Book Description
A novel about obsession that makes for obsessive reading.
All Owen Patterson wants is a normal life, a happy marriage, and a stable family. But following the brutal and random murder of his brother-in-law, that dream is shattered. A year later, his wife is still in mourning and his in-laws won't talk about anything but their dead son.
The murderer, Henry Joseph Raven, has been put in prison, but as far as Owen is concerned, prison isn't punishment enough. He embarks on a quest to "balance the scales of justice," writing letters to Henry Raven under the pseudonym Lily Hazelton. His plan: to seduce the murderer, make him fall in love with his fictional correspondent, and then break his heart.
From one letter to the next, Lily Hazelton develops into a curious amalgam of details from Owen's imagination, snatches of his difficult childhood, and memories of his cousin Eileen, a suicide who was his first true love. Not entirely in control of his own creation, Owen dives headfirst into the correspondence, only to find himself caught in the trap he's set for Henry Raven.
Bringing together an epistolary game of cat and mouse with the harrowing record of one man's psychological collapse, The Interloper is a compelling and original debut from a bold new writer.
Customer Reviews:
Wow! What a page turner!.......2007-08-23
This is probably the best first novel to hit the book stores since Brett Easton Ellis's "Less Than Zero" in 1985. It's a bona fide page turner.
The cover blurb sets the reader up to expect a revenge novel: The protagonist is out to avenge his brother-in-law's senseless murder, a loss that is destroying two families. Antoine Wilson's story takes the form of a modern epistolary novel--one that depends on letters to set out the plot. But book has much more in store. There are some nice plot twists that make the book a compelling "read". While the writing style isn't immortal literature, the simple, direct narrative keeps bumping along with a few thigh-slapping jokes thrown in.
There are a few lapses of editing, and some of the voices don't seem quite right (hard boiled criminals aren't usually literary types). However, these are minor glitches in a great first novel.
This is an excellent "beach book" or a way to happily "kill" a trans-continental flight.
3 1/2 Stars: Revenge.......2007-07-26
The basic premise of Antoine Wilson's "The Interloper" is fascinating: how far would you go, what would you do in order to enact, set in motion a plot to avenge a wrong done to your family? What does an "Eye for an Eye" really mean in 2007?
Owen marries Patty and on their honeymoon they learn that Patty's brother CJ is murdered; sending Patty and her family into a tailspin: totally natural. Early on this novel, CJ's father, Calvin Sr, speaking about the incarcerated murderer says: "I'd kill him with my bare hands if I got the chance. But I won't get the chance. I don't want the chance usually."
Owen, as the "outsider" : both a new part of the Stocking family and yet apart from it...attached to it only by his marriage to Patty serves as the interloper of the title: someone who didn't know the murdered brother CJ yet must suffer and empathize with his in laws and with his new wife specifically: "We are all hobbled together. Odds and ends. Bric-a-brac. CJ is: a buried body, Stocking talk, newspapers, videos and pictures, Ravens (the murderer) account, a diary. I can't put him back together. I can't put myself back together. The pieces are me but not mine."
And so Owen hatches a plan to avenge CJ's murder. A plan to make the murderer, Raven pay even more than the currency of time and freedom that has been placed on him by the court: "The plan unfolded with crystal clarity in my mind...Raven would suffer...I resolved right then not to tell Patty about my plan until I reaped its fruits. All my duplicity would turn out for the best, like planning a surprise party. This was the only way I could un-poison the soil, restore a sense of justice and balance out our world, bring the old Patty back."
Robert Burns said it best: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
Antoine Wilson is a talented writer and this, being his first novel is a good read but not a great read or a great novel. The third act falls apart in that Wilson seems to lose interest in his story as the denouement is jarring and out of character with the rest of the book.
With that said there are many passages here that take your breath away with the knowing clarity of its observations: "The word Ghost should be like the word Pants--it should never be singular. No one leaves behind one ghost. Everyone who dies leaves behind at least as many ghosts as people they knew."
couldn't put it down.......2007-07-20
I read about Chuck Palahniuk's books something like: "they're written for people who don't like to read." In The Interloper Wilson's style is apparent, but not at the expense of the story which kept me from putting the book down. If you like Palahniuk or T.C. Boyle, you'll like The Interloper. A really exciting, interesting, unassuming read.
