Barry Review: "Rotten Reviews: A Literary Companion" edited by Bill Henderson

ROTTEN REVIEWS: A LITERARY COMPANION

edited by Bill Henderson

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

How does one review a book of and about negative reviews?

First published by Pushcart Press as Rotten Reviews and Rotten Reviews II in 1986 and 1987 respectively, this two-in-one volume was brought out in 1995 by Barnes & Noble. Each book contains very brief excerpts, usually consisting of only a line or two (though there are some lengthier passages in a few cases) from a full-length review. The first volume, which deals with books that are acknowledged classics or near-classics, appends some brief comments by notable writers about reviews and reviewing; the second, which deals with many well-known books that have yet to attain classic stature, if they ever will, appends excerpts from writers' letters to and about Rotten Reviews.

Each volume is introduced by Anthony Brandt, who in the first discusses the nature of reviewing and its effects, real and potential, on readers, writers, publishers, and the reviewers themselves. He also gives a brief history lesson, pointing out that when newspapers began publishing book reviews in the 1840s, negative remarks were quite rare. This is mainly due to collusion between publishers and newspapers, because the former paid the latter for positive reviews. It was in 1855 when a reviewer for a Boston paper lambasted Longfellow's Hiawatha that negative reviewing began.

In reading a book like this, part of the fun is chuckling over negative comments made about works that have become part of our culture, that are considered classics. One might agree with some of them if one has read and disliked particular titles or authors. When the negativity comes from one famous writer panning another, it's easy to smile. For instance, this comment about Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend: "We are convinced that it is one of the chief conditions of his genius not to see beneath the surface of things...We are aware that this definition confines him to an inferior rank."  The reviewer was Henry James. About Henry James, H.G. Wells wrote--aptly, in my opinion: "James' denatured people are only the equivalent in fiction of those egg-faced, black-haired ladies who sit and sit in the Japanese colour-prints...These people cleared for artistic treatment never make lusty love, never go to angry war, never shout at an election or perspire at poker." Here's Lord Byron in a letter to a friend: "Shakespeare's name, you may depend on it, stands absurdly too high and will go down. He had no invention as to stories, none whatever. He took all his plots from old novels, and threw their stories into a dramatic shape, at as little expense of thought as you or I could turn his plays back again into prose tales."  

In his preface to Rotten Reviews II, Brandt discusses some of the ethical issues that come into play. Does one give a favorable review to a book one knows is inferior because money has changed hands, or perhaps because of one's relationship to the author? Does one write an unfavorable review not because a book is poor but because one has been personally aggrieved by the author? Does one not write a review if one dislikes a book?

A number of the reviews in Rotten Reviews II, Brandt explains, were submitted by the authors whose own books were the targets of critical darts. I use the term darts  deliberately, because many of these reviews verged on the vicious, if not altogether malicious. E.g., about Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic, Richard Findlater wrote: "It is curious how incest, impotence, nymphomania, religious mania and real estate speculation can be so dull." About her Scoundrel Time, Dwight MacDonald said: "Scoundrel Time is historically a fraud, artistically a put-up job and emotionally packed with meanness." The reviewer for Out had this to say about May Sarton's The Magnificent Spinster: "The experience of the book, personally speaking, was like a long hike home in wet socks and gym shoes, uncomfortable and unnecessary."

It's all quite a lot of fun to read, but it will also have readers thinking about reviews and reviewing in ways they probably haven't before. They may be stimulated to read some books they haven't, and to reassess their opinions, for better or worse, of books they have.

Let me end by citing one final rotten review--a reversal of positions in which novelist Nelson Algren takes aim at Contemporaries by the noted literary critic Alfred Kazin: "This critic is a man who knows all there is to know about literature except how to enjoy it..."

So how does one review a book of and about negative reviews? You just read how.

