Resorts Books

My family and I just returned from our first trip to Disney World. (It was as blast!) Because it was our first time and we were essentially clueless to the Disney experience, we bought several guides.

The 2004 version of The Everything Family Guide was one of five guides that we bought, but after the initial perusal, I didn't even look at it. Instead, I find myself drawn to the Birnbaum guide with its colorful, glossy pages and The Unofficial Guide to Disney World 2006 which is a critical, analytical treatment of just about everything.

Don't get me wrong: author Jason Rich is pretty thorough. It's just that nothing gets any critical remarks (although there's a star system rating likely appropriateness of attractions to age groups), and it's hard to tell what's really "not to be missed" (even though he makes recommendations).

Not only that, even though it's a 2004 edition, it already needs updating. Expedition Everest, the Lights, Motors, Actions! Stunt Show, and other newer attractions are mentioned as "upcoming", but hadn't yet debuted before publication. I get the feeling that the Stitch's Great Escape (which replaced the Alien one) hadn't debuted yet, either, yet he ranked this ride "not to be missed". (Everyone I talked to--and every review of this attraction I've read on the internet--describe this as an AWFUL attraction. No one likes it!)

Also, he mentions attractions that are no longer there--like Tarzan Rocks. There is no mention of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (MGM), Mickey's PhilHarmagic (the best 3D show in all the parks), Test Track (Epcot- The Land) or Crush's Turtle Talk (Epcot-The Seas)--further showing that this book should be updated YEARLY in order to be relevant for visitors.

So if you'd like an overview of Walt Disney World in a gentle, upbeat tone--including restaurant and hotel overviews--this is not a bad guide. Yet, I only consulted it once, preferring the other guides over this one.

We purchased this dictionary for use on a software project. Unfortunately, it's amazingly short on computer terminology -- it lacks expressions as common as "database" and "hard disk," among others. (I think we found terms for various logic gates. :) For a book published in 1992, this is a serious omission.

The dictionary would probably be useful to a translator working in the fields of medicine, engineering, etc., although it consists of nothing but columns of words and phrases in one language with the equivalent expression in the other.

Motley's major theme as a novelist concerned slum life in Chicago, which he presented in a very naturalistic way. Before writing, however, he spent many years wandering across the country working menial jobs from diswasher to ranch hand, soaking up experinces he could use later in his work. This novel, his last (published a year after his death at age 52), is somewhat different in that the setting is Mexico (where Motley had lived since 1951), though the theme of poverty is present, along with the idea of the rich (in this case the tourist trade) corrupting the poor. An ambitious work, but it's rather flat and unengaging. Not nearly as good as his earlier Chicago novels.

Since the back cover description is already included on this page, I'll skip straight to my review.

Though this book is part of a series, it stands perfectly well on its own (I never read any of the other books in the Bride's Bay series and I was not at all confused reading this book).

This book, which is in the Supperromance line, read more like an Intrigue novel. Which is fine if you like that, but I'm not much of a fan of the Intrigue line. I read romance for romance, and I find the intrigues focus more on the mystery than on the romance.

That being said, the mystery and suspense was very well executed in this book, but the romance aspect of it left a lot to be desired. But the plot twist in the middle was so unexpected that it kept me reading, and the conclusion of this book was exciting.

While not a keeper, this was enjoyable for a one-time read. If you're a fan of the Intrigue line, then you'll probably like this. If you're not, then you may or may not like it.

This book is about as good as a presentation can get, when the subject is politico-business in a small rural state. At times dry, owing to the details Burford gives, this book is generally emotional as the author recounts his dealings.

The tale of the rise, conflicts, and fall of an Attorney-turned-big-businessman as he makes millions. Only to lose it through the greed and corruption of those in power in political and banking circles.

Read this book, if for no other reason than to learn what can happen when business and politics are badly mixed!

Being a huge S.E. Hinton fan when I was in my pre-teens, I was excited to find this adult book written by her. However, I was greatly disappointed that the language was very strong and honestly made me, as an adult, uncomfortable. I really hope Amazon will remove this book from being listed under any category for teens or children, as the language is not appropriate for this age group. The words used in the book would make a movie rated R. Just a warning to parents out there, and any adults who do not appreciate foul language in novels.

This is SE Hinton's first novel in over fifteen years, according to the blurb on the back. As such, there are many expectations that can come regarding the author of such works as The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, and That was Then, This is Now. Almost inevitably, Hawkes Harbor will be compared to those works that most of us will remember fondly from our younger years.

Unfortunately, Hawkes Harbor just doesn't live up to The Outsiders, which is unfair to Hawkes Harbor. On its own, Hawkes Harbor actually ends up being a very nice story. However, it does suffer on a couple of points. There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time as the main character, Jamie, struggles to remember his past while in a mental institution. Whether or not the feeling is on purpose, the disjointedness of the piecemeal recall can be disorienting and disheartening.

Also, as with the expectation of Rumble Fish quality, the reader may be confounded by expectation of plot and/or genre. Due to some of the reviews and blurbs on the covers, some people will come in with the expectation of a supernatural thriller, but the book doesn't start out like one, instead choosing to set the stage through the flashback scenes. Once involved in the book, it doesn't read like a normal supernatural thriller or romance in the vein of an Anita Blake novel. What the novel truly ends up focused on are relationships between Jamie and other characters and how those relationships change. There are certainly some exciting and terrifying moments, but more importance is placed on how people change and the evolution of their interpersonal relationships. In this exploration of perception and misperception is where there is some common ground with Hinton's previous, more well known works.

In the final analysis, I found the book very rewarding. I was ready to put it down in the middle due to the disjointed recollection of past events, but wanted to stay with it due to the book's relatively short length. In staying the course, I found the exploration of different relationships ultimately very satisfying. The jumping back and forth will kill off some readers' enthusiasm as will false expectations of what the book is supposed to be about. In the end, the enjoyment each person will derive from Hawkes Harbor will ultimately be up to that individual's taste. Your reaction will be a very personal thing.

this is my favorite S.E. Hinton book. i really dont understand some of the low ratings for this book. id recommend this to anyone. all of hinton's books have grabbed me till the very end, this book is no different and is very, very well written. Truly one of the best books i've read

I knew that this book had been poorly reviewed when I bought it, but because I like both Hinton's YA novels and novels about vampires, I expected this book to by right up my alley. Unfortunatley, the characters in the book were universally unappealing. I just couldn't bring myself to care much about any of them. I was frankly relieved when I finished the book and could move on to something more interesting.

Maybe I've lived a deprived childhood having never read a Hinton book before Hawkes Harbor, but I love this story. There is no predictablity as Jamie Sommers' life unfolds, then unravels. Jamie lives his life to the fullest but trusts the wrong people and is launched into heart wrenching situations often with no possible outcome but tragedy. Yet he perseveres thorough some of the most difficult of life situations, including horror no one would believe - even if he could speak of it. But by the end of his story, Jamie is a completely remade man with a rich life he so deserves.

It is this last glimpse of his life which moves me most; and though I know I will be emotionally wrenched once again, I find myself putting that first cassette in my player and willingly live it over again.

Ms. Hinton, thanks so much for this first foray into an adult story. It is one of the best I've found.

How bad does a book have to be for a person to spend his time giving it a one-star review years after he read it? "Wish You Were Here" is the book, and the answer is real bad. I've read my share of books for which no tree should have ever been sacrificed, but this one stands out. One reviewer suggested reading the first page and the last page, nothing more. I agree. There is nothing of value in this book. There is no central plot. Nothing of interest happens. Sure, the attention to detail is precise - about 454 pages worth, if I recall - but that doesn't make a novel. As a literary exercise, it might have some merit for the writer, but the reader would be better off reading the tags on every item of clothing they own. Avoid this book, and if it is forced upon you, gouge your eyes out.

