Memphis Reads Archive

Fiction

Andrea Bledsoe reviews THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED by Wally Lamb (Harper Collins, 2008)

Okay, I am not going to lie. This was a difficult book to read. Not only is it 740 pages, it is also a very emotional story. Because I have already read and enjoyed Wally Lamb’s other fictional works (She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True), I knew I would enjoy his latest book.

Lamb has packed a wallop in The Hour I First Believed. Told from the point of view of Caelum Quirk, it the story of a national tragedy and how a couple deals with it. Caelum is a former Columbine High School teacher, and Maureen, who Caelum terms his “three strikes and you’re out” wife, is the part-time school nurse. The couple has had their share of martial problems-including infidelity and abuse- but after the Columbine Massacre, their problems seem trivial.

Lamb does an excellent job of blending historical facts with fiction. Using police archives, journal entries from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and other documentation, Lamb places Caelum and Maureen right in the thick of tragedy. Although the couple escaped from the massacre physically unscathed, the emotional aftermath they face is torture in itself.

This book is an emotional one, without a doubt, but there are laugh-out-loud passages, too. I also enjoyed the author’s placement of characters from his previous work throughout this novel. If a reader can make it through the bulk of 740 pages, I honestly think he or she will be better for reading such a heartrending story.


Andrea Bledsoe, Poplar-White Station Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Andrea King

Fiction/African-American

Doris Dixon reviews AFTER THE DANCE by Lori Johnson (Dafina Books, 2008)

With her debut novel After The Dance, former Memphian Lori Johnson offers a gift to readers who enjoy well-crafted, character-driven stories about love and intimacy. The smart dialogue and humorous banter will remind some readers of classic Hollywood love stories. Others will appreciate that this is a story about "grown folks" determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. The language is sharp but never profane and the plot is provocative without being tawdry.

Tired of playing romantic games, Faye creates a series of rules for potential lovers. She is not interested in romantic relationships, wants to avoid emotional entanglements, and refuses to have sex with any man more than three times. Faye's new neighbor, Carl, is intrigued by if not instantly attracted to her. Their brief time together, watching movies, talking, and dancing, convinces him that, despite the obstacles she has created, Faye is someone he wants to know better. Carl accepts her conditions (three strikes and you're out) with the hope that his charms will wear down her defenses.


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Doris Dixon

Nonfiction/Memoir

Philip Williams reviews PIECES OF MY HEART: A LIFE by Robert Wagner with Scott Eyman (Harper Entertainment, 2008)

In Pieces of My Heart, Robert Wagner, "RJ" to his friends, recounts that he first knew he wanted to be an actor when he was 12 years old. He was caddying on a Bel-Air golf course and saw a foursome composed of none other than Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, and Randolph Scott. His dream came true when he became a contract player at Fox Studios in 1948.

Wagner's fascinating and entertaining account of his life and 60-year acting career is replete with dozens of recollections, stories, and memories of his time in Hollywood, where he was friends with such screen luminaries as Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable. He reminisces about his work in many films and on three successful television shows.

Readers may not know that, as a young man, Wagner had a four-year relationship with Barbara Stanwyck, who was twice his age, and that he later dated Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds. Because of a business deal he made with Aaron Spelling in the 1970s, he shared in the considerable profits of the hit TV show "Charlie’s Angels." To younger people, he may be much better known for his work in the popular Austin Powers movies. His dream life, though, was marred by the tragic death of the love of his life, his wife Natalie Wood, and Wagner offers his account of the circumstances of her death, the deep depression it caused him, and his ultimate resignation to it. This engrossing memoir is, in many ways, very moving and written in a very engaging style.


Philip Williams, Cordova Branch Library

Labels: Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams