Book Description

The New York Times bestselling follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller A Million Little Pieces-the heartrending story of a friendship between a newly-sober James and the charismatic, high-living mobster he met in rehab, Leonard.

A Million Little Pieces was the first Oprah Book Club pick by a living author in over two years. It instantly became a #1 New York Times bestseller, a #1 USA Today bestseller, and a #1 Publishers Weekly bestseller, with over 1.7 million copies in print.

My Friend Leonard picks up right where Pieces leaves off. A New York Times bestseller in its own right before the Oprah pick, My Friend Leonard is James Frey's story of his friendship with Leonard, the larger-than-life mobster who "adopted" James as he left rehab. Leonard, who offers James lucrative-if illegal, mysterious, and slightly dangerous-employment when he needs it. Leonard, of the secret deals, of the surprising passions that belie his violent career choice, of fantastic generosity and ferocious loyalty. Leonard, who has been holding on to some remarkable secrets, and who has invested in their friendship more than James could ever imagine.

My Friend Leonard is, at its core, about the responsibility that comes with loving someone and going out on any number of limbs to care for them. And it is a book that proves that one of the most provocative literary voices of his generation is also one of the most emphatically human.

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Perhaps the most unconventional and literally breathtaking father-son story you'll ever read, My Friend Leonard pulls you immediately and deeply into a relationship as unusual as it is inspiring. The father figure is Leonard, the high-living, recovering coke addict ""West Coast Director of a large Italian-American finance firm"" (read: mobster) who helped to keep James Frey clean in A Million Little Pieces. The son is, of course, James, damaged perhaps beyond repair by years of crack and alcohol addiction-and by more than a few cruel tricks of fate. James embarks on his post-rehab existence in Chicago emotionally devastated, broke, and afraid to get close to other people. But then Leonard comes back into his life, and everything changes. Leonard offers his ""son"" lucrative-if illegal and slightly dangerous-employment. He teaches James to enjoy life, sober, for the first time. He instructs him in the art of ""living boldly,"" pushes him to pursue his passion for writing, and provides a watchful and supportive veil of protection under which James can get his life together. Both Leonard's and James's careers flourish . . . but then Leonard vanishes. When the reasons behind his mysterious absence are revealed, the book opens up in unexpected emotional ways. My Friend Leonard showcases a brilliant and energetic young writer rising to important new challenges-displaying surprising warmth, humor, and maturity-without losing his intensity. This book proves that one of the most provocative literary voices of his generation is also one of the most emphatically human.

Customer Reviews:

i wish i had a friend like leonard .......2007-10-04

the million little pieces has brought me to read on this book, which i really hope there could be another one i can still read on

the story has closed emotions and bonds within
very unforgettable

i shed tears again

Better then AMLP!!!.......2007-08-31

I thought this book was a better story then amlp. While the first story was incredible and hard to put down. I always was waiting for him to crack, and fall back into addiction. As you read "My Friend Leanord" you'll learn many things about James Frey, all of them hard to belive, but all in all, real story-fake story,...an amazing story at that!

Pleased.......2007-08-17

I was pleased with this book because it gave me the closure that I didn't receive from A Million Little Pieces. I don't mind the whole controversy thing. How much truth do you expect from a self-professed crack head?! The emotion that this book draws from the reader is amazing. I felt fully involved and will always have a place in my heart for Frey's work.

A great continuation of "A Million Little Pieces"..........2007-08-16

Despite the issue Oprah had the the question of whether "A Million Little Pieces" was completely autobiographical or not, I really enjoyed the story that was told and was very excited to read "My Friend Leonard" to find out how life after rehab was. The story was great! I enjoyed the fact that this was a continuation of the original book, which I loved!

It took me about 4 days to read this book. I absolutely could not put it down! I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what was happening! In all honesty, I was sad the book ended! I wanted it to keep going because the story was that good!

Great read....lies or no lies!.......2007-07-30

I read this book LONG after the Oprah controversy and frankly I didn't care if it was a lie. James Frey is a fantastic storyteller. I'm not much of a reader and it is hard for me to find a book that actually captivates my attention. And this book along with AMLP did just that!!! I do suggest that you read A Million Little Pieces before you read this(you'll like this one much better if do!). Both are GREAT reads and recommend it to anyone....lie or no lie.

Average customer rating: Not His Best Work Mixed feelings on Gaiman's long novel The unusual usual Terrible waste of time So,so.

American Gods: A Novel Neil Gaiman Manufacturer: William Morrow ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover United States | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Gaiman, Neil | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Gaiman, Neil | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books Contemporary | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books Urban | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Neverwhere: A Novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Stardust The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions ASIN: 0380973650 Release Date: 2001-06-19

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

American Gods is Neil Gaiman's best and most ambitious novel yet, a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road-trip story wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit. Gaiman tackles everything from the onslaught of the information age to the meaning of death, but he doesn't sacrifice the razor-sharp plotting and narrative style he's been delivering since his Sandman days.

Shadow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. At a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called Wednesday, who is much more than he appears. In fact, Wednesday is an old god, once known as Odin the All-father, who is roaming America rounding up his forgotten fellows in preparation for an epic battle against the upstart deities of the Internet, credit cards, television, and all that is wired. Shadow agrees to help Wednesday, and they whirl through a psycho-spiritual storm that becomes all too real in its manifestations. For instance, Shadow's dead wife Laura keeps showing up, and not just as a ghost--the difficulty of their continuing relationship is by turns grim and darkly funny, just like the rest of the book.

Armed only with some coin tricks and a sense of purpose, Shadow travels through, around, and underneath the visible surface of things, digging up all the powerful myths Americans brought with them in their journeys to this land as well as the ones that were already here. Shadow's road story is the heart of the novel, and it's here that Gaiman offers up the details that make this such a cinematic book--the distinctly American foods and diversions, the bizarre roadside attractions, the decrepit gods reduced to shell games and prostitution. "This is a bad land for Gods," says Shadow.

More than a tourist in America, but not a native, Neil Gaiman offers an outside-in and inside-out perspective on the soul and spirituality of the country--our obsessions with money and power, our jumbled religious heritage and its societal outcomes, and the millennial decisions we face about what's real and what's not. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

The storm was coming....

Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place.