Time and time again I have heard people state their disappointment with this book. On some level I can understand where they are coming from. One of the first things I was taught about writing stories was that there were two necessary elements: some sort of conflict followed by a resolution or redemption. This novel never reaches a point of climax, and rather than ending in some sort of resolution it merely drops off, almost as if the author grew tired of narrating the story. I think that in order to truly appreciate this novel one must lay aside any preconceived notions of what makes a book "good". It is unlikely that the reader will finish the novel without the sense of wanting more, but in my opinion this is what makes the novel great. O'Nan has an uncanny ability to draw the reader not only into the character's world but into their very hearts. The story itself is unremarkable. There is no drama, no closure. There are only moments. That is the beauty of this novel. Even as life surrounds us with its grander scheme, we live only in moments, and ultimately they are the things that define us. This novel is unfinished because, at the end of the day, life is unfinished. Situations can be resolved but we as human beings- emotional, cognisant- cannot be. Therein lies the heart of this book, and what gives this book heart.

i loved this while i was reading it. his writing is great, the dialogue perfect. he captures those unspoken dramas that define the way a family funtions. you relate to it and feel the pressure of the passing of time, so slow, especially on the rainy days. you feel that claustrophobia. my only disappointment was by the ending. i was waiting for some small change - the book jacket promises a rekindling of love - and that never happens.

This is the third and by far the longest O'Nan book I've read. As with the first two, this book is written beautifully. O'Nan definately has chops as a writer and each sentence is crafted with competancy. This being said, Wish You Were Here leaves something to be desired. In this case depth and satisfaction, which seems an odd thing to say about a book of this length. All the characters have interesting aspects to their lives that could have been fleshed out to a more satisfying conclusion. But O'Nan chooses to leave all issues unresolved. This may be because he seeks realism in his work and the truth is that a lot of life is unresolved. So if a reader is looking for escapism or (Geez, I hate this word but here goes) closure, he would be wise to look elsewhere. If the reader want a slice of life that rings very true and is well delivered, than this book may be a worthwhile venture.

This book follows the week in a the life of a family, who are at their cottage on Lake Chautauqua, NY for the last time. The patriarch of the family died the previous winter after a long illness and the matriarch decided to sell the camp--and no one stopped her (not even her sister-in-law, whose family owned the camp). O'Nan takes us day by long day through the family vacation--brothers and sisters and cousins and nieces and nephews and aunts and mothers and mothers-in-law and estranged husbands and dead husbands. The whole lot of it.

You know how it is. You've been trapped into these yearly family things that everyone dreads and yet trudges to nonetheless. You know the lure of nostalgia, the childish desire to have everything stay as it once was, to never change. And you know how when you are back as a group with your siblings, you all fall into those familiar roles again.

With this book you walk through those sad pages of your life when things are coming to an end, changing. When you realize that you have not trapped your childhood or your children's childhood in amber. People die. Things change. Bridges are erected which obscure a once lovely view.

What's brilliant about this book is that you are completely sucked into these seemingly mundane days (oh! When it rains and you're all crammed inside the camp. The strange sulfur smell of the water. Taking long car trips to tourist destinations when all you want to do is be alone with your book) and you actually feel the claustrophobia of the situation. And you feel too the sad hope of some of the people that this week would never end and for others that it would hurry up and end.

Nostalgia. We live for it. We live with it. Some of us live nostalgically each day, wishing to have the light on the floor back from the morning, much in the same way does the son, Ken--always looking to find the perfect shot, the right moment to capture before they all slip away.

As I was reading this book, I could tell to the sentence exactly where Jane Austen left off and Julia Barrett began. The plot became confusing, and characters began to be inconsistent. Lady Denham, whom Charlotte finds to be very mean (stingy) suddenly decides to fund a lavish entertainment. Sidney Parker enters the scene just before the break, and it is implied that they will see more of him in just a few hours. However, somehow Charlotte doesn't see him again until the aforementioned entertainment, a chapter or two later (even though she is staying with his brother). The rest of the novel is incredibly fragmented, with whole chapters dwelling on some of the very minor characters, with practically no character development of the two protagonists, whose love story covers at most five pages. Instead the novel dwells on some very unlikely developments involving horses, gambling, and smugglers. It was a very disappointing read. _Sanditon_ was a much more satisfying completion.

I really wanted to like this book, but it pains me to say that is was terrible. I am mystified why the author chose to call the book Charlotte because after JA's portion, Charlotte is rarely mentioned. The rest of the story is a collection of rambling, tedious speeches by minor characters. The story becomes ridiculous when the author introduces piracy and horse racing into Sandition. It ends with the inevitable, but unbelievable uniting of Charlotte to Sidney. It is unbelievable because they have barely had 2 or 3 superficial conversations in all of the author's addition to JA's fragment. Don't waste your time on this one, check out Sandition instead.

