by C.K. Stead ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1993
A witty romp through New Zealand academe—with metafiction and mystery joining hands in the picaresque adventures of Professor Harry Butler, obsessed with the Mind/Body problem in more ways than one. Stead (Sister Hollywood, 1990) sets his latest mainly in Auckland—a place of great natural beauty but subject to all the contemporary concerns of the wider world. Harry, head of the philosophy department, is dogged by the department's Women's Collective (``like nuns in the old days they always come in pairs''). Plus: his wife has found a guru, who now preaches Sufism; the police are using his house to watch a drug-smuggling neighbor; and Harry's mistress, graduate student Louise, wants commitment. The story is told, or rather assembled, by an anonymous writer who could be Harry but may be simply a friend who writes in European cafes, where he drinks black coffee, chats with the proprietors, and, once he's met Danish Uta, acquires an instant critic and adviser. When Harry sees old friend Jason visiting the alleged drug-dealers next door, he warns Jason and also tips off Mandy, who's the mistress of one of the dealers and with whom Harry once had an affair. Harry is soon in more trouble: Louise is unhappy; the police are angry; and his wife is meditating. Finally, when Harry and journalist friend Phil find Jason, a man of mystery, murdered, the drug connection is cleared up—but, meanwhile, a letter of Harry's to Louise has fallen into the hands of the Women's Collective. Damning excerpts appear all over before Harry is miraculously rescued from disgrace. And the writer leaves Europe and Uta behind. An amusing, clever, and agreeably literate portrait of a hapless Lucky Jim sort.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-00-271217-2
Page Count: 212
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1993
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More by C.K. Stead
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by C.K. Stead
BOOK REVIEW
by C.K. Stead
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2004
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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