Barry Ergang © 2011

Former Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, Derringer winner Barry Ergang's work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. His website is http://writetrack.yolasite.com/  From a need to reduce clutter, he's selling many of the books he's accumulated over the years--including Rotten Reviews. You can find the titles and cover scans, along with purchasing information, at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/

Reviewing: "The Sentry: A Joe Pike Novel" by Robert Crais

While Elvis Cole is haunted by a nightmare and a lack of sleep, Joe Pike goes about his normal business. He is in Venice, California and needs a little air for the right front tire of his meticulously maintained jeep. While at the gas station he spots the two gang members across the street casing cars. The two thugs from central casting eventually go into the local sandwich shop.

His curiosity and instincts aroused, Pike goes across the street and enters the sandwich shop. He arrives in time to interrupt the beating the owner is taking from the two men. One escapes while the other painfully learns just how good Pike is at hand to hand combat.

By interrupting the attack, Pike sticks his considerably muscled bulk into a huge mess with multiple players, government agents, a ruthless psychotic assassin, and two victims who don’t seem to really want his help. Both the shop owner and his young niece just want to be left alone, they claim, though the niece sparks something off in Pike. Though they don’t seem to really want his help, it isn’t in Pike’s nature to turn away as the arrows tattooed on his arms make clear to one and all. Pike isn’t about to quit and by not doing so, he just may make Elvis Cole’s nightmare come to life.

While the main focus of the novel is on Joe Pike, Elvis Cole makes a significant contribution to the book. Shifting in point of view from Pike, to Cole, to the psychotic killer, and around again and again, the read moves forward at a steady pace. Nothing is as it seems in this book that starts with a dark beginning in New Orleans during Katrina five years ago and gets darker by the page. There is certain inevitableness about all this as Pike and eventually Cole try to identify the players and the real truth behind events.

There is certain loneliness to the book as well. Both Pike and Cole have gambled at love more than once and lost. Both are very much alone and are aware of that fact. The loneliness angle builds throughout the book to a crushing climax that can’t even be hinted at without potentially ruining the read for others.

The Sentry: A Joe Pike Novel” is another strong powerful novel with dark undertones from award winning author Robert Crais. While it is always best to read a series in order, in this case, it is possible to read this novel as a stand alone if you are not familiar with this very talented author. There is a reason why his books have won awards and his books are consistently on the best seller lists.

THE SENTRY: A JOE PIKE NOVEL

Robert Crais

http://www.robertcrias.com

G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group USA)

http://www.penguin.com

2011

ISBN# 978-0-399-15707-3

Hardback (and Kindle)

306 Pages

$26.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple© 2011

We Need Your Help

As you can see on the left side, the donation button widget for rent, utilities, meds, etc. has appeared. I had really hoped something magical would change things, but life continues to be unhelpful in that regard. That figure does not include Sandi’s surgery. We are still awaiting the insurance company to reprocess the claims that they did not properly process the first time so we can get on with things. As it stands, all involved still want $1900.

As I have said before, if it was just me I would go homeless and never say a word. But, it isn’t just about me. It is about Sandi and the boys too.

Please know that I am not asking for help lightly. We truly do need it and we are not being frivolous.  Please help if you can. Spread the word if you will.

Thank you from all of us…..

Kevin

FFB Review: "Catspaw Ordeal" by Edward Ronns--Reviewed by Barry Ergang

CATSPAW ORDEAL (1950) by Edward Ronns (a.k.a. Edward S. Aarons)

reviewed by Barry Ergang     

  

Edward S. Aarons, best known for his Sam Durell Assignment series of paperback originals, may not have been a great writer by the purest of literary standards, or by the standards set by more prominent mystery and suspense novelists, but he was a first-rate storyteller.

Catspaw Ordeal is among the mystery thrillers he wrote under the pseudonym Edward Ronns. It deals with one Daniel Archer, a man who would seem to have it all, but whose dissatisfaction with the good life in Southwich, Connecticut has led to the possible dissolution of his marriage and reveries about his more adventurous past—reveries which involve old flame Della Chambers and the late Burke Wiley, his shipmate aboard the Martin J. Crump on which Archer served as radioman, who died when the ship was torpedoed.

The novel opens with Archer getting himself drunk in a local watering hole when the bar's owner tells him there's a man who's been asking about him. Archer confronts the man, one Skit Moore, who might be either a private detective hired by Archer's estranged wife Rosalind or some sort of petty hoodlum. A brawl erupts between them which sets the story in motion.

