Book reviews added in the week of 1/20-1/26

Hi all,

Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the US have been added to
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com in the last week:

"Mr. Paradise" by Elmore Leonard - Anthony Paradiso, aka Mr. Paradise,
is an 80-year old retired lawyer. He pays Chloe, an escort, $5000 a
week to come to his home and dress up as a topless University of
Michigan cheerleader while he watches videos of their football games.
One evening, Chloe convinces her roommate, Kelly, a Victoria's Secret
catalog model, to don a cheerleader outfit and join them. Mr.
Paradise and one of the girls are murdered that night. It's up to
police detective Frank Delsa to sort out the corpses, the girls, the
hit men, Tony's right hand man and granddaughter, and a bundle of cash
and figure out who done it. "Mr. Paradise" is Elmore Leonard at the
top of his game. The Washington Post says, "It is unputdownable,
packed with excruciating suspense and I couldn't stop reading it."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/mr_paradise/

"Retribution" by Jilliane Hoffman - Chloe Larson is a New York law
student who is raped and left to die by a man in a clown mask. She
survives, changes her name and becomes an assistant district attorney
in Miami. One day, she recognizes the voice of her attacker in the
court room, a man charged with a series of rapes and murders of women.
The statute of limitations has run out on her attack, and if she
identifies him as her attacker, she'll be taken off the case. Chloe
must prosecute the man and get to the bottom of the murders without
giving herself away. "Retribution" is Jilliane Hoffman's debut novel
and has received mixed reviews (and has already been optioned for a
movie). The San Francisco Chronicle says, "Readers will see every
plot point coming a mile off. Yet Hoffman executes them almost
flawlessly, making 'Retribution' a highly satisfying read."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/retribution/

"The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters" by Elisabeth
Robinson - In "The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt
Sisters," Elisabeth Robinson, an ex-Hollywood producer whose sister
died from leukemia, creates a fictional story of a Hollywood producer
whose sister is dying from leukemia. Olivia Hunt is the producer
whose life and career have recently fallen apart. She's been fired by
the studio and dumped by her boyfriend, and then discovers her sister,
Maddie, is dying. Maddie, ever optimistic and idealistic, convinces
Olivia to make the movie she always wanted, a remake of Don Quixote.
Told entirely through correspondence, the story centers around Olivia
trying to balance the three loves her life: her sister, her boyfriend,
and the movie she tries to make while dealing with the back stabbing
and shallowness of Hollywood. This debut novel has received mostly
positive reviews with the San Francisco Chronicle saying, "With a gift
for comic timing, Robinson excels at showing our embarrassment and
helplessness in the face of human suffering."
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/true_and_outstanding_adventures_of_the_h..._sister

"Shooting the Sun" by Max Byrd - "Shooting the Sun" tells a story
centering around an 1840 expedition to photograph a total solar
eclipse from the mostly unexplored American Southwest. Funding the
trip is Charles Babbage, trying to raise more funding for his
Difference Engine, the first digital computer, which predicted the
solar eclipse. The photographer, and only woman, in the expedition is
Selena Cott, a beautiful combination of strength, directness, and
femininity. The four men with here all appear to have their own
agenda. Needing to arrive in a specific location with precision
scientific and photographic equipment, the group becomes lost and
surprised as to the true nature of their exploration. Max Byrd has
written another historical novel to receive positive reviews. The
Denver Post says, "The novel is a winner."
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/shooting_the_sun

Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the UK have been added to
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com in the last week:

"Everything Will Be All Right" by Tessa Hadley - "Everything Will Be
All Right" tells the story of four generations of women. Lil, a
widow, lives with her sister, Vera, and her philandering husband after
World War II. Her daughter, Joyce, escapes their humdrum lives for
art school, but after an affair with a married man, becomes a
dressmaker and settles into domesticity with him. Her rebellious
daughter, Zoe, disdains marriage and has a baby, Pearl, out of
wedlock. Pearl grows into a gadget-loving teenager devoid of any
ambition. Tessa Hadley has written a novel that accurately captures
the rhythms of their eras and the intricacies of their ordinary lives.
"Everything Will Be All Right" has received largely positive reviews
with The Guardian saying, "Her ear for dialogue, for the nuances and
language of hypocrisy and self-consciousness and hope, is so
fine-tuned, so wincingly accurate, that it's impossible not to be
swept into her world."
Reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/everything_will_be_all_right/

"Dr. Mukti and Other Tales of Woe" by Will Self - "Dr. Mukti and Other
Tales of Woe" is one novella and four short stories packed into one
book. The novella, Dr, Mukti, tells of a duel between two
psychiatrists who refer patients to each other for a second opinion,
hoping that their psychoses will erupt upon their foe. Full of dark
comedy, the border between sanity and madness becomes hard to
distinguish. The short stories concern a criminal who hides with an
aging pensioner, a debate aboard a hot air balloon, a depressed and
disengaged father who takes his kids to the park, and a mental patient
who thinks he's a chimp. Will Self explores the darker corners of the
human psyche and traumatized and misplaced lives. Scotsman.com says
of this book, "Those of us who relish the zestful manipulation of
language, and those who are untroubled by the fog of misanthropy which
permeates these stories, ought at least to take pleasure in the
reckless artistry of Self's writing."
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/dr_mukti_and_other_tales_of_woe/

Last week, the 2003 National Book Critic's Circle (NBCC) nominations
were announced. The 5 fiction nominees are grouped on one page of our
site at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/national_book_critics_circle/
The nominees are:

Old School by Tobias Wolff
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers
A Distant Shore by Caryl Phillips

Also last week, amazon.com announced that they've put together a
process where people can make contributions to the Presidential
campaigns of the different candidates. At first, I thought this was a
little odd, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. On
the top of many of our pages are buttons that will take you directly
to the amazon.com page for making contributions to any of the major
candidates.


Happy reading!

Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com