Maine Books

Bob Brooks' poems are as detailed, evocative, and captivating as a social critic's photo album. Poems combine visual imagery with memory, conjecture, and oftentimes humor in a well-crafted but conversational tone. He describes pine needles as "a sheet of miscellaneously oriented Shredded Wheats". He imagines Goering "swanking around" in a car he almost bought. It is a pleasure to look through this poet's lens and see people and events with his sharp eye.

A Story Anyone Could Stick To is not a collection of rhyming alibis; it's a highly intelligent, witty collection of poems about photography. As I read Bob Brooks's lines, I frequently have the experience of recognition shifting into a different focus, as the poem comes together in an entirely perspective than I had expected. Where I had at first seen a clear-edged, skillfully conceived image, I am delighted to see a kaleidoscope unfolding -- not instead, but in addition. Highly recommended.

(Review cross-posted from JMWW.)

At his blog, John Guzlowski reports being awakened by his father's screams at night. With just a few sentences, he gives a chilling description of these occasions: "Screams, in my experience, are usually accompanied by an explosion of air. My father's nightmare screams were drawn in. Even in his sleep, it was almost like he was afraid to scream." This is the objective correlative for his wretched and sublime chapbook The Third Winter of War: Buchenwald.

Guzlowski's poems are a meditation on his father's experience as a laborer in a Nazi camp. The holocaust always strikes me as a questionable medium for artistic enquiry, because its weight as a singular actuality always overwhelms the product. It seems right to feel intimidated and wary when confronting it as a spectator. After all - whoa - this happened and who can fully harness it? And yet, its power rarely misfires; the holocaust, as source material, is at once too fertile to admire and too fertile to find disappointing.

This chapbook is no exception. Despite the handsomeness of the volume, a beige, staple-stitched pamphlet put out by Finishing Line Press, I was initially skeptical of the subject matter. No doubt this is partly due to the haunting cover drawing by Vojtek Luka, which signposts that I am about to confront the worst of human experience, and I'll have no choice but to be moved.

The 26 brief poems (including the Prologue and Epilogue) concern the father's days spent digging up bricks among heaps of murdered bodies while dreaming of his own death at night. Guzlowski recounts these borrowed memories in short, unadorned verses. The poems are numbered, but their arrangement doesn't follow a straight narrative line, which imbues the reading with a fragmentary, nightmarish sensibility of its own. This is effective enough to make me rescind any prejudicial skepticism I felt, and it also makes me realize that Luka's picture is the ideal cover art. Just as his war prisoners are eliding out of view, we encounter the father's experience through a palimpsest of Guzlowski's poetry.

I rescind my initial skepticism because it's not hard to find The Third Winter of War: Buchenwald to be genuinely moving. Guzlowski earns credit by not shying from a smear of comedy among the horror, as when the father remembers a movie featuring two men lost at sea. ". . . they look at each other in hunger and cry. // Then fatty smiles, and skinny cries harder." This Gary Larson-esque gag is made awful by the context, of course, but the poem's expositional couplet makes it even harder to bear: "He remembers a movie he once saw/when he escaped from the camp."

Then there is the simile, "He is as hungry as a dog in winter," which isn't a joke at all except that it suggests the straight man's line ("How hungry is he?") that it just ran over. In fact, the simile starts running and doesn't stop:

He is as hungry as a dog in winter
in a forest filled with so much snow
that all the woodsmen and their wives
and children have fled to the village.

What happened to the dog? He got buried in the stampede of the next three lines - and what the image forgets completely is the real subject, the father. The metaphor has gone on without him, and he is back on his bed (actually, Guzlowski terms it a shelf), thinking about sausage and his dead family until he falls asleep to a dream of drowning. All of this is in The Third Winter, and then: "He dreams a comedy - " It's about men loading up a cart and slipping in manure. "He laughs until someone kicks him." Colorless jokes seep furiously.

There is a textured humanity to these characters; the father wakes at night to think of the men sleeping around him - they're in the muck together, yet would steal the hunk of bread hidden at his groin. We're familiar with need as a motivation for theft - this world is shot through with hunger - but it indicates Guzlowski's mastery that the stealing isn't due solely to lack of food, but that the men are sad: "These thieves are like his brothers,/but at night loneliness and sorrow/will turn your brother against you."

Guzlowski says he wrote this book in order to understand his father's screams. It's up to him to decide if the poems work on that level, but what he has done is provided a compelling and believable dimension for outsiders to contemplate another person's experience. That's the first and final goal of poetry. Read this book loud, like the Adagio for Strings, like night screams.

I've read many works that address the Holocaust and World War Two. Maybe too many. In all those mountains -- or maybe sand dunes -- of pages, few single volumes stand out. (One stand-out would be Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning.") Rather, what has tended to stand out for me are episodes within volumes, rather than entire volumes.

"The Third Winter of War: Buchenwald," John Guzlowski's book of poems addressing his father's experience as a Nazi slave laborer, is one of the few books I've read about World War Two that stands out as a volume. After reading this book, I wanted to read it aloud to other people. I wanted to distribute copies. I wanted to say, "See? See?"

We've all heard the formula that there is to be no poetry after Auschwitz. We've all heard the pronouncements that no one who wasn't there can speak or understand what it was like to live and die under Nazism.

The insistence that we can't, adequately, speak or understand words spoken about Nazism strikes me similarly as does the insistence that we can't apply the Geneva Convention or the US Constitution in a world with terrorists in it. We invent laws exactly so we can deal with dark episodes. We have language not just to talk about rapture, but also to talk about hell.

It is the reader's great good fortune that poet John Guzlowski insists on using language to communicate hell. He deserves our gratitude.

I wasn't eager to read this book. I never am eager to read yet another book about the World War Two era. I always have to buck myself up before cracking the cover.

"The Third Winter of War: Buchenwald" is, in its physical form, a lovely volume. The beige cover features Vojtek Luka's ink drawing of concentration camp inmates, in various stages of disolve, peering stoically out through barbed wire.

On the back cover, John Guzlowski's healthy, handsome, well-fed face is in thoughtful profile against a striated window. One doesn't normally focus on the skin tone of a poet, but the poems within chronicle Guzlowski's father's near starvation and disfigurement at the hands of Nazis.

The striated window surface, besides which Guzlowski sits with a thoughtful look on his face, echoes the striations of the barbed wire in the cover illustration. Guzlowski is not *in* the inmates' world, or the survivor's world; he is an alert, dedicated outside observer.

The frontispiece is lovely beige and gold marbled paper.

Turning pages, the reader then confronts the first poem. His father dreams about fire and bricks, Guzlowski reports, about a Warsaw church bombed by Nazis, a church left "bleeding and praying"

for death the way a woman
in labor will pray when she knows
nothing will save the baby
waiting in her womb to be born.

Guzlowski had me with that first poem. I surrendered my faith to him. "He can write about this, and I can read it," I thought.

Hunger is one overwhelming sensation these poems aroused. With hunger came the reminder that we are slaves to our bellies. Your friend, a poem reports, can steal your hidden bread while you sleep. You won't remember, or even register, you certainly won't have nightmares, years later, about vast, epochal military maneuvers or signatures on documents. You will be nailed to your own craving belly, and you will remember that sensation of hunger till you die.

Guzlowski has the courage to record "pieces, each piece small, pebble size." Guzlowski speaks in fundamental images and basic vocabularly and sentence structure. There are no words here you need to look up in the dictionary, and you don't need to have mastered poetry theory. Just read the poems, and feel their impact.

This is what it was like to be one human being in the way of history. Guzlowski's father spoke, Guzlowski speaks; it is our turn to listen and understand.

Mr. Hall always has a point to make in each of the sketches. But it is always subtle, difficult to summarize, and appears gradually as the incident unfolds, emeerging from the interaction of character, opinion, orneriness, colorful local speech, and the lore of the sport he loves.

He has evidently chosen a certain way to spend his time (fish bum), and though some more dedicated to the Protestant Ethic may quarrel, here the grasshopper of the parable clearly has a song to sing and music to make. Can one find fault with that?

Hall is a great writer and I have loved his previous books. This new book is every bit as good, and a delight to read especially as another fishing season opens before us. These are great stories sensitively written and a treat for non-fishermen as well.
And, as if to invite everyone to the sport of fly fishing, Hall has put a neophyte on the cover -- note his low back-cast. A wonderful subtlety, as is his writing.
Don't miss this one!