Roadmap of a journey to obsession.......2007-07-03
From The Interloper by Antoine Wilson:
"The word ghost should be like the word pants - it should never be singular. No one leaves behind one ghost. Everyone who dies leaves behind at least as many ghosts as people they knew."
The Interloper was an impromptu read for me. I didn't intend to read it right now, with all the piles of review books accumulating around me like ants at a summer picnic. If my hand hadn't happened to touch this particular book, while I was pawing through a bag of books, who knows when I'd have gotten to it. I didn't get a review copy of it, so there was no sense of true urgency, but I had an idea it had been lauded as a really good read. And far be it from me not to be influenced by that.
So I picked it up, and read the first couple of pages. Then I read a few more pages, then I said "Hell with it. I'm taking this one to my reading lair..." And the rest is history. It was as close to unputdownable as it gets.
The main character, Owen Patterson, is a man whose worsening mental state pulled me in and wouldn't let go. As his obsession grew so did mine, and before I knew it there was no escaping until I knew how all this resolved itself.
What would the average man do if his wife felt tortured by the knowledge her brother's murderer wasn't paying all that stiff a price for his crime, if the pain and sadness of it had turned her into a person he no longer recognized, and he felt himself powerless to help?
The average man may not be willing to go to the lengths Owen Patterson did, starting up a correspondence with the killer, posing as a beautiful young woman, trying to win his heart and then break it, just as his wife's heart had been broken. The further Owen gets into his plan, the more his sanity takes a dive, plunging him into obsession. The need for revenge becomes so overwhelming he puts everything on the line, risking his job and his relationship with his wife, hoping against hope that once all is said and done he'll be able to say he'd maybe not righted the wrong, but that he'd at least balanced it out a bit. And his wife, he reasoned, would feel better knowing he'd loved her enough to do that for her, and maybe, just maybe, she'd snap back to herself again, and everything between them would be as great as it had been before her brother was senselessly and brutally murdered. That's a lot of maybes, but when maybe is all you have you may just take a chance and grasp at anything.
"Every moment contains within it the seeds of its own destruction."
The Interloper's a fascinating read, especially if you love books that delve into the darker side of the psyche, like I do. The prose is beautiful, and the plot grabs you by the throat. A fine, fine book.
Great neo-noir.......2007-06-25
This is a near-perfect first novel. It's structured like a classic noir, as a flashback onto the events that have landed the narrator in the circumstances he finds himself at the time he begins to write (I won't spoil it and tell you what those circumstances are). That character is very interesting and intriguing -- highly intelligent but clearly flawed. We see his faults and bizarre behavior, but still want things to work out for him. Really, this is a darkly fun, funny book, and a quick read.
Book Description
Interlopers Audiobook
Written by: Alan Dean Foster
Narrated by: Ben Browder (John Crichton from Farscape)
Unabridged 8CD set
Cody Westcott, a young archeologist, returned from a dig at Apachetarimac with more than he bargained for. Seems the Chachapoyans that he had been studying had a lot to teach us all. Soon he steps through the looking glass but unlike Alice it's no fairytale world that he finds. Instead it is our own world teeming with Interlopers-Those Who Abide. Unseen by the mass of humanity they are aware that Cody can now see them. They don't like it. Thrust into a fight which finds him allied with highly unlikely characters he travels around the world to ancient centers of power. He calls on strength he never knew he possessed to save his wife and the future of humanity.
Download Description
Archeologist Cody Westcott knows something is causing random acts of badness--such as upset stomachs, nervous breakdowns, and the collapse of civilizations. He knows it's something ancient, something evil, and something hungry.
Customer Reviews:
What you can't see CAN hurt you.......2007-09-24
Boy of boy does Alan Dean Foster knows how to creepy ? He still manages to include humor and even some laugh-out-loud moments. Narrators can make or break an audiobook. Fortunately Ben Browder has the range and the perception to take Mr. Foster's book and make it jump off the page. After hearing this book on CD my question is when is somebody going to make this into a movie ?
