My apologies for my tardiness...on to the book.

I have a completely different take on Joe from the get.  I really liked him.  He seems to be a bit of a contrarian, what with his opposition to the war, his love of art, and his desire to work hard despite his privileged upbringing.  Twenty-one straight days banging in fence posts seems like no small task from where I'm currently sitting.  And I truly admired his confidence....confidence that he could earn the respect of Overstreet and his fellow wranglers, confidence that he could win over Ellen, and confidence that he could handle Billy - though not in the most traditional of ways.  I wish I could have displayed more of that when I was his age.

Overall, I think we are off to a great start.  McGuane has set a wonderful backdrop for what I expect to be the future crux of the story - the encircling of the "upstart" family farm set against the expanse of the Overstreet behemoth.  I suspect the Ellen will certainly come back to the fore, making for an interesting turn of events.  I look forward to pressing on, happy to have guysWHOREad on the front burner once again.  Cheers. - Ryan    

Joe at a glance

I have enjoyed up to chapter 5. McGuane has set the seen that no doubt will be the main stage of the novel, it appears to be a beautiful, but not entirely profitable section of Montana frontier. Through the introduction and interaction with the supporting cast we get a good idea of who main character Joe is. We also can catch a glimpse of with whom and how the conflict will play out. Joe's family appears to be well off and upwardly mobile, this seems to be driven solely by his father who is perhaps singularly focused on that movement. Joe is the unfortunate product of that vision. The relationship with his aunt and uncle is cordial at best and he appears to respect the authority of Mr. Overstreet, but only because of Overstreet's position.

I don't like Joe at this point, he is a privileged kid from away who is there for the summer to 'work', but really he is there to spy on the operation. Although he works, and works hard, no one really cares. I respect him for this. Like any young man left to his own devices he sets his attention to Mr. Overstreet's only daughter. He does so with skill and singular drive that appears to have been learned at private school from the older boys. Maybe he steals away with Ellen because of who she, what she is or perhaps that she is the only girl around, I'm not sure. His affections for Ellen do appear earnest, even if those feelings come with an expiration date. I think that I don't like him because it is all coming together for him with what appears to be little effort. Another example of thing just falling into place for those who are lucky enough to be born into privileged society. I am not trying to say that his life is perfect or easy, it just appears to be going in a direction that is working well with little effort. I did enjoy it when he, dutifully, walked over to Billy Keaton and got his lights knocked out just before leaving Montana. I think I liked him a little more at that moment.

J

Return to the written word- Keep the Change by Thomas McGuane

We have decided to start reading and sharing again. After a longer than expected break from active reading, a brief but rewarding reunion at the 5th Annual D.H.L. on Nantucket confirmed that there is time and interest. For our next book, we chose Keep the Change by Thomas McGuane. The inside jacket describes the story as follows:
     The picaresque and heartbreaking adventures of Joe Starling, one of the last great American heroes, in his quest for his roots and his rightful inheritance.
     Keep the Change is an American odyssey, a romance, and adventure- by a master storyteller in the tradition of Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in Montana, Key West, and the Yale Club of New York, this story is the story of one man's declaration of independence. It portrays loneliness, family ties and betrayals, seductions and chicaneries and the haunting memory of a faded painting of white hills.

Enjoy

Temporary time out. Thank you all who are reading, due to familial restraints we will be taking a brief time out  to conquer the pages at home. We look forward to posting in two weeks.
Jake, Matt and Ryan