Archer later discovers Moore in his—Archer's—home, bludgeoned to death, and circumstances compel him to help dispose of the body. Among other surprises, figures from his past, including Della Chambers, resurface to complicate matters, as well as his brother-in-law and business partner Stanley Manning, their secretary Louise Camp, the coldly criminous Clem Holloway, and Holloway's daughter Lisbeth. Much like an unwitting hero out of a Hitchcock film, Archer must dodge the police long enough to solve Moore's murder, dodge someone who would murder him, and thwart a criminal scheme with national and international ramifications. 

Many years ago I read but no longer have a number of the Sam Durell espionage novels. Like those, Catspaw Ordeal is rapid-fire reading with plenty of action and suspense throughout. Unlike them, it's also a fairly-clued whodunit—though since it's populated with so many unsavory characters, a number of whom get their comeuppances before the final revelation, most experienced readers won't find it difficult to solve even if they do so by pure guesswork. Read strictly as a detective story it will likely prove disappointing. Read as a fast-paced, sometimes noirish adventure story with the bonus of a whodunit aspect, it's very satisfying.

Barry Ergang © 2007, 2011

Former Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, Derringer winner Barry Ergang's work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. His website is http://writetrack.yolasite.com/  From a need to reduce clutter, he's selling many of the books he's accumulated over the years. You can find the titles and cover scans, along with purchasing information, at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/

Judging Book Covers

http://killercoversoftheweek.blogspot.com/  is an excellent site and always very interesting. If you look at the site update yesterday, there are links to a compilation of some of the best covers from Hard Case Crime.

Lost Days: A Food Stamps /Medicaid Update

As I have written before, while we await Sandi's knee surgery (assuming the inusrance company ever processes claims correctly) she is home on unpaid Medical leave. Because she has no paycheck we had to update our food stamps situation. The fact that she had no income meant we had to start all over and do a new application. She submitted another application more than a month ago and finally had a brief interview by phone last Thursday. The caseworker in Midland said that she would be sending a letter updating the case but everything was set for processing.

Saturday we got a letter from the state updating our food stamp case. In addition to sending in copies of our birth certificates for the fourth time in six months, we also now had to be fingerprinted. Both Sandi and I had to report to our nearest office (the paperwork did not tell us what office that was) or why we had to suddenly be fingerprinted. The letter also informed us that we had to send the birth certifates back to Midland in far West Texas and be fingerprnited by Monday, July 11, 2011 or we would be denied, benefits would be stopped, and the case closed.

Between the mail delays between here and Midland and the holiday, it meant that the time frame was ridiculously short.

A little online research Saturday afternoon indicated that Texas is one of three states still insisting that recipients be finger printed though the USDA believes such a requirement is totally unnecessary. Some further research indicated that the office we had to report to was up in McKinney. We wanted to call and see if that was where we had to go and how to do all of this to meet their time frame,  but clearly calling on Saturday wasn't going to work.

Once Tuesday rolled around, we quickly verified the numerous complaints online about how folks working in the office didn't answer the listed number. It became clear that all we could do was take the hour and drive up there to try and get the fingerprinting done. Apparently the fact that both of us had been fingerprinted in the last two years by the local school district, as well as at other times by both state and federal entities, wasn't going to help in this case.

It took an hour plus to get up there yesterday only to discover that neither employee tasked with fingerprinting was there working. The front desk clerks had no idea why they were not working, but "guaranteed" the persons would be working today. So, all we could do was leave and make the long hour plus drive home.

By the time we got home, I was in utter agony with my left leg swelling up and numb. Driving any distance is painful and going an hour plus across town and up the interstate  to the North did a real number on me. The last thing I wanted to do was go back up today.

But, we did. Another hour plus to get there. This time, a fingerprint person was there. However, it was not simple to just go in and get them done and leave. Instead, we had to give the impersonal clerk at the front desk our paperwork and driver licenses and were tersely told to have a seat. Apparently our simple problem was a major inconvenience to her. She wasn't going to tell us anything and was very annoyed that we didn't have to fill out her paperwork as we had the official forms sent by the worker in Midland pre-filled out. Banished to the waiting area, we sat with about another forty people and waited. From overhearing scattered conversations it became clear that most visits are multi hour affairs that take days for folks to complete.

