery. In general, I enjoyed the read and found myself smiling at the Tolkien references.
Review:
This is not a human history. The history component was largely, "before the twentieth century some games were invented and you will get a little bit about that, but mostly we are going to talk about the current or recent champions." On the other hand, Roeder records his "bingo" words in a Scrabble championship. All of them. He also provides all the "bingo" words from the tournament. Good Lord. I learned precious little from this book.
Review:
For a book that reviews a little over 30 years, it kind of felt like a history in real time. The level of detail is immense. The sweeping conclusions reasonable (for the time period). It is nice to have a history of the USA coming from across the pond where perspectives are different. This book delivers on detail, the establishment of general themes, and a comprehensive look at the time period. I really enjoyed this book and even though it took me a long time to read (it was in the player in my car), it was enjoyable and very thought provoking.