Michael LaCombe
Augusta, Maine

Being an enthusiastic amateur treasure hunter myself, in years past, I diligently read each and every volume of Mr. Terry's exhaustively researched works. Although I found some the information erroneous or far from exact - for instance many locations cited as "ghost towns" are FAR from being one - there are so many intriguing stories of legends, factual evidence & stories of past recoveries that any true TH'r will be enthralled. Treasure hunting is supposedly America's fastest growing hobby: it's uniquely enjoyable for the adventure, historical aspects & healthy outdoor recreation. And when you really find something decent...Boy Howdy!! Not as easy as it sounds, though. To be a professional TH'r, one has to have patience, applying oneself with the perseverance of a detective: because that's what it takes to be successful. Exhaustive research is the key: going where people gathered long ago (old picnic grounds & abandoned schoolyards, for instance) will be beneficial for coin shooters who are after more than modern coins....for me, finding modern coins was a complete waste of time & energy. Going for the gold? Go where it is KNOWN to be & be creative: the better your equipment - i.e. a decent detector which finds gold & common sense makes this a most fascinating hobby. For some, it's a life's career. Good luck!!

Found this to be a very interesting paperback book for anyone dreaming of treasure hunting/finds. But, I wish it was updated. I'm sure there are more interesting things about Florida. Not all of Fla. treasure finds are in the sea as this book notes. Worth reading.Open anywhere and begin reading.

I too read about this book in a Kindle forum.... now keeping in mind I purchased the Kindle because I love to read, but don't have time.

I have numerous books on my shelves, and I chose this book to read. It took me longer to read than I wanted, but that was NOT because of the story line, but time I had to read. This book kept me stealing moments here and there, I LOVED it!! Yes, the mystery and impending romance kept me coming back. Well written, I could not figure it out too early and I can't say there were any slow parts either, this whole book kept my interest.

I gave it 5 stars because I finished it with a satiated feeling. I will definitely be looking up more titles from Maureen!

I read the book because I read about it in the Kindle Forums - I am glad I bought it. It was a good read, although not 100% in my preferred genre (thus my inability to go the full 5 stars).

The plot was interesting to follow, I liked following the characters - and indeed, the characters were a wee bit devious and a wee bit convoluted, which made me want to discover what they were up to all the more. I am one of those who tries to figure out who the villain is, and I thought I pretty much had it figured out - but not very early in my reading, which was good (I HATE it when you have it figured out too early in the reading!).

Well done Ms. Miller - I hope many more will pick it up on a whim and read it!

On the surface this is a book about an average guy who is stuck in a rut in an average small town. But when you delve deeper, you see that the book is about how pivotal choices and events shape who we are and where we end up in life. The characters in this book are memorable, realistic, and well developed. They are masterfully woven together to create an engaging story. However, the story moves slowly because there are a lot of necessary details to the story. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read that requires no thought. Much like real life, some parts of the story were humorous while others were tragic and sad.

Life in a derelict New England milltown. Readable? Yes, but not mesmerizing. Hard to argue with the Pulitzer Prize, but, frankly, the characters were weak-kneed and not particularly likeable; kept hoping someone would show a little spunk but it didn't happen.

Reviewing this novel almost requires two rating systems-one for how much one enjoys this book, and one for the book itself. I give a 2/10 for the first, and a 7/10 for the second. From a casual reader's perspective, the 483-page textblock was a pain to read. I found myself losing focus multiple times during readings and by the time I finished I felt like I had just ran a marathon-one that I was forced to participate in. The main character Miles was one of the most aggravating characters I have ever met in fiction. Ironically, the character I sympathized most with was the one portrayed as the greatest villain in the story. I'm not sure whether that was the exact effect Mr. Russo was going for...

That being said, there were random bursts of humor here and there that made me literally laugh out loud. The dramatic/tragic ending did make me contemplate for about five minutes after I put down the book, but then I preceded to carry out the other mundane tasks of everyday life wjth little memory of what I had just read.