On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose, accepts.

But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter -- all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does.

Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined.

All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought -- and the prize is the very soul of America.

As unsettling as it is exhilarating, American Gods is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Magnificently told, this work of literary magic will haunt the reader far beyond the final page.

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"Special Feature: This PerfectBound e-book contains ""On the Road to American Gods: Selected Passages from Neil Gaiman's Online Journal"". The storm was coming..Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place. On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose accepts. But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter-all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does. Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined. All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought-and the prize is the very soul of America. As unsettling as it is exhilarating, American Gods is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Magnificently told, this work of literary magic will haunt the reader far beyond the final page. "

Customer Reviews:

Not His Best Work.......2007-10-17

Being a very large appreciator of the sandman series, this book didn't seem to deliver for me. Perhaps if I wasn't familiar with Neil's work in the past, this book would seem even better to me. To me the dialogue and storyline seemed to be pretty interesting, but the descriptive character of the book seemed to be seriously lacking. I suppose this could be attributed to the fact the author has so much past experience in telling stories together with imagery and artwork. Also there were some elements like the names of the old gods and the protagonists that made me lose some respect for the work - to me the name "Shadow" is not a credible name for a character in a work of respectable fiction. Neil never did anything like that in his Sandman series - he is much better than genre scifi/fantasy, though this book fits too close to that description for me. In that series there was a beauty and refinement that is lacking here in this work. Some of these drawbacks make me even think that maybe it wasn't Neil writing it anyway, but some ghostwriter, or perhaps it was produced through a workshop like a Steven King novel. Anyway, I still have great respect for this author. Perhaps I will see things about this book in another light later.

Mixed feelings on Gaiman's long novel.......2007-10-13

After reading Good Omens, I decided to look into other works by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. American Gods seems to be high on many people's favourite books lists, so I borrowed it from a friend and read it.

Shadow is an ex-con who just got out of prison on parole, newly released to the bleak news of his wife's death. On a plane trip home, he meets a strange man who calls himself Wednesday. Wednesday offers Shadow a job working for him, and Shadow accepts, only to learn that Wednesday is an old god (I won't say which one, but it ought to be relatively obvious) and that old gods still live throughout America. Therein lies the premise of American Gods: Gods are created from people's belief in them. When the immigrants came to America, they took their gods with them in their minds, but over time, those gods have been lost and forgotten, slipping into obscurity. Now, many gods have been reduced to living in poverty and working lousy jobs as grifters, prostitutes, and so forth. It turns out that Wednesday is on a mission to rally the old gods into going to war with the "new gods" of media, internet, roads, and other such modern concepts. This set-up leads to the novel's main conflict.

Well, that's a fascinating premise, isn't it? The idea of gods being created from people's belief in them is certainly nothing new, but it's something I always enjoy seeing, and I love the notion of the immigrants bringing their deities over across the ocean, as well as the promising fight between the old gods and the new. Gaiman's ideas are loaded with potential for an exciting, intriguing, inventive story, and I do give him props for the creativity that went into American Gods. Unfortunately, I feel that some of this potential goes to waste, but I'll get to that in a moment. First, I want to extol the good in this novel, because there are good things aplenty about it. The premise, as stated before, is inventive. Various gods from various pantheons appear; it's apparent that Gaiman has done his research, and I applaud him for that. In between chapters, there are several "Coming to America" stories detailing the lives of several groups of immigrants before and after they arrive in America. I found these segments to be among the high-lights of the novel; reading them is akin to seeing someone else's life flash before your eyes. The story of Wututu and Agasu in particular is very poignant and moving.

One can hardly doubt Gaiman's talents as a storyteller; American Gods is packed with bits of ideas which fly by with lightning speed. All throughout reading it, I had moments where I thought, "That was clever..." or "That was thought-provoking..." or "That was an interesting way of looking at something you see everyday in a new light..." One example I'll give here is the scene with the unnamed god (whom everyone forgets the identity of upon meeting him) in Las Vegas, in which an omniscient narrator theorizes that people gamble to lose money, not to win it. Gaiman has a vast imagination and reading this novel is sometimes like slipping on a pair of glasses that distort everything you see around you on a daily basis. By the end of the novel, you can look back at earlier events and see foreshadowing in moments where before you might have just seen an idle conversation or a passing instance of triviality. In the interest of keeping the spoilers as minimal or non-existent as possible within my review, I'll say only that several twists toward the end took me by surprise (though a couple really didn't), which I think is impressive because I'm usually pretty adept at spotting twists. At its heart, American Gods is largely a road trip novel, and it has lots of scenery to share with you. Some readers, undoubtedly, hate the road trip element of the novel, but I found it enjoyable to read about the different places the characters visit.

Others have said that American Gods would be a good novel to re-read because of the twists that are revealed towards the end, and I agree with this assessment; it seems like the perfect fare for a re-read.

So why, then, did I dock two stars? Well, I've said that there is plenty of imagination and creativity to be found here, and I stand by that. But, frustratingly, the novel never feels cohesive to me. It often seems as if many ideas and scenes are thrown at the pages and spliced together without really finding a unifying thread. The book feels packed, very packed, and not necessarily in a good way. It's like a tasty sandwich which is so stuffed that pieces of lettuce and slices of turkey meat are slipping out and dropping on the ground [silly metaphor, I know, but it conveys the idea]. Most of the characters don't feel very thoroughly developed to me. Gaiman paints them with thin brush strokes, defining each by a few distinctive qualities. The old gods sometimes seem a bit like caricatures and stereotypes, while the new gods are even worse; their feelings and their "side", such as it is, is hardly shown at all. So much is left ambiguous, merely hinted at, on both sides, such that it becomes hard to really care if the gods survive or not. Shadow is a very...difficult protagonist, for me. He's an extremely passive character who barely reacts to the most bizarre events conceivable. In some ways, I can understand why Gaiman needed a protagonist like this, because a more reactive character might have slowed down the plot by taking time to ponder over and express shock about the various insane happenings in the novel, and I can understand an author's need to spur the plot along. However, this doesn't work well for the long segments where Shadow is by himself or living a mundane life in between the visits from the gods. The book is even more concerned with Shadow's life and Shadow's adventures than it is with the showdown between the gods, and though he's a good, virtuous, honest protagonist, he's just so stoic that it's hard to care much about him. I found myself struggling through certain parts of this novel -- not because they were difficult to read; indeed, the prose is quite simple, but because I just couldn't muster the energy for an interest in many of Shadow's affairs.

Lastly, the resolution for the "main plot" of this novel is very poor. Again, trying not to spoil any specifics here, but the conclusion is just extremely uninspiring and feels like a cop-out. The reader spends all this time watching Shadow wander about -- on the road, then with Jacquel and Ibis, then in Lakeside -- and nothing happens. Then, finally, towards the end, the book speeds up. Exciting things occur. Twists pop up. You think you're in for a real pay-off that will make all those long, slow sections worthwhile, but the pay-off fizzles out in the most unsatisfying way you can imagine. The sub-plots are wrapped up better than the main storyline. In fact, the Lakeside storyline is wrapped up very well and very efficiently, and its conclusion is probably the part of the novel I most enjoyed and the part I felt the most actual emotion over. Hinzelmann may have been the one character in American Gods I genuinely felt some kind of sympathy for.

In conclusion: creative premise, many intriguing and insightful moments throughout; glimmers of promise, solid and subtle foreshadowing, twists, and plenty of aspects of good storytelling can be found here. But the characters could be deeper and more interesting, more whole, and the story feels like it has too many underdeveloped roots springing out from its base that simply go nowhere and mean nothing. Perhaps American Gods could benefit from being trimmed and tightened, or perhaps Gaiman should stick to smaller scale plotlines until he's better at resolving more "epic" ones. As I understand it, he was still fairly new at novel writing when American Gods was written; I am sure he'll continue to improve and write a more satisfying epic in the future.

As an addendum: I'm not so sure why there are many reviews on here expressing surprise and disgust at the scenes of sexuality and violence in the novel. Is it because Good Omens is lighter (the Pratchett influence, surely), because American Gods is a fantasy novel and people associate fantasy with levity, or...what, exactly? There are a few scenes of sexuality and violence, yes, but I wouldn't say Gaiman goes into any of the most graphic and unpleasant details. The novel skims them and describes them in a passing, casual fashion. Maybe I'm just more jaded than I've realized I am, but I would say the swearing, sex, and violence here are quite light in comparison to some novels and no worse (in fact, not as strong) as your average King or Barker fare. I was at no point shocked or disturbed. I think Gaiman writes these things in a manner that should make them palatable to the most mainstream audience possible, given the subject matter.

The unusual usual.......2007-10-05

I liked this book. Gaiman has a way of making the unusual seem usual. It bothered me a bit because I know people who believe in gods exactly as Gaiman describes them. And after reading the book I'm guessing a lot of that came from Gaiman. I've spent much of my time rejecting the notion of the supernatural lately and so even though the book is written as fiction, it still bothered me a bit. But I was able to overlook that dissatisfaction enough to enjoy the book.

The book centers on Shadow, a man who's life is changed when he is released from prison early after his wife is killed in an accident. As he's dealing with his grief, a man offers him a job. Shadow doesn't want to do anything more than put his wife to rest, but instead he's caught up in a story and a world that he never imagined existed.

Parts of the book are just fantastic. The description and the characters in Lakeside, a town Shadow hides out in later in the book, made this book for me. I could see Lakeside in my mind and it was a place that I wanted to visit. It was that perfect small-town where things really aren't perfect, but it's still beautiful and moving, even in the midst of tragedy. If I could imagine a perfect place to live (minus the murders), it would be there.

I also loved the bit with Anubis, Bast, and (I'm drawing a blank on the other god, Osiris?) in Memphis, Michigan (I think?) running the funeral parlor.

Overall the story was great. It took me a little bit longer to get into, but under normal circumstances I don't think it would have been as difficult. And once it captured me towards the last 100-150 pages I couldn't put it down.

Terrible waste of time.......2007-09-30

I was suckered in by virtue of reading all Nebula and Hugo winning and nominated books each year. But folks, the committees were "out to lunch" on this one. The premise was great, the execution terrible. The plot was lost in blathering vignettes of minute, if any, consequence. At 3/4 through the book, after page flipping through the second hundred pages looking for plot, after exclaiming to my wife: Where's the beef? a number of times, I just gave up. I tore the book into pieces and threw it forcefully into the trash can so nobody could repeat my exact mistake. I do this once every 3 or 5 years. That's how disappointed I was.

So,so........2007-09-24

Well, although I know this book has been very popular, it was not very interesting to me, and I stopped reading in the middle. The places, and the characters in the book are in my opnion not very Neil-geiman, and less creative compared to his other publications.

Average customer rating: Hands down best book I've ever read cover in horrible shape The Hobo Philosopher Expectations Met... A Classic With A Few Flaws, Not As Good As David Copperfield

Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) Charles Dickens Manufacturer: Penguin Classics ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback 19th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Dickens, Charles | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books General | Dickens, Charles | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Paperback | Dickens, Charles | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books French | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books General | Dickens, Charles | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Paperback | Dickens, Charles | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books French | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books 19th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Dickens, Charles | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Similar Items: Great Expectations (Cliffs Notes) A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics) Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics) Wuthering Heights (Penguin Classics) To Kill a Mockingbird ASIN: 0141439564

Customer Reviews:

Hands down best book I've ever read.......2007-10-13

I can't give this book enough praise. I read David Copperfield after, which was supposedly Dickens' most belove character, but I enjoyed GE much more. You won't be disappointed.

cover in horrible shape.......2007-09-29

My book was supposed to be brand new, yet there were slashes across the cover.

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-15

This is Charles Dickens' version of the poor kid fantasy. This is almost a fable, I would say. This is the kind of story that you hear over and over growing up in poverty. It is almost in the category of Robin Hood, but this is the real thing in the flesh and blood. The old man in the cemetery scene still plays over and over in my mind. I should have read everything written by Charles Dickens by now, but yet I haven't. I started A Tale of Two Cities a little while ago and I have it on my night stand. I think that I'll get back to it tonight. I don't know who beats Dickens in superb phrasing and style. He is the Master.

Expectations Met..........2007-09-11

All the standard Dickensian motifs are present in this book: deus ex machinae, factitious coincidences, longueurs, inventive names, an empathy towards children in a world of pompous adults, and sheer expository brilliance.

Dickens paints a picture in your mind...you see the country, smell the air, and hear the voices of the characters as if they are actually speaking. This being Dickens, you must allow for some patness in the plot...grant that, and then you can enjoy the genius of his phrases, metaphors, characterizations, and recounting of the absurd.

(Wopsle's go at Hamlet in London should have you laughing out loud.)

This is an excellent book...a classic.

A Classic With A Few Flaws, Not As Good As David Copperfield.......2007-07-04

As background information, I am in the process of reading most of Dickens 22 novels. I bought the Penguin Popular Classics version of the novel. It is very basic and comes in a simple green cover. It contains no introduction or analysis, just the text plus a very brief historical sketch of Dickens. It seems to be an excellent value for the money and I bought three Dickens novels in the series. I was a bit disappointed in that one book seemed to fall apart as I read it: the binding seemed very weak and cheaply made. It was marginally okay for the present book which is just 400 pages, and the book did not fall apart, but did seem damaged after one read. Another Dickens novel, which was 700 pages long, fell apart with at least 50 pages coming loose. After this bad experience, I bought other versions of Dickens's works - Wordsworth Classic versions and the regular Penguin Classic versions, the ones with the photo on the covers.

Charles Dickens, who lived from 1812 to 1870, is the best know male English writer of the 19th century. He authored 22 novels plus numerous short pieces. Most of his writing was first written in serialized form, later published as single novels.

A young Dickens at the age of 12 had the unenviable job of attaching labels 10 hours a day at the Warren's boot blacking factory. That experience shaped much of his writing career. Still in his teens he became a law clerk, then later in his twenties a journalist. The last job as a reporter led to the serialized writing of his novels. His works were social commentaries with larger than life characters, or colorful caricatures, living in the slums of London. He was a critic of poverty, social injustice, and the slow moving court system. Those themes permeate most of his novels and it is present her in Great Expectations. This is a novel set in London and the countryside close to London. It is a story of a young boy who wants to grow up and become wealthy and to be a gentleman. Those are his "great expectations."

Without giving away critical plot elements, it is the story of a young boy called Pip, whose parents are dead, and who lives with his sister and her husband Jo who is a blacksmith. They want Pip to learn the trade and be a blacksmith as well. They live in a small town near marshlands near London. His ambitions are grander and he wants to escape to London and become a gentleman. Will Pip find happiness? Will he succeed? Action shifts back and forth between the small town where Pip first lived and the city of London. It involves Pip, lawyers, accountants, Pip's new friends, his love interest, etc.

The novel is not used by Dickens for any pressing social issues, although one might argue that it shows how Pip's ambition blinds him to his true friends. But mostly it is pure entertainment. The book is a classic but has a choppy feel that one can attribute to the way it was written. It was written as a series of dramatic stories for popular serialization which were then combined to make a single novel. I enjoyed the read and would highly recommend the book.

Having read 10 of Dickens's novels I still rate David Copperfield as best, and ahead of the present book, both as a work of literature and for entertainment value. In many ways the two novels are similar, but the plot is far more interesting and realistic in David Copperfield, and Dickens has many more interesting characters in that book, and as a bonus it is almost twice as long.

Average customer rating: Bridgeport's finest Elementary Reading Excellent first novel for Sakey! Nolt that good this is an amazingly good first book

The Blade Itself: A Novel Marcus Sakey Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Hard-Boiled | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Similar Items: Find Me The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels) Bad Luck and Trouble The Overlook (Harry Bosch) Big City, Bad Blood: A Novel ASIN: 0312360312 Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

Danny Carter thought he was safe in his new lifeuntil his old one came looking for him. In the working-class Irish neighborhood of Chicago where he grew up, you were only as strong as the reputation you built. Danny and his best friend Evan built theirs robbing pawn shops and liquor stores, living the reckless lives that their blue-collar parents had strived so hard to avoid for them.

Customer Reviews:

Bridgeport's finest.......2007-10-08

Though I'm more partial to stories told in the first person, Marcus Sakey is an extremely talented writer who knows how to tell a very compelling story, making me a little more susceptible to reading books who boast the unseen narrator. Many different crime fiction writers find different ways to tell different crime fiction novels, and it appears that Marcus Sakey has carved out a niche for himself, with his spot-on dialogue and vivid descriptions of the protaganist's physical pain and mental angst.

The story focuses on Danny Carter, once a juvenile delinquint but now a successful contractor for a legit construction business in the Irish-American enclave of Bridgeport, South Chicago. His girl, Karen, is a hotty club owner, and his best buddy Patrick, who's more like a brother, is a petty thief but an overall good friend to Danny and Karen. But Danny's checkered past with felon Evan McGann, the childhood deviant who took the fall in their pawn shop heist gone wrong, proves to boil and stir the pot while stringing Danny along like a marionette.

In a nutshell, Evan gets out of prison on good behavior, avoids his parol officer, and goes straight for Danny, reminding his old pal of the time he did and what Danny now owes to him in return. Danny must discreetly go along with Evan's plan or risk losing everything in his life that's good, namely his job and Karen, who swore she'd leave him if he got mixed again his old life of crime. Add in a pesky, old-school Irish cop who knows all parties but doesn't care too much for any and a bad girl punk rock groupie-type who sympathizes with the saint but fears the repercussions of the sinner, and you will find that Sakey's characters have the amazing ability to successfully paint themselves onto the pages.

In The Blade Itself, Sakey scripts a stunning debut of crime by creating the perfect balance of violence and tenderness. A nowhere-to-turn-to at its best. Sakey will be around for awhile, make book on it.

Elementary Reading.......2007-08-11

I read one to two books a week. This book was one of the worst written and most predicable in terms of plot development/result that I have read in several years.

I picked up the book at an airport in a rush primarily based on the endorsement of Lee Child on the front of the book. As a result I will probably stop reading Lee Child's books also.

Do authors who "endorse/lend their names" to books actually read them or depend on staff or do so solely based on the money they are paid?

Excellent first novel for Sakey!.......2007-07-05

Good tension-packed tale about a career small-time criminal (Danny) that can't seem to leave the life. He finally makes the decision to leave when is partner (Evan) goes overboard, breaking their protocol and getting violent during a simple burglary. Danny gets away as Evan is caught. Danny vows to go straight and does while Evan goes to prison for several years.