I have often wondered what would have become of Sandition, Jane Austen's last work had she finished it before her untimely demise. I heard that several authors have written a completed version of the aforementioned novel. I decided to pick up Charlotte because Julia Barrett entertained me with her novel called Presumption, a Pride and Prejudice continuation starring Georgiana Darcy. Ick! This book is bad, very bad. Talk about inconsistent! The eleven chapters that Austen wrote of Sandition (no one is sure if this was the intended title for the novel) center on Charlotte Heywood and her impressions about the town of Sandition during her stay at the Parkers' estate. There we meet the sort of colorful characters that have become Austen's signature style and their attempts to turn Sandition into a touristy place that would rival Brighton and others. Austen introduced a few couples and some romantic possibilities between Charlotte and Sidney in narrative and dialogue that are witty, insightful and entertaining. Then enters Barrett's takeover of the storyline and new characters and situations are introduced that, to be frank, have nothing to do with what Austen had in mind.

This "completion" of Jane Austen's unfinished effort is a disgrace. The characters' actions are so incongruous to what Austen created in those short eleven chapters that it is offensive to even presume to let the reader think that these alterations belong in a Jane Austen classic or that they are in any way consistent to the aforementioned work. Charlotte, Lady Denham, Thomas Parker, Sidney Parker, Clara Brereton and Sir Edward Denham show no resemblance to Austen's characterization. There was a complete overhaul once Barrett takes over. Thomas Parker is the worst alteration here, in my opinion. I couldn't believe the character assassination! The storylines aren't any better. The whole thing about the gambling and bootlegging is ridiculous! I have no idea what Austen had intended for the rest of this novel, but I'm sure that she would have never written something so preposterous. The writing style is rather strange. Everything seems to be fragmented and we are only shown bits and pieces of the subplots here and there. It is all very bizarre. Charlotte is so underdeveloped once Barrett takes over the writing that I'm none the wiser about her by the time the novel ends. Ugh! I'd never read a more frustrating attempt at completing an unfinished effort by a beloved author. I had based my decision to read this on Barrett's Presumption (pun intended). The aforementioned novel wasn't great, but I thought it was a fair continuation of Pride and Prejudice. This, however, is just awful. I have nothing against the author, but she shouldn't have touched this one. I have purchased Barrett's The Third Sister (continuation of Sense and Sensibility) and might as well give it a whirl. I only hope that it'll be better than this one. As for reading any more completions of Sandition, I think I'll give the one written by "Another Lady" a whirl. For I have heard and read great things about that one.

While Julia Barrett touches on the language "spoken" in Jane Austen's novels, it's not expressed with any feeling or wit. The words seem to be a jumble of Austenique words placed to look good, but not sound good. After chapter 11 the book goes into a million different directions, is narrated from several characters points of view, leaves almost no room for the main characters (Charlotte Heywood) views to be expressed, her feelings to be voiced and is just plain messy.

In most of Austen's novels, you have an opportunity to see the relationship grow between the main charactor and her "intended". In Charlotte, you wonder how they fell in love at all. They rarely see one another, they rarely speak and when they do, it's mostly short and nonsensible.

Then there is the plot line, or rather shall I say lines for there are several (thank you Mr. Collins). There is the plot to save Sandition by gaining a physician, by adding a Crescent, allowing racing gentleman and their horses (and then the sub-plot to this to keep them out)and then the smuggling and bootlegging. Dear me! How did anything get done? I confess, I got bored and just scanned the rest of the book! Honestly, I was disgusted.

If you love Austen's last novel and would like to see how she may have ended it, let me recommend a book far superior to Charlotte. Instead try Sandition.

Sandition does tend to get a little flowery in some places. Charlotte Heywood does tend to get a little flustered and unable to speak her mind around Sidney Parker. However on the whole, it's a much more convincing end to Austen's last attempt. The characters actually grow. They learn. Here is an example.