I was looking for a good fiction novel since I mostly read non-fiction. I figured I couldn't go wrong with a Pulitzer Prize winner. I was wrong. Not only that, it eventually became a chore to read. Too many stories within a story and too many characters to develop. There was one 'storylet' about Miles as a child on vacation with his mother which I could've kept reading but it was only a few pages. The writing is good, I enjoyed his style, but the story itself didn't grab me and I couldn't make a connection with any of the characters. As much as I hate to do it, I finally (after many nights of being able to read 2 or 3 pages because it was so sleep-inducing, just called it quits halfway through the book.

I would rather stare blankly into space on than try to read this book during my morning commute. I painfully labored with the first few pages before allowing myself to skip to Chapter 1. I tried to get involved. I tried to get interested. I tried to figure out where the plot would pick up. After an entire week of trying to muster interest in "Empire Falls," I decided that that I'd rather leave it in my pocket book than be bothered with trying to determine where the story was going. It's a shame because Russo's "Straight Man" is also sitting on my "to read" pile.

I was suspecting that the series was going south at the end of the 4th book.
Wolves just shows that King got lost in the middle earth and is just trying to pull resources from ANYWHERE, his own work or any other work, and he is doing it not from "literary genius" but just from plain desperation, which is more evident in the next two final books.

I do agree with the other comment, he should have stopped after the fourth book and should've avoid giving us the "Wachowski feeling" of destroying what might have been a really good and original idea...

This book picks right up where the previous installment ("Wizard and Glass") left off, with Roland and his ka-tet still following the Path of the Beam towards the Dark Tower. However, the group is quickly given a proposition by the townspeople of Calla Bryn Sturgis (a town on the brink of entering the mysterious Thunderclap world where the Dark Tower itself lays), who have seen their babies taken by "Wolves" each generation and finally want to put a stop to it. Being a man of honor, Roland of Gilead accepts the offer and he and his crew are sidetracked for a bit longer in their quest for the Tower.

Now, despite the notion that the goings-on in Calla Bryn Sturgis could be considered "filler", it is very interesting, exciting "filler" that makes for an entertaining read. The main plotline consists of Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake scoping out the city in order to plan the best defense (much akin to Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain in Roland's tale from "Wizard and Glass"), and finally taking on the "Wolves" in the end (though not before uncovering a sinister plot they never expected).

Besides that main story, however, is the character development that takes place. Roland begins showing the first signs (arthritis) of his long trek for the Tower, Susannah's multiply-personalities return in a way you will not expect, Eddie's love for Susannah is only strengthened, and Jake fights an internal battle between having a normal childhood and being with Roland. So, while the characters are not actually continuing their quest for the Tower in this book, it still is entertaining to see the characters being further developed.

Also, the book takes a bizarre twist when Father Callahan (of "Salem's Lot" fame!) shows up, throwing the reader into a bit of confusion once again regarding how "our" world aligns with "Roland's world" and prompting a return trip to New York(s) via another magical door.

Overall, this is another thrilling installment in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It contains an inspired main plot, crucial character development, and throws at the reader a few more mysteries that will likely be solved in the remaining two editions of the series.

Stephen King is a genious. This series is fantastic. This series will blow your mind and keep your imagination running! If you like the idea of an alternate reality this series is really for you!

I won't rehash everyone's opinions on what's wrong with this book and the way the series has turned with book 5. I'll just say books 1-4 are definitely worth reading, but 5 dragged like nobody's business and I don't like where King is dragging me. From the way the plot is going now, and King's "old man trapped in the '70s-'80s" and repeated writing style/themes, I will NOT be finishing the series. I read enough spoiler reviews to get a gist of it, and don't like what's going on. What a waste of a good beginning (books 1-4) of the series. Especially dissapointing after the awesome book 4 (my favorite in the series).

This is my favorite book of the Dark Tower series.

I've never been a huge fan of horror (Stephen King's or anyone's else) but the fantasy aspect of this particular series has really caught my attention. And in truth this is much more fantasy than your typical Stephen King horror.

In their ongoing quest to reach the Black Tower, Roland and his Ka-tet (Eddie, Jake, Susannah and Oy) come to a farm village called Calla Bryn Sturgis where some disturbing occurrences have been happening of late. Strange wolves started raiding the area about the same time children began to disappear, only to reappear, but drastically changed. Does it have something to do with the arrival of the 'wolves'? What is going on with the children? Is Andy the Robot all that he appears? And what is going on with Susannah? Reasonable questions that are all answered by books end.