The Lighthouse at the End of the World P. 158 Jake

I reccomended this boat based on a list from some mens magazine as one of the top 100 books for men. After reading approximately half of the book, I am not sure why it has made the top 100 list. That is not to say that I am bored, in fact I am enjoying the book very much. I am enjoying the simple language and the realness of the situation created. The circumstances may be over a century old, but the reality of piracy and terrorism are still a contemporary concern. The Lighthouse at the End of the World is a classic tale of good versus evil; and to that extent Verne has created an excellent arena for the battle to take place.
Vasquez, what a great man, he is a strong old salt, level headed and well liked, at least as far as we can tell. He was chosen from thousands of applicants to be the lead watcher for first three month hitch on the new lighthouse. Vasquez also had enough pull to get the two other men selected. All that being said, I feel that he is a little under-developed. I wonder if Jules Verne were to have lived longer would he have developed the characters a little more? The dreaded pirate Kongre seems to be just your run of the mill crafty pirate. The two main human characters are seemingly equal opposites. The only character that has been truly developed here is the island and the elements. I think that the detailed descriptions of Staten Island create the feeling of despair and aloneness that put me squarely in Vasquez's corner. At this point I have just discovered Davis and look forward to reading about he and Vasquez as they attempt to thwart the departure of the Maule.
I appreciate the fact that Verne has not cartoonized, not sure if that is an actual term, but I think you get the point. Both Vasquez and Kongre seem very human and the band of pirates are not all nincompoops. At this point Vasquez does not seem to have some super powers either. I do find it rather convenient Vasquez happens to speak English, not completely inconcievable, but fortunate. Verne could have just as easily had a Spanish ship crash the shores of Staten Island.
I hope you are all enjoying the story as much as I am.

Tourist Season, through the end

In response to Jake's question: Is Hiaasen Keyes? I would say no. Obviously, this novel strays fairly far from any actual events, and I would say that no one character is based entirely on any one real person. However, I would theorize that Hiaasen would more closely align himself with Wiley. I think that Wiley does some of the things that Hiaasen wishes he could do, but can't.
Wiley, like Hiaasen, is a home grown Florida native. Jake has seen the development of Maine, and I have seen the development of Nantucket, and that is but a taste of what Hiaasen has seen Florida. He has had to endure Florida being bulldozed, buried and paved for decades.
Wiley, like Hiaasen, is a fabulous and talented columnist. Both seem well cut out for the newpaper business, whereas the more sensitive Keyes is not.
Certainly, I would say that Hiaasen probably gave a little of himself to both characters, Wiley and Keyes, but I think the closer alignment is with Wiley. Whereas Hiaasen stops short of feeding tourists to crocodiles, I would guess the idea has appealled to him from time to time. While Wiley is free to commit murder and mayhem to save Florida, Hiaasen only has his writing, and he makes a compelling statement.

The Lighthouse at the End of the World

For the next novel, I have chosen something that is a little more closer to my chosen profession. Written in 1901 by Jules Verne, The Lighthouse at the End of the World, was published posthumously in 1905. Inspired by an actual lighthouse, Jules Verne spins a tale of survival. Three light keepers at the Isla de los Estados, or Staten Island Lighthouse, in Argentina are attacked by pirates, only one survives. The story centers on Vasquez, the light operator, who makes himself scarce and survives on the hidden stores of the pirates located in a cave. His only chance of survival is to wait for the return of dispatch boat which is not due for several months. Lucky for him, an american ship crashes on the island, due to the lack of an operational lighthouse, only the ships First Officer survives. The two men join forces to prevent the pirates from escaping and secure the safety of the island once again.
The Lighthouse at the end of the World is not one of Jules Verne's more popular novels, but I think we will enjoy it.
-Jake