In Charlotte: Arthur Parker is an "invalid" who learns that perhaps he is not so invalid and then spends the rest of the book remarking to his intended, also thinking herself an invalid, about how herorically he withstands his difficulties with stomach ailments. To which she agrees and says that they only can know how much each endurs to live with this horrid desease. And then they proceed to expound on how proud they are over their problems and attempt to live with them. (sigh).

In Sandition: Arthur Parker is an "invalid" who realizes that perhaps, not only is he NOT an invalid but that there are people fairing far worse then him and do not complain. He falls for a young woman who truly is fragile but makes no complaints, only attempts to live each good day she has to the fullest. He learns from her what it is to be healthy. They both grow and support each other in a common goal that gets them out of a smoke filled tea room and into the fresh sea breezes. He collects and she draws what he collects. He learns to protect her (instead of whining over his bouts and supposed illnesses) and she learns to be stronger.

Sandition is also a book in which you can actually SEE Charlotte and Sidney fall in love. You can watch her struggle over "does he or does he not". It's a much more delightful alternative to all the "our herione" and "our hero" and "my herione" and "my hero"'s that go on in Charlotte (if I read one more of those I thought I would choke).

So, to sum up? Don't Don't Don't waste your time, money or energy on Charlotte, but DO get Sandition. It's a welcome addition to Jane Austen's library.

As a JA lover, I was excited to receive a copy of this book, and eager to like it. Unfortunately, that was impossible, as Barrett's continuation on Austen's chapters is exceptionally poor work. Barrett introduces extraneous characters for no apparent reason, wastes pages outlining their motives and mental states in tedious detail, and then leaves them to accomplish nothing in particular. You know something is seriously awry with the plotting and pacing when the heroine's relationship with the hero hardly makes an appearance until the final 2.5 pages of the book!

The writing, too, is extremely disappointing, with convoluted sentence structures and seemingly random chapter closures. Worst of all, the work completely lacks Austen's understated and sparkling wit.

I strongly recommend skipping this work altogether, and reading "Sanditon" instead. It's a charming and satisfying completion of the JA fragment that, unlike "Charlotte," remains true to Austen's original characters and prose style.

There are too many blurbs on the cover and inner pages, at least one of which compared her to Jane Austen. That naturally made me hate the reviewer. Jane Austen is one of the greatest authors to ever put pen to paper. If you compare a modern author to her, I will hate you, and perhaps I'll feel bitter toward the author you're praising. The book sat on my shelf for about four months, at least, before I stumbled upon it again and was able to give it a fair shake. Short-term memory loss has its advantages.

I love an author with a cause, a conscience, a theme, a message. We have far too few of them in this world. But no reader likes to be preached at, even if he agrees with the author. Does anybody disagree with 99 Luftballoons? No. Does anybody want to hear it? No. I rest my case.

I used to build stories around "messages" myself. But then I got old. There's no message that you, as an author, can give a reader that he or she hasn't already thought, read, and/or written. Your themes should come up in the course of your story, as casual conversation, or else you should make those themes integral and CREDIBLE plot points. Drama not melodrama, and entertainment not sermons. You can't start with a message or a theme. It just kinda happens as you tell a great story. Or you have to make it look that way when it's not that way at all, if you're a true master. Lurie means well, but she eschews speaking softly in favor of the big stick.

Chapter one, we meet the naturalist author. I know a few people who would eat a spotted owl and laugh about it, some in my very own family, but for the most part we've accepted that nature is good. And this character, aged 70, worries that his celebrity has done more harm than good to his cause, and he's become irrelevant, and if not for his loving wife he'd just kill himself. That's a fair enough conflict. His wife, who has dedicated 25 years of her life to doing all the non-writer crap that writers must endure, so that hubby can just write, knows he's got some sort of internal struggle but is doing the all-too-human self-delusion trick about it. I think that's all boring to the non-authors of the world, but it's also fair enough. It happens that way sometimes.

