A great concept with an intriguing ending that would have been better served if the four volumes had been condensed into two.
The fourth and final volume of Mae’s fictionalized, unauthorized biography of psychedelic rock band Too Cubed.
Mae (Too Cubed Unauthorized Volume 3, 2011, etc.) concludes a four-book endeavor to chronicle two decades in the life of fictitious jam band Too Cubed. The final installment spans from 1995 to 2000, where readers are left off to ponder the aftermath of the band’s untimely demise. Not much differentiates this volume from the previous three: the story rambles, lacking a narrative arc that could have lent tension to the tale. Trip goes to rehab and relapses, fans come and go, and Max’s girlfriend is even more self-absorbed than him. The biggest differences here are that the band has finally stopped recycling bass players and keyboardist Bert’s behavior seems to have settled down with age. Other, more subtle changes do not serve the book as well: The narrator interferes more frequently, offering unwanted opinions and repetitive musings that distract readers. Descriptions of events that end with “It was so much fun!” are far too frequent. Meanwhile, long sections leading up to the band’s demise tend to drag with too many nonessential characters. After spending over 1,000 pages with the band and their fans, readers should have a solid grasp of these characters; sadly, the author’s superficial treatment of the sprawling tale’s cast leads to a lack of emotional connection. There’s potential for even more excitement in the band’s constant struggle to grow and bring their music to an increasingly large audience. Instead, the recurring escapades can become tiresome. Many readers will be sucked in by the unsolved mystery of how a band with this much road experience could end so spectacularly. But the ending falls short of expectations; it’s glossed over, to the point where many readers will seek comfort in the climatic opening pages of Volume 1.
A great concept with an intriguing ending that would have been better served if the four volumes had been condensed into two.Pub Date: May 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0984598137
Page Count: 458
Publisher: Lonna Mae Enterprises
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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