Tourist Season, All Done- Jake

I would like to apologize for being so late to reply, I have been finished with the book for quite some time. I am also thinking of editing my bio to reflect the lack of free time that was once so abundant. Moving on, I will skip my review of the second half of Tourist Season and comment on what Matt and Ryan have said.
First, I agree with Ryan, I missed the symbolism of Viceroy meeting his maker in the end zone. I was too enthralled in the air boat action involving Tommy Tigertail, the Shriner's, and Kara Lynn. However, I don't think that there is much more than irony and it happens to be a convenient way for this character to meet his demise. I have to admit that I agree with Ryan, allowing Keyes and Garcia not to consider that the Orange Bowl Queen is to be at the football game does them a big disservice. In fact it kind of pissed me off that it was so over looked. On a side note I like how Hiaasen casually allowed Keyes to hook up with the beauty queen, I mean, I saw it coming,  but it wasn't over played. I know that being the last to post means that you two will not comment on this publicly, but do you think that Hiaasen is Keyes??
Has Carl Hiaasen done damage to his own cause?? No, I don't think so. Despite his many novels and popularity, I bet if we were to poll 100 20-35 year old only 15% would know anything about Hiaasen, and Striptease the movie does not count. I would argue that he has done more to raise awareness and increase activism than excite the greedy developers.
Despite being published more than twenty years ago, I do believe it has been the most topical novel to date. I have to admit that at times I had to agree with the desired outcome of the Nachos, although, their methods were a bit off. As a born and raised Mainiac, that is some one from Maine, I remember times when the area was not so developed and it makes me nostalgic for the past. Being that Maine has an entirely different climate zone, I know that we are in no imminent danger of turning into a megalopolis of say, Miami, but it is a habitat loss all the same. Hiaasen reminds us that our increasing population has to occupy a finite space and some of that space has been occupied by others for a much longer time than ourselves. How we chose to resolve these spacial issues will come to define us for eternity. To echo Ryan's thoughts mentioned earlier, the plot is outrageous and the characters are crazed, I find myself laughing out loud and looking around wanting to share the last line or scene with anyone who will listen. Hiaasen finely blends his politics with his comedy and what we get is a superb novel worth reading again.

Tourist Season - through the end - Ryan

As far as the significant's of Viceroy's demise - to be honest it didn't really dawn on me, in part because I was a bit dismayed by the fact that Hiaasen dropped the ball on the one yard line, when having Keyes and the rest of the Miami police department conveniently forget that the Orange Bowl queen made one last brief appearance during the game.  A bit far fetched for me, particularly given that both Keyes and Garcia were such compelling, competent figures, but given that it was the only minor gripe I had with the entire story, let's move on.  All in all, the ending, like the book in its entirety, had style, and I'm not trying to take anything away from that.

Hiaasen is a wonderful, inventive writer and I appreciate his environmental bent - and I'd agree that his works draws you in - although I'm not prepared to lay any blame at his doorstep in connection with the continuing exploitation of Florida...I recently spent some time in Key West (a business trip of sorts), and being that I was far more sober than during my last visit, it got me thinking about how much better Key West probably was before it became the spring break destination for coeds, but then again it wasn't all that long ago that we were the drunk coeds down there, not giving much of a thought to things like this.

I suspect that Hiaasen probably doesn't get the credit, but I'm not ready to give him the type of accolades Matt's been advocating.  I like that his novels are fun, easy to read and well-crafted, but also littered with important messages that I can get behind.  For me, that's what sets him apart from some of the other writers who you might be just as talented, but stick to some contrived who-dunnits or my current bete noire, those involving terrorists.   

Tourist Season, In its entirety- Matt

I loved it, again, as expected, from start to finish. 

Hiaasen is at once uplifting and cynical.  Keyes and Garcia are the clear good guys, and nobody wants to see the beautiful, yet equally down-to-earth, Kara Lynn Shivers come to any harm.  Bert and James are lovable too, and in the end, you are happy to see the Las Noches de Diciembre lose, but at the same time, Florida loses too.

Skip Wiley, we can assume, dies a bizarre but ultimately heroic death, trying to save a bald eagle from the dynamite of developers.  I suppose for glass is half full folks, we can assume the eagle flies, and we can assume the death of Skip Wiley brings about some more publicity to the plight of Florida.

This is the only Hiaasen book in which the bad guys are the ones fighting to protect what is left of wild Florida.  In his later efforts, the line between the good guys and the bad guys is clearer.  I have to say I like the ambiguity.  My guess is that in later efforts it was just too much for Hiaasen to kill of the people he was really rooting for.  As a home grown Florida guy, Hiaasen’s views on the development of Florida are largely the same as Wiley’s, though his views of terrorism and murder differ.

