Diamond Dogs Review

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(More customer reviews)Diamond Dogs is a wonderful work of fiction you can't put down from the moment you read the first page. Alan Watt has written an exciting, non-stop story centering around a hit and run accident and its subsequent cover-up. A wonderful suspenseful tale of a mixed-up but loving relationship between father and son.
High School quarterback Neil Garvin, a much-worshipped high school football star narrates the story. It's thru his eyes that the whole story enfolds, and you quickly realize that teenagers today are much more mature than we give them credit for. It's over the course of the next three days following the accident that Neil's life is completely changed when his father, the sheriff, helps cover-up the accident. We become a participant in the events that follow, whether we like it or not, and we get drawn into the complexities of small-town life, and father and son bonding.
Whether it takes you a few hours, a day, or 2 days, this is a book you won't forget. A very promising debut novel from this author. An easy read that will keep you very entertained. Bravo!!

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Purge Review

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(More customer reviews)Wow. This is probably one of the best books I've read in years - and I read a lot. "Purge" certainly cannot be described as "easy reading", although it's very suspenseful and a definite page-turner. From the very first page on, it drips heavy with deep, dark secrets, pain and shame. It cannot really be described as "depressing" either. Throughout the book I kept sensing some kind of a weak ray of hope... but I couldn't really understand where it was coming from, or what the title of the book meant. Until the very end. Then, suddenly it all made perfect sense.
It's one of those rare books that I kept thinking about even long after I'd finished reading it. I am well-familiar with the recent history and today's challenges of Estonia and Eastern Europe in general. This book opened yet another door to Pandora's Box. I know there are many "Zara's" in the world, but never once before had I a reason to stop and think WHO are they, and WHY are they where they are. Never before did I think that they, too, might just be your average girls with families, dreams and aspirations, and that perhaps they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
And could someone like Aliide Truu be for real?! She certainly seems unbelievably believable. The more I think about it, the more I think that there may be just as many "Aliide's" as "Zara's" out there... Like they say, you shouldn't judge until you walk in their shoes, for everyone has their story and their reasons.
I have no idea how much of this is fiction vs. real peoples' lives, but it is a damn well written book. And, with the right cast and director, it would make a great movie.


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Darkest Child: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Remember the 70's television comedy called Good Times? It seemed good things rarely happened to the Evans family and you frequently found yourself wishing for something great to happen that would whisk them out of their unfortunate existence. Well, The Darkest Child is like the literary equivalent of Good Times, except this story takes place in a house on Penyon Road, somewhere in the state of Georgia during the late 50's. And this time the sorrows and afflictions experienced by the family comes at the hand of the mother, Rosie, a woman who inflicted so much abuse on her ten kids that you cannot keep up.
The story is narrated by Tangy Mae, a fifteen year-old woman/child that the mother labels as ugly. The mother sleeps with men, chain smokes, drinks, cries, yells, and does all kinds of unusual and disturbing things that make the reader feel sorry for the kids and wonder about their eventual outcome.
The Darkest Child's strength lies in its commanding writing voice and vivid descriptions. Some of the painful scenes make you physically react, as if you're being abused instead of the children.
The worst thing about the book is there are far too many characters; you may not feel attached to each of them or remember which one is which, but the story is still compelling enough to keep you drawn to the characters' dilemma. In addition it would have been great if the mother's behavior was explained so the reader could know her motivations behind her horrendous actions.
This book is highly recommended because of its originality, excellent writing, and unpredictability, and because, as far as I know, there aren't too many books that can be compared to The Darkest Child. It is an engaging and dark read that won't be soon forgotten.

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These Things Hidden Review

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(More customer reviews)These Things Hidden is all about secrets. As the story progresses, the past is revealed piece by piece. The story falls into place easily while offering shocking things, long hidden, yet never expected.
The book is written in alternating viewpoints between four different women all linked in some way to a little boy named Joshua. Each woman wants to ensure Joshua is safe and taken care if, even if they have different ideas and motives driving them.
The book begins with Allison being released from prison. She committed an unforgivable crime, the nature of which we don't learn until later in the book. Every bit of Allison's past is revealed at the perfect moment. Her story is traumatically heart-wrenching and you can't help but feel for her while at the same time hating her actions.
The story is scarily realistic for the world we live in today. Bad choices ruin lives. Good choices can just as easily take their toll. Love for family and the secrets we keep can lead down a road we aren't prepared to travel. These Things Hidden is a moving, beautifully written, absolutely compelling novel you won't want to miss.

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Please Look After Mom Review

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(More customer reviews)Kyung-Sook Shin has written an exceptional novel and I can see why it is a bestseller in its native language, in Korea. It is a story about relationships, about families and those close to us. The story is about a mother who is separated from her husband when boarding a train in Seoul, South Korea,on the way to visit her eldest son and her family's search for her. It is told in four voices, a daughter, a son, a husband and a mother. The story unfolds in mostly second-person narration, from the point of view of each these characters. The translator, Chi-Young Kim did an excellent job with the translation and made it seem as though it were originally written in English.
Rather than being given a lot of intimate details about each of these people, the author brings us into the drama of the mother disappearing at the station, and although we come to know a little more about the mother, there are really more questions than answers about the other family members. I normally like stories with a lot of character development, but somehow, this really worked and I was quickly drawn in, perhaps in the way of an accident or other tragedy where you don't want to look, but somehow need to know how and why it happened and how the people involved are affected. In many cases Kyung-Sook Shin gives only a few details and it is up to the reader to fill in the blanks. It gives a glimpse into the culture of present day South Korea both in a large city and in a rural area and we can see how much things have changed in only a single generation. It only took a few pages to become very involved.
This story is about complex emotions and interactions between family members. It was striking how differently each member of the family handled the disappearance. There are emotions that most of us could identify with in some way: helplessness, guilt, impatience, sadness and also joy. It was powerful and fragile at the same time. There are lessons to be learned and questions about how we view our relationships. It's the kind of story I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Try not to read too many spoilers if you're planning to read this book. The story needs to be uncovered layer, by layer, just as it was written. Two thumbs up for this moving novel.


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The Family Fang: A Novel Review

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It's such a pleasure when a book catches you totally by surprise....and you're delighted. I had absolutely no idea what to anticipate when THE FAMILY FANG arrived - the title reminded me of the Muensters. Well, yes, the Fangs are certainly an outre family but the plot is nothing short of inventive, spellbinding, and amazing.
Caleb and Camille Fang are performance or conceptual artists who use their two children, Annie and Buster, otherwise known as Child A and Child B, as integral parts of their pieces (think of Buster donning a sparkly gown and wig to win a beauty contest or throwing himself on the floor of a mall and shoving giant handfuls of jelly beans into his mouth when his mother's coat reveals the sweet bounty she has just shoplifted. Or, consider Annie plucking a guitar string and singing along with Buster in pitiful voices as they sit on the street beside a guitar case with a sign in it reading, "Our dog needs an operation. Please help us save him."
To the senior Fangs their art is everything regardless of the toll it may be taking on their children. But eventually the children do grow up and leave home. Each tries to create a life and career for themselves, but are unable to make it work. Left with one choice - to return to their parents' home, Annie and Buster do just that. It begins again with the elder Fangs trying to create performances using their children. But then, quite suddenly, Caleb and Camille vanish at a roadside rest stop. Has something dire happened to them or this just another work of art?
Kevin Wilson has fashioned a wise, witty, fantastic novel, delving into familial relationships, and how actions or non-actions may affect each generation.
- Gail Cooke

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