In our case, it took a little over an hour to get to the clerk for the pictures (the driver license ones are not good enough for some reason as they have to have their own) and the fingerprinting of the left and right index fingers only. The picture and fingerprinting took about five minutes. The birth certificates were refused. We were told we absolutely had to mail them to the post office box in Midland as the staff in McKinney could not accept them since our case was being handled in Midland.


Then it was another hour plus to home. It took over six hours and two trips up and back to get something relatively simple accomplished in an office that is clearly overwhelmed and in crowded working conditions. It certainly isn't going to get better considering the fact that Governor Perry and his Republican party folks in the legislature recently rammed Medicaid and Food Stamp funding cutbacks for recipients and state employees.


As I write this, my left leg is swollen and elevated, my back to my neck is killing me, and I hurt horrendously everywhere. I am done for today after I write this blog post. My day will now be spent in pain and lying on the floor paying the price for their process.

But, more than that, I feel bad for the families and solitary figures I saw sitting in the waiting room losing the day waiting to get help in a system poorly designed that punishes those who need help.

Happy 4rth of July

Happy 4rth of July to one and all from us.

Enjoy the day and be safe.

Barry's Reviews: "SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS (2011)"

SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS (2011)

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

In the interests of full disclosure, let me explain at the outset that Earl Staggs and I have been friends for a number of years, going back to when I joined the staff of the then-named Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine as an editorial reviewer and Earl was Managing Editor. No more than a year later, maybe less, some changes occurred with the staff, and Earl asked if I'd like to be one of three fiction editors. I accepted the position and, when a year or two after that Earl stepped down as M.E. to serve as Editorial Consultant for the renamed Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, he offered me his former position and I accepted.

Prior to the publication of Short Stories of Earl Staggs, I had read some of Earl's short fiction as well as his excellent--and recommended--novel, Memory of a Murder. I correctly assumed, therefore, that reading this collection of fifteen stories, each of which is prefaced by an author's note about its origins, would be a satisfying experience.

The book opens with the Derringer Award-winning "All the Fine Actors," in which a hitman assassinates a local sheriff. Both he and his employer are aware that people too often aren't what they seem,  and both know the collection of his fee won't be an easy task.

"A Rainy Day Robbery" is a lighter-weight tale about the fictional Watango County, Texas Sheriff Mollie Goodall who, while trying to track down a thief, has to contend with a broken fingernail, every mention of which made me wince.

A tough former Baltimore cop, now living and working as a bail bondsman and sometime bounty hunter, returns to his hometown to pursue an escaped criminal and confront some people and issues from his past in "Baltimore Bounty." 

"Battered" concerns Detective Sam Hollis's rabid determination to nail a longtime abuser who has finally killed his victim. Hollis has his own demons to deal with while trying to salvage his marriage.

After his sister's funeral, a visiting small-town cop arranges a meeting with her estranged husband, a wastrel pretty boy, in "Brother-in-Law." Ostensibly to discuss which of them as the woman's survivors gets what, the meeting has a much darker purpose.

The weakest story in the collection for me was "Caught On Christmas Eve," the tale of a twelve-year-old wannabe thief and the man who witnesses what he's up to at a department store's jewelry counter. Originally written for a Christmas anthology , it's predictable and sentimental--but redeemed by not being too soppy.

A contract killer who prides himself for being meticulous and thorough gets the shock of his life when a woman he killed walks into the restaurant in which he regularly dines. Before the evening is over, he's in for dyspepsia-inducing surprises in "Dead Woman Walking."   

"Fig Newtons and Heavy Bags" is the lightweight tale of two spinster sisters who aren't quite what they seem.

Another Mollie Goodall story, "Robbery On Christmas Eve," concerns the theft of church funds from a locked office. How the thief got in and out, as well as who the thief is, are the puzzles Mollie must solve.

In "Room Six," a small-town sheriff sets a simple trap to determine which of three wealthy, spoiled brothers murdered a nineteen-year-old woman.