I have several questions for your consideration.

Do you attach any symbolism to Viceroy’s demise on the same football field that was home to his past glories?   It makes sense until you consider he doesn’t seem to like football or the Dolphins all that much.

Do you think Hiaasen, through his spectacular writing, has done damage to his own cause?  Every time I pick up one of his works, it makes me yearn to be in the sunshine state, no matter how insane his criminals or how random and egregious the violence.  Even through the greed and madness, Hiaasen’s love of the sunshine state is evident and contagious.  I have spent a good chunk of my life in Florida, and though that probably has more to do with the weather and the availability of gamefish, Hiaasen’s works certainly contributed.  Has Hiaasen inadvertently contributed to the demise of the Florida wild that he holds so dear?

To answer my own question, I would say no.  The allure of Florida is strong with or without Hiaasen; nothing can be done by Hiaasen or Skip Wiley to stop people from coming.  What could stop it are the developers and the greed-heads getting their hands on all of what makes it wonderful in the first place.  Hiaasen has alerted his readers to the problem, and done a significant service by influencing Florida’s citizens and visitors to behavior more appropriately and be respectful of the fragile South Florida environment.  When considering how to behave, everywhere, but particularly in Florida, everybody should ask himself or herself the following question: What would Hiaasen do?

In fact, that may be the first piece of official Guys Who Read merchandise: What would Hiaasen do? Bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc. 

Finally, I would like to hear your take on the literary merit of Tourist Season.  It is sort of a pop-literature book and genre, but with a message that is clearer, more important and more applicable than that of any of the other works the Guys Who Read have tackled so far.  In my eyes this is clearly the best book of any genre we have read, and it pains me that nobody is rolling out Pulitzers and Nobel Prizes for my man Carl Hiaasen?  What are your thoughts on that?

Tourist Season - through 256 Ryan

So in a few hours here, a few there, I've blown through about three quarters of the book.  This is my second go round with Hiaasen; I read 'Nature Girl" awhile back, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  This is no different.  The characters are crazied, the plot is outrageous, and I too have found myself giggling out loud.

Keyes is very cool customer.  You can't help but love him.  Wiley is clinically insane, and yet despite his murderous rampage, you kinda feel drawn to him too.  Truth be told, there is not one character that Hiaasen doesn't draw you to in some way - even a sap like Richard Lancelot Bloodworth has me pulling for him in a weird so of way - particularly once his fries his little member in the one and only bombing Jesus doesn't royally screw up (even if the intended target Garcia escapes unharmed).

But nobody beats Daniel "Viceroy" Wilson - what a contradiction!  Former pro football player, sexual gladiator, junkie, philosopher, petty thief, burgeoning terrorist and car enthusiast.  I assume he won't get his own spinoff, as Keyes will ultimately end up getting the best of him and his gang, but I can't wait to see how it plays out.  I'm pulling for a big finish from him.

I had to check back to see when this was originally penned - 1986 as it turns out - because Hiaasen is killing me with all these comical Cold War references about commies, right wing Cubans, and the like.  He makes the Florida of yesteryear sounds like quite a concoction...I can't imagine what the cocaine filled 80's were like down there.

I've got just over a 100 pages yet, and there are a lot of plot lines hanging out there - can't wait to see how weaves these together.  Kudos to Matt on the selection
     

Tourist Season Page 141- Jake

I love it!!! This has been a complete 180 degree turn from the last book. Being born and raised in a tourist town, I can easily relate to the relationship developing with the locals and the tourists, not to the extent that our Nachos de Deciembre feel. Keyes on the other hand is a character that I am fully behind. I appreciate the way that Hiaasen has slowly and craftily developed each character, giving you enough relevant information and loosely weaving each of them together. I must admit that I have laughed out loud several times and I am especially tickled by the Darmouth educated bomber, who can't seem to get his timing down. WTF? I am also finding the boggling of the case by the Miami PD true to form. Not that I have much experience with the Miami PD, it just seems fitting.
I am not so sure that Matt is correct on the topic of Jenna, I think she may just be torn between two lovers and is trying to end up on the winning side. I understand that she makes a very sexy nurse.
I have read many Carl Hiaasen novels and I have enjoyed them all very much, but what I remember the most is how he manages to pair dissimilar criminals and force them to work together. I enjoyed the last interaction between Wilson and Jesus on the way to apply for the security detail for the parade. I can see the destruction of this duo in the near future.
For now, one page at a time.