Danny starts a new life as a construction manager living with his girlfriend. Little does Danny know that Evan was let out of prison early. Also, prison has hardened Evan to the point where he doles out violence without any thought. Evan comes back looking for Danny expecting that they would resume their criminal partnership. He approaches Danny but Danny lets him know that he has left the "life" and wants to continue on the straight path. Danny offers Evan a job in construction. Evan just flat out refuses and tells Danny that you never leave the life.

This is not the end of it as Evan has sinister plans in mind and he forces Danny to help him kidnap the son of Danny's boss. Danny is in a very delicate situation because he can't tell his girlfriend anything, he can't go to the police because Evan will turn him in from his participation in their last job and he does not want a violent confrontation with Evan because besides being his childhood friend, Evan is now pretty scary.

The tension mounts as Danny learns that there is not rational way of dealing with Evan and that he better face up to his own past life and deal with Evan before he loses his girlfriend and innocents are harmed.

Nolt that good.......2007-07-01

I think the author needs to go back to charachter developement 101. Talk about flat, one diamential character. NO ONE is all black or all white - except in this book! The main protagionest, Danny, speaks like a college grad, not an uneducated recovering crook. Evan is so unrementingly evil, he is unbelievable. The plot makes no sense in spots, too much coincidence. Back to plotting 101, too! I wound up skipping the second half of the book because it was very obvious how it would end. Yup, I was right. Yes the descriptions of Chicago were good - the El train does rattle - but it makes other noises too! I hope this author will take his time and develope his next novel a bit more. I won't know 'cause I won't waste the time on him again - ever.

this is an amazingly good first book.......2007-06-29

Sakey's book is riveting. I wasn't expecting the great thumping tension that builds up page by page and slowly turns this novel into one that you just cant stop reading.

This is a story of two childhood friends, Evan and Danny. They grew up in a rough neighborhood of Chicago, spending their days planning small heists. Evan goes berserk, lands himself in prison, and Danny goes legit. Thats where the book starts after a brief introduction. Evan is out of jail and Danny is a fairly successful construction worker. I dont want to give away much of the plot, but let me just say that Sakey never misses a beat. This book is taught. One of the best of this genre I have come across.

As I was reading the Blade Itself, I kept thinking of Harlan Coben's books. This here is much better. I admire Coben and his writing, but he has never had such an edge. This book is light years ahead of just about any other writer I can think of except for the rare genre book by Lehane or McCarthy.

If you like Mystery Suspense thrillers, this is almost as good as it gets. You have to keep in mind that it fits the mold of a genre book, so dont expect to be reading Updike or Stegner. Regardless, I highly suggest that you just take a chance and try The Blade Itself.

Average customer rating: DENNY McLAIN's THIRD BOOK Denny McClain RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "FROM 31 WINS, TO SUSPENSION FOR GAMBLING, TO FEDERAL PRISON!" Good Read An Ego Second to none

I Told You I Wasn't Perfect Denny McLain , and Eli Zaret Manufacturer: Triumph Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books General | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books History | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books General | Sports | Subjects | Books Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Similar Items: MLB Vintage World Series Films - Detroit Tigers 1945, 1968 & 1984 Out of Nowhere: The Detroit Tigers' Magical 2006 Season Inside Power Pride and Pinstripes: The Yankees, Mets, and Surviving Life's Challenges Ty and The Babe: Baseball's Fiercest Rivals; A Surprising Friendship And The 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship ASIN: 1572439572

Book Description

I Told You I Wasn't Perfect begins on the night of March 20, 1992, when Denny McLain and his wife, Sharon, received the shocking news of their daughter's death. The book moves on from there, recounting McLain's loveless childhood and home life in working-class Chicago before his whirlwind marriage at age 19 and his meteoric rise to baseball superstardom. But the success was short-lived, as McLain found himself out of baseball and headed to prison after winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards in 1968.

Few characters soar to such dizzying heights and then plunge to the depths of despair like McLain did. But it is his ability to finally reflect on his mistakes and self-indulgences that makes his story especially compelling.

Customer Reviews:

DENNY McLAIN's THIRD BOOK.......2007-08-13

As a lifelong and terribly-devout Tiger fan, I give this a five-star rating.

But, for the general baseball public, a two is about it.

The book is not poorly written. Eli Zaret committed McLain's story into written form. It's not a great story.

It should be. The book reads mostly like Zaret spent a lot of time in the sports clipping "morgue" of the Detroit News and Free Press, and wrote down game notes and events. That part of the book is dry and not well fleshed out.

If you think about a man who had the world by the tail in 1968, and by 1972 was a total has-been at age 28, then ended up with TWO large prison sentences in the following two decades, you've got the genesis for a world-class book and movie. If so, it's just not here.

The print is large, and if you can't read this in a couple of hours, you aren't trying.

Then again, as a Tiger fan, I enjoyed the stories from inside the clubhouse on what Detroit fans of a certain age regard as a great baseball assemblage. McLain's take on current announcer and then-catcher Jim Price is interesting. He bashes Al Kaline, not someone that the local sporting press has dissed since 1965.

But there was so much more baseball-related information that could have been and should have been recalled and written. The endless stories about prison life - yes, Denny, we understand it was dehumanizing and hard. That's why we put you there.

Denny McClain.......2007-07-12

It was most interesting to realize once again that no matter how high a star athlete rises in life, he or she suffer human frailties as everyday people. Denny McClain is a fine example. Little did I know that ,during my growing up years when Denny was one of my heroes, his life was unravelling off the field.

RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "FROM 31 WINS, TO SUSPENSION FOR GAMBLING, TO FEDERAL PRISON!".......2007-06-11

I am a sports fanatic, and have read "literally" hundreds of sports books over the last decade or so. This autobiography has much more in it than a normal sports fan would expect. Sure, it has his baseball history, which shows him as perhaps the first "modern day", totally spoiled, self-possessed, spoiled brat, baseball star, who took advantage of the media's growing fascination with spoiled, rich ballplayers. He admittedly let his mouth run wild as his fame grew. Alienating, not only his teammates, but also, all "old school" players, executives, and fans. (Me!)

