grouchylibrarian

• Rated 5 stars

“Good Lord, it took me forever to get through this, I thought it would never end. But now I wish there was more of it. Dense, detailed and interesting throughout. This book covers the invasion from so many different perspectives that, while it is difficult to keep the names and places, the units and the operations straight, the book gives some small sense of how overwhelming and confusing the Normandy invasion must have been to the servicemen and the civilians. An excellent book.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Decent adaptation of the Richard Stark's first Parker novel, about an amoral man betrayed. The art was very good. Parker has got to be the basis for Lee Child's Reacher, with Parker on the outlaw side and Reacher on the law side. Neither looks for trouble, but neither back away from it.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Beautifully written story as the narrator, first as a boy, and then as a man, comes to understand where his parents stood in relation to the stories he alway heard growing about the war and the Czech partisans. The similies flow beautifully and everyones heart is eventually broken. I listened to the audio, read by Glenn McCready, and it was wonderful to listen to. Everything was crisply and cleanly described, the settings and characters were very much alive.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Sunday, August 23 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“This was a decent book, about an eccentric eleven-year-old with a strong interest in and knowledge of chemistry (with a strong sub-interest in poisons), who stumbles upon a body, and decides to solve the mystery. I never believed in the character 100% though. Too often she seemed artificial.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Wednesday, June 24 2009. ( reply | permalink )

0 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 2 stars

“Its jumbled together plots, one after another, the absurd use of a cliff hanger at the end, given all the quick conclusions to the previous problems the hero encounters, and the awkward dialog, all weaken what could have been a readable and enjoyable thriller.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Friday, May 22 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Maybe the best Reacher novel. Certainly a relief after last year's Nothing to Lose. ”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Monday, May 18 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Not something I was planning on reading, and I certainly didn't think I would care for it as much as I do, but this epistolary novel, set in 1946 is charming. I am going to buy a copy for my Mom, and one for my sisters to fight over. I have already lent my copy to my mother-in-law and will make my wife read it soon. Juliet (I listened to this on audio, so I'm sure I'm spelling the names incorrectly) is the center of this book, she writes letters to her publisher, her childhood friend, Sophie, and increasingly as the book progresses to the members of the society that gives this novel its name. As she comes to know the Guernsey islanders, and comes to write about them, Elizabeth, an islander she has not met, comes to be the center of her book.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Sunday, April 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Looking back over the last couple of years, this is the soldier's story (or Marine's story) that I have been judging all the others by. It is well written, compassionate and honest.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Sunday, March 22 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“I don't know what to think of this book. It is a compelling book and I was moved by the sacrifices the men of Joker One made , and left with an enormous amount of respect for them, but I couldn't help wondering as I was reading it what the stories of three of the participants, the Ox, the unnamed Sgt and the Captain would be from a different pov.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Sunday, March 22 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“This is sort of like your average thriller written by someone who knows how to write, and knows what he is talking about. That is supposed to be complimentary. His characters, for the most part have more depth, and more nuance than those in most fiction, and the pacing is solid. The plot has a familiar feel, but the humanity, and the flaws in the characters and in their plans insures that it reads like something new.”

grouchylibrarian wrote this review Sunday, March 22 2009. ( reply | permalink )