I found that this 5th installment had a high level of suspense. I could not wait to get to the end of this book as I knew it would be climaxing with a terrific battle; a battle that I felt (IMHO) was one of the best actions of the entire series.

Other reviewers mentioned that there were some areas of this novel that dragged a bit, e.g. the return trip to New York. However, I felt that not only did this side 'trip' add information regarding the entire series, but also allowed me more time to anticipate and appreciate the final sections of this thrilling 5th installment.

Conclusion:
Stephen King at his best; high fantasy that is intriguing, page turning and extremely well done.

Ray Nicholson

I havn't read it yet, but I've seen my dvd of it (at least) 3 times already. Let alone, on tv a few times too. ;)

~a Stephen King Constant Reader

I've read many of Mr. King's books and I believe the reason they are so long is because he spends a great deal of time talking about trivial things such as the color of eyes, shape of eyes, length of hair, color of pants, etc. In this book Croatan is mentioned at least twice (and in the movie), but neither explains what a Croatan is! It's a werewolf! If you want true horror and excitement, try Clive Barker and I would suggest your first experience with Mr. Barker be "The Damnation Game". It's FANTASTIC!

Let me start off by saying that whatever else he is, you have to give Stephen King credit for doing innovative stuff. His serial novel "The Green Mile" is a good example of it, and releasing Storm of the Century as a teleplay is another one. I had never read a teleplay before, and it was definitely interesting to see the different format.

The novelty of the format alone was enough to hold my attention through what was, essentially, a pretty standard King story. King trots out all the hallmarks of his "schtick" here: supernatural tragedy comes to small insular town. Seen it in the Castle Rock stories, in It, in the Tommyknockers, in Salem's Lot, in Bag of Bones, in From a Buick 8...etc. I'll also point out that the insularity of his towns grows increasingly less believable in today's modern, wired world, but it's as if King's idea of what constitutes town life is stuck at say, 1950 or so--has he ever written a character who is a web-geek, for example? For that matter, has he ever *shown* a character using the Internet?

But anyway, all his standard cliches are here: Small, somewhat improbably insular Maine town? Check. Townsfolk hiding secrets? Check. Stranger with mysterious and evil powers showing up? Check. (Shades of Mr. Gaunt, Randall Flagg, etc.) Stranger knows and publicly reveals folks' secrets? Check. Odd nursery rhyme or saying repeated at intervals throughout the story? Check. Stephen King's stock characters trotted out? Check. The reenactment of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" at the end was about the only thing here that seemed somewhat fresh, and even then, Stephen King's fascination with that story has been demonstrated in many of his other books (check out the Dark Tower III, for example).

I don't mean to sound as negative as the preceding might come across; it's just that this struck me as a fairly standard (and mediocre) King outing that basically rehashed a lot of material that he had used before. Perhaps after having written for such a long time, he simply doesn't have that much original to say anymore. *shrug* Nothing much to see here, folks; move it along.

This is the first screenplay that I read of S.King., it is so well written that you can imagine it as if you were actually seen the movie. The story is so good that it keeps you interested at all times, without a clue about what is going to happen at the end.

First I need to say that I was not very excited to read Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" because I was afraid that the screenplay format would strip away all the character building I enjoy in Stephen King's writing. Secondly, I have never liked many of his works written for, or adapted for, the screen. I began this book with some serious concerns.

No worries were needed. After I got through living with the residents of Little Tall Island for two nights during the biggest storm ever to hit the island, and the visitor who chose this time to rip the island's community apart, I was more than satisfied that I picked up "Storm of the Century".

The characters were stock King characters, but the anti-hero, Linoge, was actually even creepier because the screenplay format would not allow a deep dive into Linoge's motivation. All his physical actions, with no understanding (until the end) of his intentions, made Linoge unpredictable and a very strong evil character.

I also enjoyed seeing how Stephen King structured the suspense visually. From the quick cuts showing scenes of a town slowly being swallowed by the storm (and Linoge), to the great scene where Mike is chronicling the crime scene at Martha's with a Polaroid camera and each flash of the camera reveals new details of the crime. I thought his creative use of a visual medium was very good.