The beginning of the book, which traces his abusive childhood, up to his making the major leagues, leads us to the information that I already knew and expected: The last player to win 30 games in a season, (31 in 1968), the youngest player in major league history (At that time.) to win 100 games, (25 years old.) being suspended from baseball for gambling. Interesting, but old ground. Here is where his trouble really begins, and it seems like it takes forever, for Denny to realize he's the problem, not everyone else.

Here's where this book became absolutely fascinating to me, and became way more than your every day baseball book! When Denny went to federal prison, he describes in agonizing, claustrophobic, detail, what it's really like to be in federal prison, not a country club prison. What I tell you next is the absolute truth! A couple of times while I was engrossed in the portions of the book of what he went through, in his tiny, cramped cell, I actually got out a tape measure twice, and measured the size of my bed, to compare it to the cell he was in. To me this book is much more than a baseball book, it is also a "scared-straight" story. This is a story of success and arrogance gone astray. Denny went from 31 wins in a season and back to back Cy Young Awards, to Federal Prison, sharing a cell block with Gotti Jr., and innumerable de-humanizing body searches. I not only recommend this book highly; I feel it should be mandatory reading for every rookie entering the Major Leagues!

Good Read.......2007-05-08

Good read - lots of great stories. I think there's "a little Denny Mclain" in all of us. I recommend it for all sports fans.

An Ego Second to none.......2007-04-03

Why Eli Zaret would have taken the time to waste on such a written piece of pap is beyond me. Showing little or no remorse for his own actions, Denny McLain one more time shows why he went from riches to rags and back again in such a swift movement. This is a story of sadness and ego, please do not get me wrong.

The loss of a daughter to what is tantamount to murder would be enough to drive most people over the edge. But, in McClain's case, his losing out on the pension funds that hurt so many was like deja vu all over again. I am saddened for the entire McLain family that it has had to go through the sick triumphs and losses of Denny himself, who has shown little or no remorse over and over again for his ill-conceived actions.

A story that should never have been written.

Average customer rating: Great love-mystery-adventure-political commentary story! All for love An epic character rich novel A violent tale, beautifully told The Devil's Redhead

The Devil's Redhead David Corbett Manufacturer: Ballantine Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Similar Items: Done for a Dime Blood of Paradise: A Novel (Mortalis.) Black Hornet (Lew Griffin Mysteries) The Long-Legged Fly (Lew Griffin Mysteries) Bluebottle (Lew Griffin Mysteries) ASIN: 0345447522 Release Date: 2002-06-25

Book Description

In this masterfully written fiction debut, David Corbett combines a gripping crime story with a poignant tale of enduring love.

Freelance photographer and wildcat smuggler Dan Abatangelo blows into Vegas to hit the tables and taste the night life. In his path waits Shel Beaudry, a knockout redhead with a smile that says, Gentlemen, start your engines. The attraction is instant–and soon the two are living the gypsy life on the West coast, where Dan captains a distribution ring for premium Thai marijuana, His credo "no guns, no gangsters, it's only money."

But the trade is changing. Eager to get out, Dan plans one last run, judges poorly, and is betrayed by an underling and caught by the DEA. To secure light time for Shel and his crew, Dan takes the fall and pleads to ten years. Now, having served the full term, he emerges from prison a man with a hardened will but an unchanged heart. Though probation guidelines forbid any contact with Shel, a convicted felon, he sets his focus on one thing: finding her.

Shel’s life has taken a different turn since her release from prison. She met Frank Maas, a recovering addict whose son died a merciless death. Driven by pity, Shel dedicates herself to nursing Frank back from grief and saving him from madness. But his weaknesses push him into the grip of a homegrown crime syndicate in command of the local methamphetamine trade. Mexicans are stealing the syndicate's territory, setting in motion a brutal chain of events that engulf Frank, Shel, and Dan in a race-fueled drug war from which none will escape unscathed.

A brilliant crime novel of betrayal and retribution, passion and redemption, The Devil’s Redhead heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in fiction.

Download Description

In this masterfully written fiction debut, David Corbett combines a gripping crime story with a poignant tale of enduring love.

Freelance photographer and wildcat smuggler Dan Abatangelo blows into Vegas to hit the tables and taste the night life. In his path waits Shel Beaudry, a knockout redhead with a smile that says, Gentlemen, start your engines. The attraction is instant -- and soon the two are living the gypsy life on the West coast, where Dan captains a distribution ring for premium Thai marijuana, His credo "no guns, no gangsters, it's only money."

But the trade is changing. Eager to get out, Dan plans one last run, judges poorly, and is betrayed by an underling and caught by the DEA. To secure light time for Shel and his crew, Dan takes the fall and pleads to ten years. Now, having served the full term, he emerges from prison a man with a hardened will but an unchanged heart. Though probation guidelines forbid any contact with Shel, a convicted felon, he sets his focus on one thing: finding her.

Shel's life has taken a different turn since her release from prison. She met Frank Maas, a recovering addict whose son died a merciless death. Driven by pity, Shel dedicates herself to nursing Frank back from grief and saving him from madness. But his weaknesses push him into the grip of a homegrown crime syndicate in command of the local methamphetamine trade. Mexicans are stealing the syndicate's territory, setting in motion a brutal chain of events that engulf Frank, Shel, and Dan in a race-fueled drug war from which none will escape unscathed.

A brilliant crime novel of betrayal and retribution, passion and redemption, The Devil's Redhead heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in fiction.

---

"Corbett writes with an intensity of feeling.... Without compromising the stark realism of his bruising style, [he] has written an astonishingly tender love story."
   THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"Corbett thunders out of the gate with this gritty, moving debut.... [His] prose dazzles, cutting across the pages with passionate force."
   PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

---

Customer Reviews:

Great love-mystery-adventure-political commentary story!.......2005-08-03

Corbett's writing is exceptional and his story lines not only entertain but get you thinking. I discover him through his second book, "Done for a Dime." I picked it up in a little bookstore in Pacific Grove CA. The jacket described a mystery about a jazz legend in and around the East Bay of SF/Bay Area Ca where I live. Another great story. The "Devil's Redhead," lived up to my expectation in every way.