Chapter two, we meet some folks who, I presume, will come into conflict with the folks in chapter one. Their cause is that homophobes are bad. I don't disagree. Then they make the classic mistake of misportraying (I think) the famous author in chapter one as a homophobe and hating him for it. We meet a man with HIV -- I've written about one myself -- and a lesbian -- I've written about several myself and accidentally married one. And as this chapter draws to a not-so-gripping cliffhanger, that's the conflict. That's all we have, aside from some proselytizing, every bit of which I agree with, which I could write better, and which is not why I read. I've read thousands of novels, folks, not counting textbooks. Do you really think I haven't read all this before? You have, haven't you? You could write it for TV if not for the writers' strike.

After reading 25 of 250 pages, putting me firmly into my "10% rule" country, I find it hard to care what will happen to these characters. They're flat. They, and their problems, bore. Plus, in both chapters, the author is very guilty of telling instead of showing. I will NOT say that you should only read this book "as a last resort haha," because Lurie deserves better than that. She can sure put sentences together, and paragraphs, and pages, and make them all easy enough to read, but if I may paraphrase Raymond Chandler, she doesn't hear the music. She also hasn't engaged my interest. Or yours. She's engaged her own interest, unlike most so-called authors, but that's only a start. Work harder if you want readers, Alison. I think you can.

Oh, and the cover blurbs also mention that she's won a Pulitzer Prize. I'm at a loss for words.

The title refers to Key West, Florida, which is the "last resort" both in the literal, geographical sense in that it is the southernmost part of the continental United States, at the far end of a long chain of islands, and also in the metaphorical sense in that it is a place where people (including several of the characters in the novel) go to start a new life when they have tried everything else.



The main characters are Wilkie Walker and his wife Jenny who travel to Key West for a winter break. Wilkie is a retired academic and scientist from a New England university. Although he is much older than his wife (he is seventy, she in her mid-forties) they have had a long and successful marriage. At the time of their Florida vacation, however, their relationship is under strain. Unknown to Jenny, Wilkie is convinced that he is suffering from terminal cancer and has resolved to commit suicide. He wants his death, however, to be thought an accident, and has decided to drown himself while swimming in the sea. (The title "The Last Resort" may also have some reference to Wilkie's planned suicide). All Jenny has noticed, however, is that her husband has become withdrawn and remote and she has concluded that he no longer loves her. Indeed, she convinces herself on very flimsy evidence that he is having an affair, and she begins a sexual relationship with Lee Weiss, the lesbian owner of a women-only boarding house.



In this novel Alison Lurie makes use of the device of recurring characters, a device used by other novelists, most famously Balzac. Her previous novel, "The Truth About Lorin Jones" was also partially set in Key West, and Lee Weiss and her boarding house also play an important part in that book. Two other characters from the same book, Polly Alter and Garrett Jones, are briefly mentioned. The Walkers meet an acquaintance, the poet Gerald Grass, who makes an unsuccessful attempt to seduce Jenny. Grass was one of Janet's housemates in "Real People"; another, Leonard Zimmern, appears at the end (it turns out he is Lee's cousin) and a third, Kenneth Foster, is mentioned. Wilkie was a lecturer at Convers College, the university featured in "Love and Friendship". It would appear that Glory Green, the young actress in "The Nowhere City", never made it in Hollywood as she reappears here as a tour guide.



The book was written in the late nineties. Today, less than ten years on, there is a tendency to look back at the Clinton years as a quiet time in American history, the interval between the fall of Communism and the 9/11 attacks when it was possible to talk about the "end of history". Nevertheless, the period had its own anxieties, and this book deals with two of them, AIDS and the environment. There is a sub-plot about Perry Jackson, an HIV-positive homosexual and the three female relatives, his mother, his formidable Aunt Myra and his cousin Barbie, unhappily married to an ambitious congressman, who come to visit him. (Barbie is the woman whom Jenny wrongly believes to be Wilkie's mistress).



Wilkie has acquired fame as a writer and broadcaster on natural history and has become an icon of the American conservation movement. His anxieties about life are not confined to the state of his health; he is also depressed by the degradation of the environment and the lack of success enjoyed by campaigners like himself in trying to preserve it. There are frequent references to environmental issues; the campaign to save the Florida manatee plays an important part in the book. The environmental themes, however, are not dealt with in a party-political way. We tend to think of the "green" cause as being a liberal one, but Wilkie is in most matters a social and political conservative, whereas Lee, a committed feminist and in all other respects a right-on liberal, has no interest in the natural world and holds views about the environment (jobs and the economy are more important than saving some threatened creature) that would not seem out of place in President Bush's cabinet.