There were also enough pure Stephen King lines in the screenplay that you never forgot who the author was. The dialogue was not great, but some of the throw away direction is priceless. For instance, when one of the characters gets an axe to the face, Stephen King describes how he wants it sound (the action happens of camera) "it's like someone slapping mud with the flat of his hand". Or when he writes how the Town Hall should be depicted as the final safe haven in Little Tall Island and then adds "Of course the Titanic probably looked the same way before it hit the iceberg".

The theme of guilt within the tight family of islanders was also interesting, and I am glad the ending had a glimpse into the future (present) so we could see what happened to some of the main participants of the final tragedy.

All in all I enjoyed it a lot.

It's hard to expect much from a book when it opens with the author telling you he felt so little for his own creation he didn't even keep the original typed copy.

But "Blaze," in my opinion, is a great read. It hooks you instantly with its sympathetically slow main character and rumbles along to its inevitable finale.

Stephen King always knows best what does and does not work in his novels, and he's correct that the flashbacks in this book are its highlight. Even though they occasionally veer into near Upton Sinclair-esque melodrama, they have a clean sentimentality that I loved. They may even be a little cliche, if we're being honest, but King has always been a master of the little details of spirit and humanity. That is on strong display here.

What King does brilliantly in this novel is take someone doing something absolutely horrible and make you love him. Blaze, a smart boy who had his brain scrambled by a drunk, abusive father, who now stands a massive 6'7", is the ultimate pulling-on-your-heartstrings "big dumb guy" -- he's the original John Coffey, really. Blaze is a small-time con artist whose partner dies right before their big final score can happen, and Blaze goes about it alone (along with the help of his partner's ghost). You almost have to shake your head in sympathy as Blaze imagines he's outsmarting everyone but is clearly laying down a trail that will easily lead right back to him. The unraveling of his crime is as obvious as how he will react to what he has taken.

Blaze's sad growing affection for the baby he kidnaps is so overly melodramatic it's almost comedic, but you can't stop it from affecting you. That's fully because of King's ability to take such a scenario and make you care.

"Blaze" is a straightforward, almost sappy, story from Stephen King -- and I definitely loved every sentimental moment of it.

Absolutely incredible! It is impossible to put down. It didn't take me any more than three nights to read it. There isn't one boring sentence in the entire book.

Steven King is the absolute best writer that ever was. He stands right next to Edgar Allen Poe!!! If you want a book that you can't put down I recommend that you purchase any one of the many books that Steven King wrote!!!

I read at work, but one day I left my current book at home. A co-worker brought BLAZE in case she'd finished her current book during the night shift, and I was much obliged to borrow it when she offered to have something to read.

From the above paragraph, you can probably tell it was more a matter of circumstance than desire that I set to reading BLAZE. Now I like Mr. King, the book I left was actually a DARK TOWER book, it's just that this looked like another one of King's 'over a weekend' works. Not to call it 'throw away' by any means, but somewhat uninspired work like THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON. Compulsively readable mind you, but insubstantial in concept.

Anyway, I was more than pleased to find BLAZE, a 'Trunk Novel', an emotionally sweet and simultaneously heart wrenching story. Sometimes What bothers me most about King is the idiocyncracies of his writing, such as his many parentheses, and his colloquial New England speech. These were fine to me at first, but as I have read close to 30 of King's books, it has begun to mildly detract from my enjoyment. Consider it like a roommate you have lived with too long and who's habits irritate you where you once thought they were charming. You like them just fine, but need a break sometimes so as not to let the annoyances ruin an otherwise good respect for them.

In BLAZE, King attempts to write in a more clipped - read Noirish - style, and consequently left out many of those attributes that I stumble over. It's King, but with an altered style that allows you to rediscover what a gifted and moving writer he can be rather than just trying to scare you.

The Protaginist, Clayton 'Blaze' Blaisdell, who's IQ has been irreparably altered by an abusive father, gets by on sheer luck for most of the novel, in attempting a kidnapping even though the 'brains' behind the operation has died prior. His luck never feels like a lazy plot device, however; Instead it is more like Karma paying back a man who has been dealt a terrible hand by society, if only until luck eventually runs out.