All for love.......2004-09-28

In his debut novel, David Corbett has created a gritty love story entering the underground drug manufacturing world where life is cheap. Set in the California Delta region, it's a story that is filled with violence, betrayal, suspicion and tragedy. Throughout all of this are a far from innocent couple who are desperate to escape this scene to resume their lives.

Dan Abatangelo and Shel Beaudry fell in love almost the instant they met one night in a Vegas casino, but there was something Dan had to get off his chest before he would let their relationship progress past that first attraction. He wanted to come clean with Shel over the fact that he was a major drug smuggler and would understand if she decided to run. She stays.

When he finally gets busted, Dan gets 10 years in an Arizona prison. He chooses a tougher sentence in exchange for a shorter prison term for Shel. By the time he gets out, Shel has gotten herself involved with a loser crankhead and is hopelessly entwined with the Akers brothers, a redneck family who operate a methamphetamine lab. Things are just starting to go south for Shel when an all out war break out between the brothers and a group of Mexicans who are looking to move in on the operation, leaving her stuck in the middle where she is used as a bargaining chip.

While Dan finds himself on the periphery of this crime war, there are many reasons for him to not get involved with some amazingly gruesome scenes taking place as the battle for drug supremacy takes place. But his one reason for persevering wins out giving us hope for a triumphant ending. Before that can take place, though, he has to find a way to break through the defences of a veritable fortress while watching his back for the revenge-seeking Mexicans.

There is a pervading sense of desperation to the story that is tinged with a creeping sense of hopelessness. It seems that no matter how hard Dan tries to find a way to get to Shel his attempts always managed to get frustrated. David Corbett has done an excellent job first up in creating a compelling story that had me unable to guess which way it was headed next.

An epic character rich novel.......2004-03-06

Dan Abatangelo is a drug dealer who smuggles marijuana into the country from Asia. While on a jaunt to Las Vegas, he meets Shel Beaudry, a card dealer in one of the casinos. They run off together, fall in love and live happily ever after until they both get busted for the drug smuggling. Ten years later, Dan is released from prison and searches for Shel who has gotten herself involved in a relationship with a mentally imbalanced man and a criminal organization. Dan must try to rescue her from this complicated living arrangement while trying to keep both of them alive. It proves to be a near impossible task.
David Corbet has written an epic novel rich in characterizations. However, I question the need for the sheer size of this volume. It is 370 pages long, yet, reads like a work of much greater length. True, we get to know the main characters very, very well. But nothing happens for many pages as we concentrate on detail after detail in almost every scene. The pacing is, therefore, lethargic. Nonetheless, the writing is strong and sure, as well as, the characters so realistic that these positives outweigh the negatives thereby allowing for a rewarding reading experience.

A violent tale, beautifully told.......2003-10-12

THE DEVIL'S REDHEAD is a violent tale, beautifully told.
The writing flows. The pace never falters. At its tender
heart, this is a story of love, loss and reconciliation.

Opening line: "He blew into Las Vegas the first week of
spring, primed to hit the tables, sniff the wildlife and,
basically, cat around."

That's Danny Abatangelo, freelance photographer and
wildcat smuggler of Thai marijuana since college days. His
motto: "No guns, no gangsters, it's only money." Then he

meets Shel, a knockout redhead, and they slam together
like a couple of magnets.

Danny wants out of the drug trade. Everybody's moving in
-- Cubans, Marielitos, Vietnamese, Colombians, Mexicans,
the Mob. No more room for someone like Danny, who's in it
for kicks. End of an era.

He sets up one last job as a nest egg for retirement. What
follows is a harrowing sequence of events, resulting in
near-total destruction of everything Danny and Shel hoped
for.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Until Corbett came along,the only crime writer who could guide me through such violent material without setting me up for nightmares was James Lee Burke. Good company, those two!

For information about Corbett and his novels, check out his website:www.davidcorbettauthor.com.

Pat Browning, author of FULL CIRCLE

The Devil's Redhead.......2003-09-18

Not realistic. The story line is unrealistic and the continuity very poor.

Average customer rating: Couldn't get through it! Warning Before reading put on your hater blockers!!! The King of Urban Street...HANDS DOWN! Loved It! street dream are made of these......

Street Dreams K'wan Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books Similar Items: Gangsta Road Dawgz Hoodlum Eve Hood Rat ASIN: 0312333064 Release Date: 2004-08-26

Book Description

Love, Betrayal and Loyalty on the Streets of HarlemDaruis, a.k.a. Rio, the only child of a singer turned alcoholic, feels he has nothing to hold on to except the idea of escaping the ghetto. Years ago, he took a gun charge for a friend and did some prison time. Unable to find a job when he gets out, Rio turns to hustling as a way out. In the meantime, Rio finds escape in the arms of his soulmate, Trinity.When Trinity's mother died, her abusive father looks to her to play the role of house wife and bedmate. Trinity finds strength to endure in Rio's arms. Together they vow to do whatever it takes to make it out of the ghetto. But soon they find their backs against the wall when the streets come to claim their due.

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't get through it!.......2007-10-18

I ended up giving this book away. I could not get into the girl being molested continuosly by her dad once her momma died & then the boyfriend offing him. It was too much to stomach. Too many graphic details of sexual abuse & incest. After about three quarters through I had to stop. Gave it to a co-worker who was bored & looking for something to read. I've never read another book from this author since. Too scared.

Warning Before reading put on your hater blockers!!!.......2007-07-16

This book was a great Read you have to love Trinity and Rio's relationship. The thing is that get's me is why didn't she and Rio move together instead of enduring years of her Father's sexual abuse? The Haters are coming at Rio and Trinity from everywhere I swear I got dizzy reading this story. This book was an over all great read but I don't know if I'll read another one of this author's book, it was way too emotional for me.

The King of Urban Street...HANDS DOWN!.......2007-07-01

This is my second read by K'wan and once again I was not disappointed! Kwan draws you in with his colorful characters and doesn't let you go until the last page. Street Dreams is about guy name Rio from the projects who starts off being just nickel and dime dealer from around the way, but when he's approached by Prince, the king of the streets..Rio's lifestyle quickly starts to change for the good for him. But when Prince's oldest son, Truck is released from prison all hell breaks loose out of jealousy.