"Silky's Getaway" is a brief comic tale about a professional burglar's encounter with a most unlikely obstacle.

Not without moral qualms, a cop exceeds standard procedural boundaries to dispense the justice the courts failed to in "Taking Richie Gold Down."

On her daughter's wedding day, Amanda Barnes is kidnapped by a man who has held a grudge against her for twenty years, a man who stirs up memories of her harrowing past in the tense and exciting "That Night in Galveston."

"The Chopsticks Clue" resulted, as the author explains in his prefatory note, from an editorial challenge. Homicide Lieutenant Sue Townes encounters her former partner Millie Walker, now a meter maid, while investigating a stabbing death at a Chinese restaurant. More interesting than the crime itself is the animosity Sue has toward Millie because of an incident in their past.

Sheriff Mollie Goodall makes another appearance in the comical "The Naked Man On the Roof" when she has to talk the titular character down from the roof of a deserted icehouse  (the fall from which wouldn't kill him), learn why he's despondent, and then solve a crime.

Chief of Police Harry Winfield learns from a pair of Dallas cops, to his surprise and disheartenment, that Pam Wilson is wanted for the murder of a prominent attorney in "The Waitress." She swears she didn't kill him but knows who does--but won't reveal the murderer's name lest she be forced to reveal things about herself she can't afford to reveal. Harry must determine where the truth lies.

Short Stories of Earl Staggs is a nicely varied collection of light and dark, humorous and serious, soft-boiled and hardboiled crime stories. The author writes in a smooth, accessible prose style, delineates characters nicely, and has an excellent sense of pace. To my friend and former colleague, the venerable Earl of Staggs, I say, "Well done, amigo. Give us more." To you who are reading this review, I say, "If you enjoy good short crime and mystery fiction, get yourself a copy of this collection, which is available in electronic and paperback formats, because the Earl Staggs byline always guarantees a pleasurable reading experience."

Barry Ergang © 2011

Former Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, Derringer winner Barry Ergang's work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. His website is http://writetrack.yolasite.com/  From a need to reduce clutter, he's selling many of the books he's accumulated over the years. You can find the titles and cover scans, along with purchasing information, at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/

Reviewing:"Baby Grape & The River Folk" by Thom Rogers

Tony, Gina, Jayne and Robin are on the river heading to Pittsburg as this second book begins and picks up right after the first book, Baby Grape and Huskey.  Toby is looking forward to getting back to Pittsburg and seeing his mom and sisters. It’s been long enough that he figures everything has been forgotten, the charges against him have been dropped, and that he can go back to his old life. He is sure Gina and the Indian girls, Jayne and Robin, will be welcomed in by his mom and sisters and that things are going to settle down.

After a near death experience in the river at night during a storm, the group finally makes it to Pittsburg. The city has been forever changed and as a result his family has moved on to Toby’s aunt. On top of that, old enemies are back. Being chased by the police and others makes it clear that nothing has gone away. Toby is forced to take Gina and the others and make a run for it again. As Toby matures, his relationship with Gina, Jayne, and the others changes significantly. Those relationships are under constant strain because life in the 1840s can be harsh and unforgiving and their enemies show no sign of going away.

Baby Grape & The River Folk is the second novel in this very good series. It builds on the first and details the further development of Toby as he grows into manhood. Somewhat more graphic occasionally regarding his sexual relationships with young women, this Toby gains confidence as the novel progresses and is capable of making astute business decisions. Progress in the form of civilization is coming to the river and Toby is responsible for a good portion of that.

While the wonder at the world around him may be gone for Toby, so too is the naiveté in this second novel of the series. What remains is another fine tale full of interesting characters, hardship and riches, and plenty of action that also manages to make a time period come alive for readers. In short, this second novel is almost as good as the first and does a good job of keeping the adventure going and readers entertained.

It should be noted that the book is “not recommended for under 13 years old” per statement on back cover.  Depending on your particular thirteen year old, this may or may not, be an issue.