In one chapter, a summer at a farming camp is described with the bittersweet nostalgia of one perfect moment in youth that can never happen again. It actually teared me up, which is something that King rarely does to me. Towards the end, it becomes apparent that 'Blaze' has other forces at work in his brain, and the story takes a dramatic (although believeable) turn as antagonists other than the Police attempt to change Blaze's plans. I won't spoil it, but it's is rather chilling. Thats how I would sum up how this book excells so well at moving the reader; it is from one chapter to the next uplifting, funny, and heart-wrenching. King changes the resonance from one to the other elegantly, and it never clashes.

I would urge anyone who enjoyed King's RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, or THE BODY, to give BLAZE a chance. It is an uncommonly touching and moving story, while never being emotionally exploitative.

Blaze arrive in a timely manner, and was in excellant condition. It was packaged very good. I really enjoyed this book I recommend it to all Stephan KING FANS.

I thought this book was absolutely wonderful. I felt like I knew the characters and was sad when I finnished reading it. Great for a weekend read and I felt completely satisfied. I would encourage anyone to read it!

I read this book a few years back after getting it from the library. I now want to buy it because even though much time has passed, the characters and the story still fascinate and haunt me. This is a story you won't forget, and it's a great one!

This is the story that Hannah Grey has waited a long time to tell. It's the story of what happened to her the summer she was seventeen, living in Maine. The summer she met Conary Crocker, the wild boy she fell in love with.

It's also the story of what began to happened with the Haskell family who lived in isolation on an island off the mainland of Dundee, Maine back in the late 1880s.

It's part love story, part ghost story.
And the two stories eventually collide...

I thought this was very well done. The characters were realistic, and well developed and I found it to be an easy and satisfying read. I will look for more books written by Beth Gutcheon.

MORE THAN YOU KNOW

This is my first Beth Gutcheon book but certainly will not be the last. I really enjoyed this book. It was cool how past and present were totally tied in with each other.

Hannah Gray tells of the summer she met the love of her life, Conary Crocker, resident bad boy. This is a summer during the Great Depression. Hannah and her half-brother and nasty, mean step-mother summer in Dundee, Maine. Not only does Hannah meet Conary, but they also meet some nasty, evil ghosts who are haunting the house where Hannah and family reside.

We also meet the Haskell family from 100 years earlier. They are a miserable, mean, unhappily wed couple who also have two children. Claris, the mother, marries Danial, which is odd due to the fact that Danial is a strange man, mean, cold, nasty, rude. Claris comes from a fun-loving, music-loving, happy, close-knit family and marrying Danial turns out to be the BIGGEST mistake of her young life.

All of these characters become involved with each other through ghosts and/or lost souls -- what have you. This book is a story of two couples and their relationships and how both of these relationships are intertwined even though they lived 100 years apart. The book tells of love, hate, hauntings, murder, great secondary characters, good story line, and history.

The wildly happy couple -- Hannah and Conary and the miserable, hateful couple -- Danial and Claris -- will stay in your mind for a long time. The book tells the stories of these two couples and their families in a way that will delight and scare you. This is good writing. I also enjoyed the history of the area, be it true or not!

This is a very well written book, one I thoroughly enjoyed, and one I will highly recommend to my friends/family.

Thank you!!! Pam

In "More Than You Know," Beth Gutcheon tells two stories, both set in a town in Maine, at once: first the story of Hannah Gray and the summer she spent with her irritating stepmother and the love of her life, Conary Crocker and second the story of the Haskells, a family that could not stand each other. As Hannah faces her own struggle with Edith (her stepmom), a spirit from the past begins to haunt her. At the same time, she begins to look into the Haskell murder mystery, which occurred many years before her time. The novel is about discovering our pasts and the importance of moving on--the danger of closing our minds to the world around us. Hannah becomes freer in her relationship with Conary while discovering what isolated and unhappy lives the Haskells lived because they were alone on an island and would not admit their anxiety and anger. This discovery is important to what happens later in Hannah's life: a reverence of the past, tradition and family, but not a slavish devotion to it. The ambitious, well-written and impressive novel is crafted beautifully and effectively. The problem is, in the end, the storylines are not all that exciting. Gutcheon's story needed more pizzaz, more flash and more style to draw the reader in more. She does all she can with the spare storyline, but to really accentuate the meaning of the novel, she needed to highlight it, rather than watercolor it across the page.