Tourist Season through page 95

I opened it last night, and what an absolute pleasure it has been.  The only difficult thing about this book is having to put it down to share my thoughts here.  It has been quite some time since I read Tourist Season, and the much of the plot has become a mystery again.  I believe I remember the ending, but the possibility that I have remembered it wrong is enough to keep me racing through the pages.

As is my usual with Hiaasen, I am often laughing out load.  If you plan to read in bed, next to snoozing significant other, keep that in mind.  It will be difficult to keep silent.

I have no recollection of Jenna and her role.  To this point, I think it fairly obvious that she set up Keyes, and is in cahoots with Wiley to some degree more than she is letting on, but I feel she also stops short of a full and knowing acomplice.

The interesting thing about Tourist Season is that the bad guys are good guys.  Our protagonist Keyes is a good guy, certainly a compassionate, honest, and of sound morals.  Stabbing the public defender with a shrimp fork is great, and Hiaasen’s way of divulging that information to us via newspaper report is masterful.

Keyes is beyond reproach, but Las Noches do Diciembre, especially Skip Wiley and Tommy Tigertail, are fighting the good fight as well.  Obviously, their methods go a little beyond the pail.  Feeding board of commerce directors, Shriners, Canadians, and retirees to a massive American crocodile is brutal, though you can see the beauty of Wiley’s logic.  It will be interesting to see if some of the bad guys with good causes come out alright.

I am going to get back to reading, and I look forward to hearing from you.  I wonder if my absolute adoration of Hiaasen and his works will be adopted by all the Guys Who Read, or whether you will find fault where I have found none.

Until Next Time,

Matt

The epic failure of 'City of God' - through the end Ryan

I've been caught up with some issues that required attention, and so my posting on this book with be short and to the point, particularly given that it was obviously NOT a fan favorite, as both my fellow travelers barely made it through the entire read.  Personally I was impressed with the Doctorow was trying to accomplish with this novel - although I will grant you that the varied tracts and voices made it challenging to say the least.

With simultaneous voices offering contemporaneous as well as historical perspectives, Doctorow spoke to the varied impact of life, death and religion on the trajectory of the characters of Pem - a confused minister, and Sarah , a female rabbi who he meets under peculiar circumstances.  Overall I found it to be ambitious and unique...that much would be tough to argue.  As far as its merit, I enjoyed the read - others did not.  Given my inattentiveness on this one, we'll leave it at that.  From what I gather, the guys are moving on to some much needed lighter fare, per Matt.  Moving on...

Ryan

On the Selection of Tourist Season

For our next selection, I have chosen Carl Hiaasen's Tourist Season.  It will be the first time I am rereading a book for the Guys Who Read, and I am looking forward to it.  When I finish a great book, I often wish I had somebody to talk it over with, and one of the key reasons we started this was to revisit personal favorites and this time around be able to talk about it.  I am a Hiaasen fan of the first order, and I would imagine that in the coming years Guys Who Read will select all of his titles at some point, and that being the case, I thought we would start at the beginning with Hiaasen's first solo effort.

Many years ago I received Tourist Season as a Christmas gift from my Uncle Bob, and though I do not recall how old I was at the time, I do recall that I was not old enough to be excited about receiving a book for Christmas.  It languished on the shelf for a number of months or years, and I finally removed it when I needed a book to travel with, I believe to Florida.  Within a few pages, I was hooked.  After finishing Tourist Season, I read all of his published works in succession and immediately bought his new books when they came out, usually refusing to wait for the paperback and buying the hardcover.  The book is still my most retroactively excellent gift.

