Straight Man: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)..then, "Jack..You Dead!
I had thought until reading STRAIGHT MAN that the standard for humorous novels with academic settings had been set by James Hynes. Russo is even funnier. His comic timing is akin to the great comedians of stage and sceen, like the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Moore & Cooke, etc. Yet not only is the man funny, he can flat out write, as well.
In STRAIGHT MAN, Russo performs a balancing act of surface playfulness combined with searing truths about life's missed opportunities and moments of quiet despair. Behind the one-liners and the buffoonery of Henry Devereux Jr.'s comic mask, exists an enigmatic, compassionate, troubled soul, whose personality disorder has been triggered by a single incident he shares with his mother when he is a young teen. His humorous guise is something he has created so as to safely retreat from the seperation anxiety that is his constant companion. To his friends and colleagues he is "Hank," easy to dismiss or to to ridicule, or in two instances, to physically attack (OK, three, if you count the goose!). Russo does a very subtle and masterful job of slowly developing the interior Henry Devereux Jr., however, and by the novel's end, the reader has been granted the full revelation of character and the whole man stands naked (figuritavely speaking) before us.
STRAIGHT MAN is definitely my recommendation of 2003, thus far. The funny bits are truly hysterical. The dramatic bits ring true to life. This certainly not just another humorous novel about Academia. It's as well written and well rounded as any novel I've read in recent years. I look forward with great anticipation to reading EMPIRE FALLS.

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The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (Flavia De Luce Mysteries) Review

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(More customer reviews)Second in the series featuring young Flavia de Luce, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag has our young heroine embroiled in yet another sticky situation or two, trying to uncover the identity of a murderer who dared do the deed in the middle of a performance of Jack the Beanstalk at the village church. As it just so happens, Flavia and her family, including Aunt Felicity (a new arrival to this series) are in the audience watching as the death occurs. Flavia knows right away that the death wasn't natural, as does the family gardener and general man-about-the-house Dogger, and she sets about finding the killer. But that's not all that Flavia knows, and as she uses her observations to help guide her, other mysteries, long kept hidden in the little village of Bishop's Lacey, begin to be revealed, perhaps not to some people's liking.

Once again Alan Bradley has done a fantastic job relating the story of Flavia deLuce, that child genius who was first introduced in his first novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Bradley has not let up on his excellent writing, indeed, in this novel, the characters all become more real, more fleshed out, and he adds some new and quirky characters into the village of Bishop's Lacey. The mystery element of this novel is much stronger and runs deeper than in the first novel, and the reader finds himself or herself this time with several suspects from which to choose, all with their own private motives for murder. But once again, the strength isn't so much in the mystery, but rather in the other elements of the novel. For example, there's the struggle of Haviland deLuce (Flavia's father) to keep the family home, Buckshaw. There's also the introduction of a new character, Dieter, a former German POW working on a farm in the countryside, and how he came to be shot down over England during the war. Then there's Flavia's deep-seated needed to find out more about her mother, dead since she was a very small child. And Bradley hits on the exploitation of things that maybe should have been a bit more private by television producers for Auntie, the inside name for the BBC.Let me just say that many people complained about the lack of a true mystery plotline in the first novel of the series, or thought that the whole mystery thing was flat and so would not care to read any sequel. Balderdash. If you can just sit back and relax, and read around the mystery and think about what you're reading, you'll discover that there is more to these books than some precocious child playing Holmes here. Bradley's captured a slice of time past and he does it well and most intelligently. I can very highly recommend this novel, and now I'm just sad that I have to wait a year or so for the next one.

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The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love" will have you calling friends and reading them quotations, which is usually annoying, but in this case will probably make them want to buy their own copy, and I heartily suggest that they do. The Book is at once hilariously funny and utterly sensible. My copy has taken up residence on the shelf along with a few treasured others, to be read and re-read innumerable times in the future.
The Sweet Potato Queens take a bit of explaining. A tradition in the Jackson, Mississippi Saint Patrick's Day parade since 1982, they were founded by the Original and Supreme Queen, author Jill Conner Browne. They are all women of a certain age; past the first bloom of youth, one might say, but proof that you can blossom into something better after. The Queens appear in the parade, waving graciously from their float and tossing trinkets to the adoring crowds. They are easy to spot, traditionally garbed in green sequined mini-dresses (with hugely amplified bosoms and busts), flowing red wigs, Revlon Love That Pink lipstick, and majorette boots. It is often said of the Queens that "[they] turn into someone else when they put those outfits on." Queen Jill responds that they in fact are completely themselves only when they put those outfits on, and this is what the book is hilariously, wisely about; living the life you like, giving yourself what you desire, and having a really good time.
Queen Jill graces the lucky reader with advice on how to live a Queenly life. I could begin quoting the parts that made me laugh, but that would mean copying out the whole book, so I'll simply tell you that The Book is consistently, screamingly funny without ever being mean. You will laugh through advice on child-rearing, getting a man, getting rid of a man, getting over a man, what to do when there's a possum under your bed, and why you never wear panties to a party. And then there's the chapter on "What to Eat When Tragedy Strikes." This is a collection of recipes for people who absolutely do not care, and which are therefor irresistible. Chocolate Stuff. Armadillo Dip. Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margaritas. A coconut caramel pie simply called "Oh, God!" And Danger Pudding (Boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for an hour. Bear the name in mind before deciding this is a good idea.).
I enjoyed myself so much reading about the Queens, it never dawned on me that I was reading advice until the very end, when Queen Jill tells us that if life seems lifeless, "[you] don't have to move or change jobs or leave your husband or unnaturally alter your state of consciousness. We're not after an altered state; we're after our True State - unbridled joy." Any number of New Agey books have been written on this theme, but none, I think, have succeeded in making it seem as possible as The Book. Browne closes with a quotation from George Eliot: "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Read "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love" and laugh yourself sensible.

