All the Books.

"A wholly unique novel that follows the desperate, confused and often absurd lives of a group of WWII bombardiers, who are just trying to get home but their leadership is making it basically impossible. It took awhile to hit its stride but once it did, it was enjoyable in all its insane strangeness."  3 Stars Pros:  Subtly amusing in its strange depiction of war and all the back and forth that happens between the many bodies of leadership. It's reminiscent of one giant game of "Telephone" and the message is so garbled by the end that you're not quite sure what the message was to begin with/The repetition, the constant, "I can't hear you, what did you say", "I just said that", "You just said that" was both amusing and infuriating. Cons:  It takes about 100 pages to hit its stride/The somewhat backwards storyline is hard to follow at first but once it clicks, it's moderately entertaining. There are far too many characters,...

"A truly unique take on one man's struggle for survival through Slavery and his ability to tap into a "gift" that is triggered by memory, family and love. A beautifully written first novel by Coates and I hope that he'll write many, many more." 5 Stars Pros:  Coates words are sensory overload. You can see, smell, taste, touch, everything that happens. Though the book's ending is mixed, in a way, it's truly satisfying.  Cons:  Slavery in general is a horrible thing but through Hiram's eyes we see it in an all too personal way. This is not a con with the novel itself, it is a con with the mere idea that humans think that they can own other humans.  Full Review:  Hiram (Hi) is the son of his master (Walker) and his mother Rose. His mother was sold when he was nine and his father eventually brings him up to the house, to work as his other son, Maynard's, manservant. Hiram does as he is told, is quiet and obedient. But at the same time he knows he...

"What at first starts out as amusing and interesting soon devolves into a tiresome, non-sensical description of Gulliver and his many adventures." 1 Star Pros: At first, Gulliver's adventures are fun and intriguing. But once we reach the Third Book it devolves into nonsensical linguistics etc.    Cons:  The third and fourth book (especially) are basically Gulliver always trying to get across how amazing England is and never quite succeeding in convincing his audience of his beliefs. The third and fourth books were painful to get through.  Full Review:  Gulliver, who is often commissioned as a surgeon aboard ships, has had his share of adventures. And he decides it prudent to share some of his more outlandish escapades with us, his captive audience. Broken down into four books that detail his travels to different parts of the world, we see Gulliver as he is taken captive by the Lilliputians (an entire race of people no taller than 4 centimeters), taken capti...