On the spectrum of literature versus popular fiction, this is selection is our furthest toward the popular fiction side.  This is not entirely coincidental, as I thought we needed something lighter after the "City of God Awful" incident.  However, I intended from day one to make Hiaasen’s works a staple of Guys Who Read. I would also argue that Hiaasen's work contains a message and social commentary that is both relevant and important.

That original from Uncle Bob is no longer on my bookshelves and I have ordered a used hardcover to add to my collection.  As soon as it arrives I am going to dive in, and I will post shortly after.  Hiaasen’s books are real page-turners, and I do not anticipate this book lasting long for anybody.

I look forward to rereading one of my favorites with everybody, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Until Next Time,

Matt

City of God End -Jake

I have finally, with much effort and a few skipped pages finished what is possibly the worst book published in 2001. I am not sure what it was really about. I have to agree with Matt that good writing is clear, this cloudy drivel, focusing only slightly on Pem and Sarah, the Holocaust, Cinema, a washed up writer? Has close to no point. I am truly disappointed that the only information about the heist was a cross was stolen and found, its only importance is that it was a vehicle to loosely spark a fire to tell multiple unrelated stories. In my opinion, each of these stories would have made a fine novel in its own right, some of which I may have chose to read.
Some final thoughts. If anyone has stumbled upon this blog and has ignored our advice to put this waste of paper back on the shelf. Who is the Ex-times guy? Everett? Why the Mid- blah blah Jazz thing? Who is that? Why are we comparing the evolution of man to the cinema? I am also confused as to why Pem and Sarah are not really friends with Everett? What happened? They seemed to be getting along so well. Lastly, after finishing the book, I get the point E.L. Doctorow was trying to make, maybe. God is all seeing, all knowing and perhaps the expansion of the universe was his design as was the evolution of human thought and understanding of such and ever expanding and eventually shinking universe. Additionally, that all of that could have been so that I could write about it here? At any rate, to make his point, he seems to have taken the scenic route for no good reason.

looking forward to the next book.

City of God through p.64 - Matt

This book is terrible.  If you are considering buying and reading this book, I advise you in no uncertain terms that you should not.  This is the first book that I am reading on the Nook, and for several pages until I touched base with Jake and Ryan, I was under the impression I did something wrong or the download malfunctioned and I only received portions of the book, or a parts of couple different books, or something along those lines.  That is how disjointed and nonsensical this novel is.

There are several competing plot lines that on their own are difficult to follow, and they have no connection at this point.  There are seemingly many different narrators, though they are all the work of one author, who is the real narrator, which is difficult to understand even when stated here, never mind when tossed into the already dense, unclear and disconnected prose.  Doctorow offers no guidance or clarification as to what is happening, and most of what I know about the plot I read online or from Ryan’s original post.

There seems to be a promising examination of modern man’s relationship with God and religion in here somewhere, but it is totally lost under piles of nonsense and bad writing.  Doctorow offers no clues on who is talking, what is happened, and to what end we are working through his drivel.

Doctorow should be embarrassed, as should the publisher and everybody else involved, that this pile of verbose gibberish is being passed off as literature.  Amongst some books of supposed “literary merit” ambiguity and confusion are permitted to run rampant, masquerading as complex subtleties or questions for contemplation, and suffice to say that I am not a fan of it.  Good writing is clear writing, and that goes for literature as well as anything else.

I have struggled through 63 pages, and I could forgive a slow start, but this is too much.  After reading Jake’s review through 140, and seeing that Doctorow has still not produced anything concrete or understandable to that point, I am throwing in the towel on this one.  I am not one to give up on books; I have finished countless bad and marginal books just because I started them.  In that regard, Doctorow has performed quite a feat, writing a book that is bad enough that I refuse to go on.

I understand that Doctorow is quite old, and if not for that, I would very much like to punch him in the head.

City of God p. 140

Ugh, this is not getting any more interesting.