Some of the characters do not seem convincing. I was surprised when Ms Lurie informs us that both Perry and Barbie are supposed to be in their late thirties; Perry comes across like a twenty-something, and Barbie like a neurotic teenager. Perry, who has a predilection for anonymous sex with handsome strangers, seemed too close to the image of the gay man as rampantly promiscuous (an early eighties stereotype that had become outdated by the late nineties). More importantly, Ms Lurie was never able to make convincing one of the central themes of the book, the lesbian relationship between Jenny and Lee. She failed to convince me that a woman in Jenny's position- one who had previously been exclusively heterosexual and who had been married for over twenty years- would enter into a relationship with another woman because she believed her husband was having an affair. (A relationship between Jenny and Gerry Grass might have been more plausible).



Nevertheless, I felt that many of the reviewers on this page (ten of whom only gave the book one star) were being unfair to the author. Despite its serious themes (death, suicide, terminal illness, environmental degradation) there is plenty of black or ironic humour, especially in the scenes featuring Wilkie (the book's best-realised character) whose attempts to commit suicide are continually frustrated- by a chance meeting with Grass, by bad weather, by another suicide. As with other works by this author, there is also plenty of satire, much of it directed at the fiercely conservative political activist Myra. Politically, Myra is opposed to feminism, but ends up becoming a symbol of female empowerment. Having failed to direct the male members of her family towards a political career, she decides that her only option is to run for office herself. The lush, tropical atmosphere of Key West is well conveyed, and there is a surprise revelation which brings the book's themes into perspective. This is not Alison Lurie's best book, but it is in many ways an enjoyable read.

Not a lot happens in this book, which I felt exactly matched the languid torpor of Key West, lush, beautiful and incredibly hot, as described by author Alison Lurie, who returned in 1999 from ten years without a novel with this book.

Jenny Walker, the protagonist, is self-effacing to the point of invisibility, a fact that has been pointed out to her over the years by myriad other women, from her daughter to well-meaning friends. Feminism not only passed her by, it has no reality to Jenny, a fact that is just a tad difficult to understand, given her intelligence. For Jenny's entire life is being a helpmeet to her much older husband, author and lecturer Wilkie Walker, a very unlikeable character who uses his wife to half-write his books, edit, take care of all his correspondence, run their personal lives like a maid, and, above all, make him look good.

When Wilkie sinks into a deep depression, Jenny, in desperation, suggests that they relocate for the winter from their New England home to the warmth and sun of Key West, Florida. And off they go--which I cannot believe would happen in real life, given their personalities. Once they get to Florida, they meet a number of colorful characters whose contrast with Jenny renders her even more ethereal.

Why is Jenny deliberately in thrall to her horrible husband? Other than the half-hearted explanation that Wilkie's work is hers as well, that he IS her job, there is no reason one can see. Jenny is as languid as the weather...and as hard to understand as a cypher. When the end of the book comes--extremely abruptly--we understand her no better than at the beginning, even though we cannot help liking her.

A strange book, not unlikeable, but not fulfilling in either its story or its denouement.

"But even death would be different here, easier -- a kind of slow dissolving into the almost perpetual heat and moisture of Key West." With AIDS and old age, death is everpresent in Key West. One of the main characters here is an older man who is suicidal and another is a young gay man who has learned he is HIV positive. And yet love blooms, when Jenny Walker, married to Wilkie, the famed naturalist who becomes suicidal, meets Lee Weiss, owner of a Key West guest house and a feminist lesbian who sees the beauty in Jenny that Wilkie no longer appreciates. Their love blossoms amidst Wilkie's decline and Jenny, a long time faithful wife and helpmate, goes head over heels as she realizes what true love is. But the book is more than a love story. Key West is revealed with all its flora and fauna and the assortment of people who make it the rich place it is. And the book tells Wilkie's story as well as Jenny's, the fabled author whose fame is past and who wants to end it all while he has the strength to do it. He is stopped at one point by another suicide, a wheel chair bound AIDS victim who simply rolls himself into the ocean and never comes up.