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Piper Reed: The Great Gypsy Review

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(More customer reviews)I found this creation very entertaining. Especially liked the chapter that presented the 3 childrens' individual versions of "how mom broke her leg". That was classic.
Ms. Holt, the author is the eldest daughter among 3, but she told the story from the eyes and mindset of the middle child. She rose to the challenge and pulled that off flawlessly. I'm also remembering that she had to think like a pre-teen boy when she created an earlier book - "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town". She obviously did an excellent job with that, as the book was awarded the NBA (National Book Award) for young adult literature in 1999, and was later made into a movie, which is shown regularly on various cable and dish network channels.
I know those sisters that are presented in "Piper Reed (Navy Brat) and Piper Reed (The Great Gypsy). Both books have taken me down nostalgia lane and refreshed many fond memories. I may be a little biased because -I'm "The Chief".

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Who Ran My Underwear Up The Flagpole (School Daze Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first read this book in my "tweens" years, and now well into my teenage years it still makes me roll on the floor with laughter. Definitely a good one for the parent who's still trying to make their kid read a book.

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It's football season at Plumstead Middle School, and everything is up in the air.Sunny has become a cheerleader--the first ever to wear a frown and beat up fans who refuse to cheer.Eddie has gone out for football to prove that he's grown up despite his superhero underwear--and to try to impress a certain cheerleader.Salem has become the football team's manager, and she's starting a new time-out tradition that the team will never forget.And Pickles is leading Plumstead's pathetic marching band...to a very unusual beat.

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Lunch Walks Among Us (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am so happy to have found this series of books for my 3rd grade son! We both loved this book. It is funny, with great illustrations. It also has a fabulous message! I highly recommend it for your school-age kids.
Franny K. Stein is an unusual little girl. Rather than dollies and horsies and flowers, Franny loves bats and tarantulas and poison ivy. Her lunches were a bit different too! But like other little girls, Franny needs friendship. In order to make friends, Franny experiments with being someone she is not (the stereotypical little girl), but is unhappy. When she is herself, she finds that her new friends like her just as well or better! In the end, we learn that even if friends don't always like the same things, they can still be friends.

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Franny K. Stein is not your average girl -- she's a mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies, and when Franny jumps rope, she uses her pet snake. The kids in Franny's class think she's weird, wacky, and just plain creepy. Tired of being stared at, Franny decides to attempt her most dangerous experiment yet -- she's going to fit in. but when a giant Monstrous Fiend attacks the class, everyone knows it's up to a mad scientist to save the day. But has Franny lost her creepy, crawly ways?

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The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden Review

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(More customer reviews)It is a story as old as America itself. When we dream, we dream big. Big houses, big cars and, in the case of The $64 Tomato, big gardens. In this book, author William Alexander details his love/hate relationship with his garden. I knew I was going to love this book within the first chapter, when I found myself laughing out loud time and time again. Alexander perfectly captures the idealism and absurdity that usually accompany any home improvement project.
I must say that, after my childhood of helping my Grandmother and my Father in the garden and even, reluctantly, maintaining my own small garden plot as a child, I found it a bit ludicrous that anyone would actually set out to "design" a vegetable garden. In my experience, you usually just mark out an area, have the neighbor plow it up and disc it down, lay out some string lines and plant. Aesthetics were rarely, if ever, an issue. Now you bring in experts, test the soil, try exotic new varieties of plants and, so it seems, endure many failures.
While the book is funny, it is also a trifle sad. There is an underlying current of hubris which seems to thrive in the heart of every American. We like to think we can conquer and control anything, even nature itself, when, in reality, we can only hold back nature for short periods of time and even then, only in relatively small areas. It is also a story of having eyes too large for our stomachs. Rows and rows of zucchini that must be given away, if not forced on the neighbors. Yes, we love having fresh food from our very own gardens, but it seems we have no self-control. If "some" is good than "more" must certainly be better.
The $64 Tomato is entertaining and enlightening because it is so true. Anyone with any aspirations to gardening will recognize themselves in its pages. Gardening, like life itself, is about struggle and this book details many struggles with bugs, grass, weeds and neighbors. Even then, I can guess that these were only a small portion of the troubles that occurred in the real garden. Television writers, like my wife, constantly deal with this issue. Just because something happened in real life, often times the viewers will never believe it. I would guess there are more stories that this gardening author has yet to tell.
The saddest part, but one that rings true, is the author's struggle in finding balance between gardening as a task and gardening as a joy. I know that I experience this every day in my own garden and I am sure you do, too. It is a rare gardener who can find joy in pulling weeds time and time again That said, don't let the dandelions get you down. Pour a nice, cool lemonade (preferably made from your own lemons), sit back in your favorite chair and enjoy, if just for a moment, the garden you have created. While I certainly hope you don't spend $64 for each tomato you harvest, this book can make you laugh and give you solace in the knowledge that most gardener's are happily suffering right along with you.

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The Red Hat Club Rides Again Review

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(More customer reviews)A great "light" read. If you liked The Red Hat Club, you will enjoy the sequel. Some of the adventures had me laughing outloud. If you haven't read the first in the series, you may be a little lost in keeping the characters straight. I hope the author keeps writing about this group of friends, they are not your run of the mill red hat wearing ladies!!

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