Not sure what to make of this Midrash Jazz quartet, to be honest, after skimming it this last time I have decided to skip it entirely the next time it appears. Who it is suppose to be representing? In fact I am quite confused as to who is speaking most of the time, except when it is very obvious.

I am enjoying the story of Sarah's father, I am not sure how it is going to tie into the Heist. Perhaps this story is more concerned with the existence of God. I can say that it was also enjoyable to hear the story of Pem's father, again not sure how or why it is a part of the book. As I am reading more and more, I am not sure what is really going on, with 140 pages left I am not sure if I am halfway in or at just the tip of the iceberg.

In summary thus far I can say that the book is not entirely awful, but as Ryan suggested in his introduction, this is an ambitious and involved novel. I feel that at this point ambition is over running accomplishments. Doctorow is attempting to neatly package a subject that is too large, he has addressed the problems with science and religion, two studies that are fundamentally at odds with each other. I am not sure that he will be able to come to any useful conclusion. The introduction of personal accounts from the Holocaust and the war give way to the argument of if God exists, then why does he allow such horrible acts to take place? Again, not sure how this will be concluded. I hope that this whole novel is not going to be an exploratory novel where at its conclusion the reader will have to realize their own conclusion about the existence of God. If this is the case, I feel that story is not strong enough and I am wasting my time. If Doctorow had chose one aspect of the great God debate this novel might be a little more compelling. I would also offer the opinion that the detective genre is not the best forum for this topic. In fact, the stories from WW2 are a much better background for the argument for and against the existence of a God. In fact, where is the initial plot? The act of thievery has alluded  me thus far. 


Summary, at this point I understand that there has been a heist, to the extent that a cross has been stolen and recovered. The motives of the heist are still unknown, but it does appear that the mastermind(s) was caught. Also, it appears that the motives and capture of the perpetrator(s) is book worthy. So why have we not been clued in?? I am confused. Anyone else in this boat?

City of God p. 70 - Jake

It was a rough start, after reading the first 10 pages or so I thought about reading a review online and passing it for my own. The repeated references to complicated physics, not my favorite subject, was beginning to wear on me. I am glad I pushed past it. The switching between the detective, the Priest and the female Rabbi area a bit much at first, this is not a book to read before going to bed. It requires a slightly more active brain. After 70 pages each of the three main characters have been developed enough to make them believable, and I can say that I am no longer interested in getting the Reader’s Digest condensed version of this novel. At this point the ‘Heist’, has not fully revealed it self; yes, a cross has been stolen and found. It seems that the theft of the cross had intent, that is to say that it had to be that cross from that church. Why? To be discovered.

I had mentioned earlier that I do not really like the detective genre, however I do enjoyed the fatally flawed characters that a detective novel invites. E.L. Doctorow’s detective is flawed just so; I want to hate him for being the adulterer, yet I secretly hope he succeeds, then again I hate him for his detached ruthlessness in attempting to rewire this woman’s life. It is like watching a butterfly get tangled in a spider’s web. I would like to make it clear, I am not cheering this detective on, but I am enjoying his twisted story.

What’s the deal with Pem? Is he just a pleasantly chubby Priest who is questioning his faith? Or has he done something or seen something that is making him a target. I hope to find out more soon. 

Sarah B, at this point we know more of her background, not of her present¸ I think she will be a driving force in this investigation. Her husband, I do not expect to be of much use.

I look forward to the next 70 pages.

On the selection of E.L. Doctorow's 'City of God' - Ryan

Well we are on to our third book, E.L. Doctorow's 'City of God.'  This novel takes place in contemporary New York City - a detective story of sorts - about an Episcopal priest from the lower east side who teams up with a female rabbi from upper west side to uncover a mystery surrounding the desecration of the church's cross.  Written in a broken style from the perspective of the priest, it twists and turns in a most unique fashion, while telling the story of a God and man in the modern era.  It is ambitious and involved, albeit a challenging read, though I have it on good information that the reward is worth it.  We'll begin posting shortly.  Enjoy!