I instantly fell in love with Trinity(Rio's girlfriend), Shamel(his longtime childhood friend), Sally(his Mom) and Cutty(another one of his friends). Street Dreams is by far one of the BEST books I've read in a long time! K'wan keeps you on the edge of your seat chapter after chapter and snatches your breath away at the very end!

Street Dreams is HIGHLY recommended for readers who love drama, suspense, action, love and edge of the seat writing all in one! (Hoodrat by him also comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)

Keep'em coming K'wan!!!

Loved It!.......2007-06-20

Great book, page turner Rio and Trinity are two people from the projects in love and trying hard not to let their surroundings define them. Although Rio tries to live the life of the straight and narrow, circumstances lead him to the streets. He vows to protect Trinity by any means necessary. Shamel, Rio's childhood friend, exhibits his loyalty to both Rio and Trinity to the end. You must read this book it a go getter! HOT

street dream are made of these.............2007-01-20

who am i 2 disagree.... but yall know how it go. this book was my first from k'wan. i truly enjoyed it. its on some romeo and juliet type feeling but hood. this book made me cry because we all have dreams of getting out the ghetto but its always something holding us back from our dreams... rio and trinity were so close but.... you gotta read the book

Average customer rating: Fantastic Story My Life Reincarnated (Hole in My Life By: Jack Gantos) My Life Reicarnated My Life Reicarnated One of the best book I've read

Hole in My Life Jack Gantos Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Teens | Subjects | Books | Audiobooks | Authors, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Health, Mind & Body | History & Historical Fiction | Horror | Literature & Fiction | Manga | Mysteries | Reference | Religion & Spirituality | School & Sports | Science & Technology | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Series | Social Issues General | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Literary | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Law & Crime | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Gantos, Jack | ( G ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books General | Biographies & Memoirs | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books ( G ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books | Galdone, Paul | George, Jean Craighead | Gibbons, Gail | Grahame, Kenneth | Gutman, Dan General | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Literary | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Law & Crime | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Similar Items: Acceleration (Readers Circle) FAT KID RULES THE WORLD The Burn Journals A Northern Light Who Am I Without Him? ASIN: 0374430896 Release Date: 2004-08-26

Amazon.com

"I find myself moving like a knife, carving my way around people, cutting myself out of their picture and leaving nothing of myself behind but a hole." A gaping hole of misery is what popular young adult author Jack Gantos remembers when he thinks back to 1972, "the bleakest year of my life." Just 20 years old, Gantos was in a medium security prison for his participation in a get-rich-quick drug scam. Scared silly by the violence he saw around him daily, Gantos's only lifeline was a battered copy of The Brothers Karamazov, which he painstakingly turned into an impromptu journal by scratching his own thoughts into the tiny spaces between the lines. There, he recorded both his fears and his dream of someday writing a book of his own. Before prison, Gantos had penned a scattered myriad of journals, but had never been able to pull them together into a cohesive narrative. It was during his time behind bars that he found himself growing into a focused, diligent writer who eschewed drugs for the bigger high of watching his words fill the hole once and for all.

Gantos, best known for his award-winning Joey Pigza titles, mines darker material here that is as deeply compelling as his lighter fare. Using short, meaty sentences, Gantos manages to write in a way that dismisses the dubious "romance" of prison, drugs, and "life on the edge" without ever sounding didactic or heavy-handed. Older teens will appreciate his candor and sheer willingness to give them the straight story. Vigorously recommended. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Download Description

In the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer desperate for adventure, college cash, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until federal agents finally caught up to them in a bust at the Chelsea Hotel. For his part in the conspiracy, the twenty-year-old Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison. In Hole in My Life, this acclaimed author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth. On the surface, the narrative tumbles from one intense moment to the next as Gantos pieces together the story of his restless final year of high school, his short-lived career as a smuggler, and his time in prison. But running just beneath the action is the story of how Gantos--once he found himself locked up in a small, yellow-walled cell--moved from wanting to be a writer to writing, and how this newfound dedication helped him endure the worst experiece of his life.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Story.......2007-06-15

Hole in my Life by John Gantos was one of the most compelling reads that I have found in a very long time. Rather then writing just a memoir, his use of musing, self-discovery, and character building create a story that reads as a dripping dramatic novel.
Gantos uses musing in a very smooth manner throughout this novel. His first chapter, and the openings of many other chapters consist of him reflecting on the event past by grabbing the readers attention and foreshadowing towards an unknown future. He also uses musing to bring humor into such terrible situations. For example, when talking about the arrest that brought him to prison, he references about how prisoners have some funny stories about their experiences of "getting caught." By using past and present tense fluently throughout the novel, Gantos transitions through this time in his life in a very well-written re-creation.
The main point that Gantos is trying to make is that throughout these events he went through, he changed from wanting something from his life to taking charge and pursuing his goals. One statement that he commonly uses is that he "needs to stop thinking about being a writer and just be one." It takes him being secluded in jail to realize that the possibilities for him to create a life out of his ambitions are endless.
Rather than using many characters to help describe his personality, Gantos specifically centers on his own thoughts, feelings, and emotions to give the reader an image. The connection the reader feels towards Gantos throughout the novel is based on his descriptions of how places, people, events, and objects have changed him for better or worse. He builds a strong structure of description that changes the feeling of the book from a memoir to a fantastic, story-driven rollercoaster. I couldn't help but feel his sense of anguish as he was thrown into a spiral of tumultuous events.

My Life Reincarnated (Hole in My Life By: Jack Gantos).......2007-05-19

Hole in My Life
By Jack Gantos
"You don't just end up homeless, hung-over, sleeping in your car with all your worldly possessions because you have control of your life." That is one of my favorite quotes from this book, and there are many more, too. Hole in My Life was one of the best books I've ever read alongside Go Ask Alice. One reason is that it is a biography (the author wrote about himself), and another reason is because it connected to my life a whole lot more than I expected it to.
Jack Gantos was an ordinary aspiring writer just trying to get into a nice college. Then one of his friends offered him ten thousand dollars to help crew a boat loaded with smuggled drugs to New York. He has an adventure that looks good for his future, but eventually takes a turn for the worse.
I really liked this book, mostly because of the description the author used and much of the word choices. For example, "...with the needle in my arm and the blood blooming into the syringe..." or when he's explaini