I bought this book, having read lurie before, in order to escape all sense of trend or fashion. it is exhausting having to read in order to hold forth. lurie, i knew, would take me in to the real world, away from the sunday papers and the chatterati. and i was right, she did. a lovely book, this, for grown ups.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I got the book at the library, I am glad I can take it back.

The story begins with Vivan Patin moving back home with her mother after her fathers's death.

The two women have inherited Rosebank, from Vivian's uncle.
They are both broke, but wanting to make Rosebank into a hotel.

Charlotte, Vivian's mother invites Spike, the local sheriff to dinner, hoping to introduce him to Vivian.

A lawyer is on hisway to Rosebank to give Vivian and her mother news on her uncles will.

When he never shows up, they think he has forgotten or turned around and went back home.
Later Vivian finds him murdered in his car.

The story goes down hill from there.

Spike tries to protect Vivian. Murders keep piling up, and everyone suspects her.

There were so many people in this book, I had to go back and see who they were before I could keep reading.

After 150 pages I decided this was the hardest book I have ever tried to read, but I finished it anyway.

The ending was better than the whole story.
I don't think I will be reading anymore of her books.

Bottom line-- Skip this one.

This book MIGHT have been passable if it was about 250 pages
shorter. It seemed like the author had nothing to really do
so she just filled the pages with nonsense and way too
many ridiculous characters. Although the book starts out with
a murder, which I thought might prove intersting, I was wrong.
200 pages later I couldn't care less who committed the murder,
if Spike and Vivian ever figured out their attraction or
much else about this bunch of nonsense. I'm truly amazed
that anyone is still publishing this writer in hardcover,
thank god I only bought a paperback, next time I'll know
not to even bother with that.

This has to be the worst book I've ever read. The relationship between Spike and Vivian made no sense-between the miscommunications and bizarre dialog, I couldn't tell if they loved each other, hated each other, lusted after each other, or all of the above. The abundance of other non-sensical characters made me forget that this was actually a murder mystery. Don't waste your money.

A few months ago I read "Now You See Him" which I found out, albeit too late, was a prequel to "Kiss Them Goodbye". Had I known that I would never have bought this book which was actually worse than the first and a waste of money. My fault, I should concentrate more.

Spike and Vivian behaved like 12 year olds. One or the other was always getting their feelings hurt, usually because they'd completely misread what the other one said/did. Spike would start snapping at Vivian and she'd have no idea why or vice versa. Hello-they're both supposed to be adults with responsible jobs and Spike has a daughter to raise but they can't even communicate with each other?

Ex: He tells her he's worried that she'll sell Rosebank and move away from him. Instead of comforting and reassuring him she screams at him "How do you know what my feelings are? Thanks for the confidence!" and then she slaps him. Why he didn't run in the other direction as fast as he could is more of a mystery than the plot was.

Or almost as bad, a character would say/think something like "I know what that means. or "He realized then what was happening." Wonderful, how about sharing it with the readers because we are clueless?

I suppose I read this one to the end because the optimist in me kept hoping it would get better. Instead, by the end of the book, I was highly annoyed.

I think I'll give Stella a wide berth from now on and if I'm interested in reading another of her books, I'll get it from the library.

Fans of the Toussaint series will be happy that Spike Devol finally has a spunky love interest. Still recovering from the death of her father, Vivian Patin and her mother Charlotte receive a dilapidated mansion as an inheritance from her Uncle Guy, and are assured that the upkeep will be taken care of. Uncle Guy was a funny man, and hid the money, and only his lawyers knows where.

When that lawyer turns up dead on the grounds of Rosebank, and Vivian has managed to desecrate the crime scene, a detective with a chip on his shoulder accuses Vivian of the crime due to her association with Spike, deputy sheriff (and former colleague) of nearby Toussaint. Spike and Vivian fall for each other while investigating the murder, since detective Bonine has not lifted a finger to find the real culprit.

While there are a couple racy scenes and Vivian and Spike have chemistry, the story lacks the emotional depth of some of the other Toussaint books. And it is far too long - could have been trimmed at least 100 pages and still told the story. The bayou colloquialisms got old after awhile too, especially those from annoying secondary character Ouisa.