Water for Elephants: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)What a terrific read! Water for Elephants has been lauded as a "great pick for summer", but this book is so much more. It has a depth and a substance to it that you don't usually find in your typical "beach read". It's obvious that the author did her research into the time period (post-Depression America), and the subject matter (traveling circuses). According to the author's note at the end of the book, many of the compelling anecdotes in the story were based upon real events, culled from the diaries and personal histories of old-time circus performers. As a result, Water for Elephants is a novel that boasts the rare combination of being both entertaining and informative.
The main character is a cantankerous, still-sharp 93-year-old man, and his frustration at being trapped in an old man's body is palpable. The story of his incredible life and adventures with the Benzini Brothers circus unfolds in a way that is emotionally wrenching, and yet flashes of good humor pervade throughout. The characters are richly drawn, and even the animals are given complex personalities that make them a pivotal part of the story. There is something in the novel for everyone: it is equal parts adventure, mystery, fictional memoir, love story, and historical account.
I highly recommend this book!

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Endymion Spring Review

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(More customer reviews)Although I had read partial reviews that were somewhat negative saying this wasn't the next big thing or certainly not "The Da Vinci Code for kids", I have to admit that I expected more.
The story is told in two parts. One is the creation of the spectacular book around which this story revolves, and then the story itself, told in present time at Oxford University.
I had two main problems: I wasn't terribly intrigued by the "spectacular book", and I enjoyed the medieval "back story" more than I did what I believe to have been the main story.
The main character and supporting characters from the 15th century were considerably more tangible than the brother and sister team from present time. Honestly, I didn't care much for either of the latter. The boy, Blake, was too whiny, grumpy and downtrodden to really root for, and his sister was too much of a pain to be likable. Sometimes pain-in-the-rear characters are immensely likable, but I didn't find myself rooting for either.
Also, this was written from a "third person limited" point-of-view. In each part - medieval and present day - there was one main character. In third person limited, the narrator is generally limited to what that one character could theoretically observe. Therefore, I was puzzled as to several usages of British English. To cite one example, when Blake thought of a flashlight, it was always referred to as a torch. In third person limited, it would be referred to as a flashlight - because Blake speaks American English.
Perhaps it was my dull brain, and this is entirely plausible, but I'm not sure that the mystery of the book was entirely resolved. Perhaps it was and I missed it. If so, it's probably because I was a lazy reader at times, frustrated with the material in front of me and looking to push forward and finish the book so I could move on to the next one on my stack.
Somewhere in here was a terrific story dying to be told. But somewhere within Delacorte was an editor not doing a very good of tightening things up.
Honestly, I don't believe the fault lies with the author. Every great writer will admit that they would be lost without their editor. This book was one good editor away from being a terrific read.


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Rite Of The Revolution: Adam Weishaupt, the Bavarian Illuminati & the Strange Origins of the New World Order Review

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This book is vivid, lively and entertaining. While not for every reader by any means, the reader who enjoys irreverent, unabashed scandal and conspiracy will devour The Rite of the Revolution.
Freemasons, Egyptian sex cults, Jewish mythology, hemp and the founding fathers, Rodgers delivers them all and more.
My only complaint was that the book took on too much. The Rite of the Revolution tackles content enough for two books easily. And my rating for the book would have to be NC-17. But if you feel you are up for it, this book packs a punch. Characters, settings and background are all well researched, so the deeper you like to go down the rabbit hole the more The Rite of the Revolution will scratch your itch.
Definitely a cult classic in the making and an "undiscovered" talent in Rodgers.

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Ewige Blumenkraft! Adam Weishaupt, Jesuit scholar turned sorcerer, founds the Bavarian Illuminati and implements his lofty plan to perfect mankind through psychedelic drugs and sex magic.Across the ocean, the leaders of the American Revolution seek divine assistance in the form of funding for their war, putting them dead on course with Weishaupt and the most diabolical occultists in Europe.Brilliantly conjured to life are the cryptic enigmas alluded to in R.A. Wilson's ILLUMINATUS in this fantastic and seductive tale where the strangest and most powerful occult forces clash and conspire in the American War for Independence.THIS is the American History you've been waiting for! A must-read for all conspiracy buffs.

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The Help (Movie Tie-In) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. That is the story in a nutshell - but it is so much more than just stories.
This is the best book I have read in years! I can't recommend it enough! It is fabulous and I think they will make a movie out of it. I would compare it to the writings of Carson McCullers, Harper Lee, Truman Capote and even Margaret Mitchell. The story grabs you and doesn't let you go. You can smell the melted tar on the Mississippi roads, the toil in the cotton fields, the grits burning on the stove. The theme is the indomitable will of human beings to survive against all odds - because of the color of their skin. It is a heart-wrenching account and you will never fondly remember the times of the Jim Crow laws (if you ever did). The pure, down and out bitchery of the white ladies who become dissatisfied with their maids and proceed to ruin their lives is portrayed vividly. The desperation of the maids' circumstances is truly touching. I have laughed and cried my way through this book and plan to re-read it. I highly recommend this book because it is going to be talked about as the best book of the year.


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