Baby Grape & The River Folk: The Second Toby Adventure Novel

Thom Rogers

http://www.babygrapebooks.com

2009

New Horizons Publishing Company

ISBN# 978-1-884687-90-7

Paperback

228 Pages (Includes 15 page preview of third book, Baby Grape’s Southern Exposure)

$12.95

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

FFB Review: "Conch Shell Murder" by Dorothy Francis

For Friday’s Forgotten Books this week, it seemed only fitting to take you to the beach via a cozy read. After all, it is a holiday weekend……..

As this comfortable cozy opens, Private Detective Katie Hasworth arrives back home in Key West. Upon her arrival, she finds out from her friend and landlord, Diane, that Diane's mother is dead. Alexa Chitting was a difficult woman to say the least and Diane does not believe the Police are doing enough. The Police believe it was a robbery that went too far but Diane is convinced that her mother was murdered. She wants Katie to investigate.

This is a new career and lifestyle for Katie as she works to put several painful events of the past behind her. This would be her first case, a case that her partner and mentor in the agency has rejected stating that the Police have a good handle on things. With misgivings and trepidation, Katie accepts the case and once past her shaky start, begins to make headway. Along the trail as she seeks a murderer, she will find romance, politics and environmental issues as well as a host of suspects that had a personal stake in the life and death of Alexa Chitting.

At 245 pages in hardback, Conch Shell Murder is a fast read with a minimum of violence. "Cozy" in every sense of the word, Dorothy Francis spins a world where self-interest led to murder in the island paradise of Key West. The author has a strong eye for detail and brings the characters as well as the rich cultural background of Key West to life for her readers. Strong diverse characters, rich local color, and an engaging case make this novel well worth the read. 

For the complete list of Friday's Forgotten Books, see http://pattinase.blogspot.com/ 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2003, 2011

Family Update Time

After getting several e-mails the last couple of days asking, I thought it was time for a family update. In no particular order of things.....


I have heard nothing from the wonderful ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES folks or CITIBANK folks since they filed and asked for the trial to be pushed back from May 16 to September. The court reset the date for September 13 and all of you are invited to come if we get to that point. The last I heard from them was early May when they filed their paperwork and sent me a copy of their filing. Considering Citibank's recent deals in the news including one where one of their Vice Presidents managed to steal nineteen million dollars from them over the course of multiple months and then head to Asia where he was arrested, maybe they have bigger things on their mind. I know I do.


Sandi is still home on unpaid medical leave awaiting her knee surgery. The latest estimate from the surgery center who called to update her yesterday morning was $1900 up front.  That was four hundred more than we had been told three weeks ago. They said it was the final revised figure based on what the insurance folks had ruled. Sandi called the doctor's office and they told her the same thing and basically said they were done working the insurance part of the case until she was ready for surgery.


Sandi has been ready for surgery since the doctor put her out on May 5. Everybody else wasn't and the numbers keep changing. So, Sandi called and called and finally got ahold of somebody at the insurance company who was competent and able to work their system to research her account. Sandi had to sit on the phone for nearly four hours going back through every claim starting from the first of the year, but it was worth it. Insurance and Sandi agree that two claims involving CT Scans and other expensive testing were not properly processed at any point. Another four claims are wrong in Sandi's opinion and insurance agrees--though for different reasons and will reevaluate. All that reprocessing of six claims and the ripple effects from that as other claims may have to be recalculated will take a week to ten days to do at the very least. Hopefully by the time that is over, her deductible will have been met and we can schedule her surgery.


As to food stamps and all that, we had to update our situation which led to a reapplication. The caseworker called this morning and verified some stuff. It can take up to thirty days to process before we know if we have been approved for Medicaid. Hopefully we will be as that would clearly help her. It also might be a way for me to be seen for everything going on with me.


Having fallen hard earlier this week while on the outside porch much to the amusement of partying neighbors across the way, I consider myself very lucky I have not broken anything. I know I can't keep falling and stay lucky. I am trying to do what I can when I can but things are definitely getting harder and harder. Whatever is wrong is clearly continuing to spread and that means, I would think, it has to be some sort of nerve disorder. Whether a doctor can find it now and treat it, I don't know. But, I am hoping we will get the chance to find out.


