Ed Piper

A deft, daffy and frank insight into “the troubles”

Revisado: 06-12-19

I’d put down another book about the troubles in Northern Ireland; overwhelmed by the complexities and violence.
“The Milkman” has now lucidly delivered these dark times through the eyes of a young girl, deftly capturing the danger, paranoia, inferential gossip and domestic politics through its sharp eyed protagonist’ survival.
Brilliantly executed! A great read!

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Mortality revealed through the lives of the immortals

Revisado: 06-04-19

Insightful, compelling, and deftly told in the the rhythms and imagery of Homer. Trough the immortal life of a Goddess and the Gods and mortals she encounters deep and timeless truths are revealed as beautifully as if it were Homer himself telling the tail.
Having just read The Odyssey made this tail all the more digestible and interesting.

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Dreadful writing. Desperately in need of editing.

Revisado: 10-19-18

This was a surprising disappointment from an. Established storyteller. We couldn't get past the the first couple of hours. Too much clumsy and superfluous introspection. Not the Stephen king we had come to know and love.

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Masterful dialect Brilliant insights

Revisado: 11-27-17

I expected no less from this familiar writer. Still the dialect was so transporting, and the personal rumination so deftly chronicled, the character and his demons will live long in my consciousness. Brilliant!

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Formulaic

Revisado: 03-14-16

What disappointed you about My Name Is Lucy Barton?

My expectations were high following her earlier writing. When I saw this title at the top of BS list I was expecting good writing and a thoughtful story.

What was most disappointing about Elizabeth Strout’s story?

This quickly became a collection of cliches. Every tired theme from the last 30 years from the gay brother, bullying, the "kind doctor," a trite depiction of domestic poverty, and simplistically informed understanding of PTSD,even a nod to 9-11. It would have been a passable writing workshop project for an undergraduate. Not worthy of the creator of olive Kitteridge.

What aspect of Kimberly Farr’s performance would you have changed?

It might have better resisted succumbing to the prose's trite sentimentality.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It taught me to be cautious about trusting marketing success as a measure of quality. I tried to find virtue somewhere in the writing and took into account my gender's sometimes inpatients with this style of writing, but my wife only made it 30 pages.

Any additional comments?

I had a fantasy that perhaps this book was indeed a product of the authors writing workshop days that that her publisher had talked her into releasing, a la Harper Lee. I can't otherwise imagine how a talented writer could unleash this on her following.

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Distracting overwrought performance and dreadfully clichéd poetry.

Revisado: 10-11-15

A promising and interesting story repeatedly interrupted by a breathless and overwrought third/first person female narration and dreadful flights in to bad nature poetry.
The story is suspenseful, and does a nice job capturing the cultural and domestic circumstances that drive it, however, I could not get over the self-conscious narration and prose of the female character.

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The professor?

Revisado: 12-02-11

What disappointed you about Lost Memory of Skin?

This character of a Mensa who introduces himself as:

Has Lost Memory of Skin turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Shepherd?

Nothing could have saved some of the dialogue, but Scott's interpretation of

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Surprise, then disappointment followed by boredom.

Any additional comments?

My first and Last Russel Banks. Life is too short.

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