A disappointingly unaffecting saga from West Virginia novelist Giardina (Good King Harry, 1984, Storming Heaven, 1987) about the deathwatch of a once-vibrant Appalachian mining community. Beginning when coal was still king with the 1930's childhood of central characters Rachel and cousin Dillon, Giardina introduces the men and women who live along Blackberry Creek. They are a small and close community of representative types: Arthur Lee, the company man who finally comes through decades later when tragedy strikes because ``they are my people too''; Doyle Ray, who goes to Vietnam and returns a fundamentalist preacher; Toejam, of small intellect but big heart, who marries crippled Brenda; and Hassel, a bar-owner and the most memorable and original character here, who is set on building a bridge across the creek to make life a little easier for everybody. These people's lives are shaped and dominated by the coal seams that permeate their beloved mountains and give them employment. Though Dillon, a labor activist and son of a martyred union organizer, and Rachel love each other, Rachel marries Italian bookkeeper Tony. But passion will out: the other two get together, and Jackie is conceived, though she won't know that Dillon is her real dad for most of the book. When Jackie grows up, she meets VISTA worker Tom—the 1960's War on Poverty is on— but Tom is going to be a priest, so Jackie goes to work in Washington. She's unable to forget the mountains or Tom, however, so she returns to Blackberry Creek. Here, miners are being dismissed, benefits cut, even the great strike of the 1980's is ignored by the usual sympathizers; and when the dam, built of slag at the valley head, finally bursts, the destruction of the community is complete. Lives of not-so-quiet desperation luminously described, but despite a great subject and setting, the major characters who should hold it all together never do.
Pub Date: June 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-393-03096-2
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
The heroine of Dave’s newest post-feminist chick-lit romance (The Divorce Party, 2008, etc.) must choose between the quiet life offered by her new husband and the fast lane her former lover represents.
Only days after 32-year-old Annie gets dumped by longtime live-in boyfriend Nick, an up-and-coming movie director, she meets Griffin at the chichi L.A. restaurant she frequents—talk about romantic fantasy: Annie’s career as a monthly travel columnist pays well, apparently demands little time or difficult travel and is never seriously endangered—and where he is temporarily the chef. It seems to be love at first sight, although Annie’s best friend Jordan, who also happens to be Nick’s sister, calls Griffin “Rebound Guy.” Three months after they meet, he proposes. They marry in a Vegas chapel on their way across the country to Griffin’s western Massachusetts hometown, where he is about to open his own restaurant—Annie’s job with a New York paper also allows her to live anywhere. But Williamsburg requires a lot of adjusting on Annie’s part. Griffin’s genius brother Jesse and his 5-year-old twins move in with the newlyweds because Jesse’s wife has thrown him out for impregnating the MIT professor guiding his doctorate program. The twin’s art teacher turns out to be Gia, until recently Griffin’s girlfriend of 13 years, whom Griffin’s mother makes clear she’d much prefer as a daughter-in-law. Then Nick shows up from his new base in London to win Annie back; she turns him down, but she feels stirrings. When the new Rupert Murdocklike owner of her paper offers her a job in London, Griffin encourages her to try it out. Soon she’s settled in London in a fantastic apartment, the company is grooming her for a new dream job, the publisher’s dashing son is wooing her and Nick is just a call away. What’s a girl to do? A lightweight romance posing as something realistic and psychologically profound.
Pub Date: May 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-02267-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In his quest for easy moolah, Owen learns that the road to financial solvency can be rocky and fraught with work. Greene (Owen Foote, Soccer Star, 1998, etc.) touches upon the often-thorny issue of chores and allowances: Owen’s mom wants him to help out because he’s part of the family and not just for the money—while Owen wants the money without having to do tedious household chores. This universal dilemma leaves Owen without funds and eagerly searching for ways to make a quick buck. His madcap schemes range from original—a “free” toilet demonstration that costs 50 cents—to disastrous, as during the trial run of his children’s fishing video, Owen ends up hooking his ear instead of a trout. Enlisting the aid of his stalwart, if long-suffering, friend Joseph, the two form a dog-walking club that becomes vastly restricted in clientele after Owen has a close encounter with an incontinent, octogenarian canine. Ultimately, Owen learns a valuable lesson about work and money when an unselfish action is generously rewarded. These sudden riches motivate Owen to consider wiser investments for his money than plastic vomit. Greene’s crisp writing style and wry humor is on-target for young readers. Brief chapters revolving around a significant event or action and fast pacing are an effective draw for tentative readers. Weston’s (Space Guys!, p. 392, etc.) black-and-white illustrations, ranging in size from quarter- to full-page, deftly portray Owen’s humorous escapades. A wise, witty addition to Greene’s successful series. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-02369-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
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