Bet Your Life
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Richard Dooling
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Highly recommended. This is a
novel about the insurance industry's F-word (fraud). It is very
funny with lots of plot twists. The story revolves around viatical
policies, term life insurance usually purchased by AIDS patients, whose
benefits are sold at a discount. The investors get
unhappy when the patients don't die soon enough. (12/02)
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The Autograph Man
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Zadie Smith
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A somewhat disappointing follow-up to
White Teeth. The author, still in her twenties, is incredibly
talented, but the eponymous signature trader in the title never gives any
indication of why we should care one way or the other what happens to him.
(12/02)
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The Whore's Child
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Richard Russo
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The Pulitzer Prize winning author of
Empire Falls returns with a fine collection of short stories that are
insightful and full of characters to whom it is easy to relate. The
writing quality is consistently first-rate. (12/02)
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July, July
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Tim O'Brien
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A reunion of the Class 0f '69 is the setting for
this excellent novel. The characters are interesting and their
stories are told with humor and compassion. A good read. (11/02)
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The Color of Oil
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Michael Economides
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I recently attended a lecture by the author who
said the the success of this book was a triumph of superficiality over
substance. True enough, but if you want a quick yet insightful peek
into the world of oil, this is quite good. (11/02)
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The Emperor of Ocean Park
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Stephan Carter
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The author claims that this is not a roman à clef.
However, as both he and the protagonist are New England university law
professors, its a little hard to believe. This is a well-written,
entertaining book, despite being a tome - 653 pages. (11/02)
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Bad Boy Brawly Brown
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Walter Mosley
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Easy Rawlins is the hero in the latest in a series
of novels about life in black L.A. during the early 60's. Denzel
Washington has played Easy in the movies and he'll be back if they film
this one. An fast, fun read. (10/02)
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The Lobster Chronicles
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Linda Greenlaw
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You may remember the author from The Perfect Storm
- she was the captain of the last boat to speak with the crew of the Andrea
Gail. She gave up that life to return home to Maine fishing for
lobsters. Highly recommended. (10/02)
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Mr. Potter
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Jamaica Kincaid
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See extended commentary - Mr.
Potter (9/02)
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Youth:Scenes from Provincial Life II
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J. M. Coetzee
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An odd little novel about a young South African who
emigrates to England in the early 60's to become a writer, but winds up as
a computer programmer. The author uses the unusual medium of the
brain noodlings of a truly boring nerd to make social commentary.
(9/02)
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Basket Case
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Carl Hiaason
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Is Hiaason the funniest man in America? It's
very possible. His south Florida characters are so amusing it makes
you almost (but not quite) want to go to Miami to see the types in real
life. (9/02)
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Paris to the Moon
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Adam Gopnik
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Gopnik is a New Yorker magazine staff writer who
moves his family to Paris when his first child is born. His
motivation is to avoid Barney, the purple PBS character. There are
many interesting observations about Paris, but far too many anecdotes
about little Luke for my taste. (8/02)
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Atonement
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Ian McEwan
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McEwan examines the dark side of human nature
again, this time documenting the destruction of a family by a thirteen
year old girl. The story begins in 1935, and ends in 1999 and
includes details of the British retreat from France in the early stages of
WWII. Brilliant writing throughout. (7/02)
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True History of the Kelly Gang
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Peter Carey
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This story of Australian outlaw/folk hero Ned Kelly
is a difficult read, but worth the effort. Told in the first person
English of an uneducated nineteenth century Irish immigrant, this
fact-based novel helps explain the affection Australians still have for
Kelly (6/02)
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Complications
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Atul Gawande
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If the author, a surgeon, cuts as well as he
writes, his patients are in good shape. A fascinating set of stories
about the education of a young doctor. (5/02)
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A Nasty Bit of Rough
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David Feherty
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An entertaining fable by one of the few TV golf
commentators (Gary McCord is the other) who realize that it is only a
game. (4/02)
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A Way of Life, Like Any Other
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Darcey O'Brien
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Reissue of a semi-autobiographical novel by the son
of fading Hollywood stars in the 50's and 60's. Deceptively simple
and fun to read. (4/02)
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The War Against Cliché
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Martin Amis
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Well-written analyses of the leading authors of our
time. Unfortunately, most the books discussed are still on my
"to read" list. (4/02)
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Ghost Soldiers
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Hampton Sides
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Incredible story of WW II heroism in the
Philippines. Thoroughly researched and very well written, this book
is worth your time. (3/02)
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A Cook's Tour
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Anthony Bourdain
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The author roams the world in pursuit of the
perfect meal with mixed results. Tapas bar-hopping in northern Spain
sounds great, but eating goat testicles in the Moroccan desert doesn't.
(3/02)
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Half a Life
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V. S. Naipaul
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Semi-autobiographical novel won Pulitzer Prize.
Second half contains excellent picture of colonial decay in Africa. (2/02)
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Warwick Todd Goes the Tonk
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Tom Gleisner
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For cricket fans only. A look at the cover
tips off that this is not a serious work. (1/02)
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The Grand Complication
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Allen Kurzweil
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An odd novel told in the first person by a nerd
librarian. A little slow off the mark, but once it gets going it is
hard to put down. (1/02)
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