Kevin

Reviewing: "TABLOID CITY: A NOVEL" by Pete Hamill

A lot can happen in 24 hours anywhere. Certainly it can in the city of New York where strangers and friends can intersect in many different ways.  Life can begin and end, both metaphorically and literally, in this complex interlocking tale created by Pete Hamill.

There are several major players in this 278 page novel. One is Sam Briscoe, age 71, editor in chief of the tabloid newspaper New York World. It is midnight as the book opens and Briscoe’s focus is on the still to be finished edition. Newspapers are a dying industry as he knows well, but he adheres to the old standards and delivers a quality product. Other folks can worry about what to put on the paper’s website as he simply does not care. He worries about the newspaper itself while surrounded primarily by youngsters who have no idea of the past and what they are missing from the literary world. 

 

Wealthy socialite and old friend Cynthia Harding knows full well what the world is missing these days. She also knows libraries are an integral part of the future. She has always loved books and reading and has done her part at a personal level as well as by raising funds to support the New York Public Library System.  Much like Sam’s newspaper, the library system as well as the concept of libraries in general, might be a dying institution thanks to the rise of the internet and home computers. Her latest effort in support of the local libraries was a dinner party fundraiser held this night and it did well all things considered. Sam Briscoe was supposed to be there but he didn’t make it because of work.

The rise of the internet has not only murdered libraries and newspapers; it has given rise to terrorism on a global scale. Malik Shadid, an American born child with no ties to the Middle East, heard the call of Islamic Jihad in his teen years and responded. He abandoned his police officer father and his mother who works for that slave owner (as he sees her) Cynthia Harding, and hit the streets hanging out with other teens who also heard the call. While some have fallen away as the years have passed, he remains true to what he believes is the real Muslim faith. A faith that promises to purge the world of the non-believers. One of those unbelievers is his girlfriend, Glorious Burress, hiding in some abandoned building and very pregnant with their child. She is too young to know better but he will teach her the faith and the truth of the world.

The clock marches on and these people and many others will play a major role in the events to come during the next 24 hours. At its heart, Tabloid City contains a double murder and an attempt to solve it while also preventing another terrorist attack on the city of New York. The shock waves of those events will touch people directly and indirectly involved in many unexpected ways.

At the same time Tabloid City is about change, the price of progress, and supreme loneliness. In a time where technology is changing every aspect of our lives in so many ways and often with unintended consequences, many of these characters feel supremely alone and abandoned. Each one feels isolated in his or her narrow world regardless of how much social contact they have with others around them. Beyond occasionally sharing the same gender as another, these characters come from all walks in life with vastly different ages and life experiences resulting in vastly different ways of seeing the surrounding world. Links of commonality are tenuous at best. Some are alone because of deaths. Others, though surrounded by other people at work and socializing, feel totally and unescapably alone.

The river of loneness is wide and deep in Tabloid City and runs through every character no matter his or her circumstances. Many characters see their time ending, physically and metaphorically, and lament the passing of their youth. In so doing, Pete Hamill salutes those great literary newspaper writers and novelists of the past while also creating a story that tells the tale of loneliness and terrorism in the here and now.

He leaves it up to readers to wonder who will take the place of past literary greats. His compelling novel never answers that question in this time of bloggers, citizen journalists, twenty-four hour news cycles, etc. Instead, he poses the question for readers in many different ways over this 278 page novel while engaging in an intense character study set in the city he has written about many times before. For a short period of a night, following day and into that night, you know these people in every detail and can only watch as they blindly careen into and occasionally miss each other in this homage to a great literary time and a warning of a far more uncertain future.

Tabloid City: A Novel

Pete Hamill

http://www.petehamill.com

Little, Brown and Company

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com

May 2011

ISBN# 978-0-316-02075-6

Hardback

278 Pages

$26.99

Material supplied by the folks at the WOMEN OF MYSTERY blog http://www.womenofmystery.net/  Back in early May they offered five copies to anyone who entered by making a comment on the blog. I was one of five whose entry was selected. No expectation of a review or any inducement of any type was offered, given, or accepted regarding this objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011