Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Tears of the Mountain by John Addiego

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 31, 2010
Posted in Books Read in 2010 

It is July 4, 1876 and Jeremiah McKinley is looking forward to a day of Centennial Independence Day celebration in Sonoma, California.However, a boy shows up at his doorstep claiming to be Jeremiah’s deceased father, Daniel.  Then, Jeremiah receives a strange message of warning.
The story takes place on this one day however there are a lot of flashbacks that are from as far back as 1831.  Jeremiah reflects on his youth and all the violence that his family and others endured moving to the West. 
The part of the story taking part on the present day, July 4, 1876 was the best part of the book, IMO.  I don’t know how writing about the wild west could be written flatly.  There was so much action and violence going on back then but somehow Mr. Addieco managed it.  
I found myself nodding off durning the flashback scenes.  Also, this book was not marketed as Christion Lit. but you could have fooled me.  A good portion of the book contained quotes from the bible.  I refuse to read Christian Lit.  For that readon and because I could not stay awake while reading it, I did not finish.

This is the second book I have read by Mr. Addiego, the first was The Islands of Divine Music

which, I did finish.  John Addiego has strong character development so he does have potential as a writer.  I recommend he work on his story development.

DNF/5

Please note that I did read a much more favorable review, at Royal Reviews.

If you reviewed this book, please leave a link in the comments and I will add it here.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

The Nobody by Jeff Lemire

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 30, 2010
Posted in Books Read in 2010graphic novels  | 2 Comments

After I completed Jeff Lemire’s graphic trilogy,Essex County, I have been craving more by Jeff Lemire. Yes, I am a graphic novel convert.  Blame Jeff Lemire and a couple fellow bloggers for that.  LOL! I checked my local library website and found that The Nobody was available.  So, I snatched it up.
The Nobody is quite different than the Essex County Trilogy.  It is Jeff Lemire’s re-telling of H. G. Well’s The Invisible Man.
A man all wrapped up in bandages shows up in the small town, Large Mouth.  He calls himself Griffen and he gets a motel room.  There is talk about him in the town bar and the cafe.  Some of the town’s people are very suspicious of him.  
However, a teenager, Vickie is curious about Griffen. and goes to his motel room to talk.  They strike up a kind of friendship but Griffen is not the kind of man that Vickie think she is.  He has a big secret and has come to Large Mouth to hide
.
I enjoyed this story but not as much as the Essex County Trilogy.  Lemire didn’t capture the emotions of his characters like he did in Essex County.  The characters in this story were quite two-dimensional and quite stereotypical.   However, the relationship between Vickie and Griffen was interesting.  Where Lemire did shine is with his drawing.  It was the calibre of drawing that I have come to expect from him.
3.5
See My reviews of the Essex County Trilogy:

Essex County Vol.1: Tales From the Farm by Jeff Lemire

Essex County Volume 2: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire

Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse by Jeff Leire

Also reviewd by:

The Book Mine Set

Did you review this book?  Please leave a link in the comments and I will post it here.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse by Jeff Lemire

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 28, 2010
Posted in Books Read in 2010graphic novels 

This book is the conclusion of the Essex County Trilogy. It ties the entire trilogy together and we learn about the loss and regret of some of the farming community’s inhabitants  
It follows the town’s traveling nurse, Anne Quenneville.  As she visits each patient, the story unfolds.  As Anne tends to her patient’s we learn more about the town’s secrets and the secrets of Anne’s ancestors as well.
This didn’t flow as well as the other two.  There were flash backs of Anne’s family but you don’t learn that they are her ancestors until the end.  It made it confusing.  I kept wonder “who are these people that keep popping up.”  However, it finally did make sense and I did enjoy the book as a whole.
As in the other two books, the artistry of Jeff Lemire really shined, with both his sparse writing and drawings.  It is amazing how much of the story is told with just pictures and no captions.  He does an amazing job.
4/5
Read my review of the first two volumes, here:

Essex County Vol.1: Tales From the Farm by Jeff Lemire

Essex County Volume 2: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire

Also reviewed at:

A Season to Read
The Book Mine Set

Did you review this book?  Please leave the link in the comments so I can include it here.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.