Stona Fitch

I had high hopes for this book; on the cover is a ringing endorsement by the great novelist Richard Price. However, the author failed to convince me that the lead character--a traveling jazz pianist who plays at expense account hotels while maintaining a sideline business as a luxury car and jewel thief--was anything but every man's fantasy. (He also gets to seduce lots of beautiful women in order to relieve them of their jewels.)

I like fantasy as much as the next guy but a plot that actually moves will keep me reading. Also, it helps if the characters, particularly the main one, was not cut out of James Bond's cardboard box.… (plus d'informations)

Review snippet: However, Gast never loses site of himself even as he is made senseless. He refuses to cooperate in any manner, fighting as much as he can, refusing to do what his captors ask of him. In order to increase the theater of the torture, his captors want him to scream, to yell in pain, to fight overtly instead of rebel passively. At one point, Blackbeard tells Gast that his Internet pain show is making the terrorist group lots of money, 10% of which will be his if only he will cooperate and scream in pain. Gast, who is clueless in some respects, hopes it is true he will be permitted to leave if he does what is asked of him but doesn’t take such promises to heart. Instead, he hopes he can unmask Blackbeard in front of one of the cameras, revealing his face to the millions Blackbeard says are watching, making him a marked man. Instead of railing against his tormentors when he is left alone, he is resolute – all the ghouls who are watching will get is a man kicking a wall over and over and over. Moreover, it is hard to tell if Blackbeard is taunting Gast, asking him to participate in his own torture, or if Blackbeard genuinely thinks Gast is so craven he would think screaming in agony for a cut of the profits a good deal. In a book about senselessness, it is hard to know which character actually has any sense. Read my entire review here: http://ireadeverything.com/senseless-by-stona-fitch/… (plus d'informations)

Most of the book is really about character development. The characters’ relationships arc across chapters. The plot really does not. Lots of little self-contained episodes, of thieving, or of traveling, or playing music. So there’s no big mystery plot to follow. We get a little of Ross by himself, Ross and Clay, then Ross and Marianne, and finally a big noir-ish mystery ending, complete with menacing mafia-like characters.

(rel="nofollow" target="_top">Full review at my blog)… (plus d'informations)