A "movie" on a CD with a cast of characters.......2006-03-07
This is the first audio book I've ever bought or listened to and I thought I would be bored out of my mind listening to it. I bought it because the multi-talented Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate SG-1, Party of Five) was the "narrator". I used quotes around narrator because Ben gives his all in his acting out of this novel. At times I thought that there were other "narrators" besides Ben doing the dialog between the characters. I kept forgetting that only Ben was doing the narrating. That's how good he is at this. This is more than reading or narration, it's acting. Not only was I NOT bored, but I was so caught up in Ben's performance that I listened to the whole 8 discs in one sitting.
As far as the quality of the story goes, I'll just say that it's just as good as any other throwaway novel you'll find these days by the likes of King, Turow, and other authors whose names slip my mind because their stuff is so unmemorable. It's a light story with some preaching about the evils of nuclear weapons, a damsel in distress, a reluctant nerd-hero who kind of saves the day with some help from the damsel in distress and some strange shadowy organization, science fiction and fantasy.
If you like Ben Browder then I highly recommend this audio book.
A paycheck-level book for Mr. Foster, nothing special........2005-06-09
Interlopers is to date the worst Alan Dean Foster novel I've read. As he is a consistently good author, that puts it in the middle of the road as far as pulp fiction goes, neither time-wastingly bad nor anything to write home about. An author needs to put out books to pay the bills and keep the family fed, and I received the strong impression that Interlopers was penned to keep food on the table rather than a labor of love. While it has an interesting premise, the 'tentacly boogeymen infest humans and spread evil' heart of the story, it falls apart in the execution.
The story kicks off with a terribly improbable opening, involving the drinking of a concoction full of poisons on the say-so of an ancient tablet. It then follows up with ample deus ex machinae when characters are introduced who are unflappable, never mistaken, and always capable. Any tension that existed before the appearance of these characters immediately vaporizes; a giant polka-dotted cyclops monster that shoots lightning bolts from its eye could appear in the middle of the street, and doubtless they would calmly and cooly dispatch it. At the same time the antagonists, who started off with a great, creepy sort of unified front against the main character, stop being either creepy or clever, and just sort of sit back and wait to be defeated.
Add to that a few logical questions (ala 'If these things exist in a significant percent of the rocks and wood and other plants of the world, why isn't everyone full of them all the time?') and you wind up with a novel that, while very promising, needed a lot more finishing to live up to its concept.
Alan Dean Foster and Ben Browder have a hit.......2005-03-15
Very clever to take a novel that needed either a whole cast of people to narrate or one outstanding actor. Ben Browder proves himself to be able to leap tall metaphors in a single bound. He takes you around the world and makes you feel like you are going through these incredible experiences with the characters. Ben leaves you wanting to hear and see more of this extraordinary world that Alan Dean Foster has created. By all means enjoy this in audio. Hope some clever producer picks up both book and actor and gives us a something truly wonderful to watch on the big screen.
HP Lovecraft meets Indiana Jones.......2005-02-09
Ben Browder is an outstanding in the way he makes this book come alive. His acting combined with Alan Dean Foster's story craft make an unbeatable combination. I won't give away as much as I've seen in other reviews of the story but I will say the story spans 3 continents, with places as far away as you can get on planet earth...and beyond. With all of that it doesn't lose the very human story that is at the heart of the why the protagonist is willing to give up everything to protect the one he loves. Plus there are the nifty audio and visual excursions that Ben Browder delivers. Not every boy from Tennessee can do a convincing Aboriginal accent !!
Average customer rating:
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Interloper
Richard Martin Stern
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0671700189 |
Product Description
Code Name: Eric Mission #12 The Interlopers... REMARKS: Matt Helm finds out just how fatal blond hair can be when he takes over another man's identity, fiancee, and fate. In this mixed-doubles counter- espionage mission, Helm plays decoy for an assassin's dream... to kill the next President of the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Time is limitted to save the President.......1998-05-14
Matt Helm has another complicated mission. He is sent to Canada to help another government agent by replacing a murdered messenger. But wiley old Mac -- Matt's boss -- has a second and more dangerous mission. Matt has to eliminate a dangerous assassin before he can kill the President of the U.S. As usual, Hamilton delivers another action packed novel filled with intrique. Don't miss this book.
Product Description
11 massmarket paperback Titles By Jordan - Valentine's Night - Rival Attractions - Forgotten Passion - A Forbidden Loving - Daugher of Hassan - Dangerous Interloper - Injured Innocent - Woman to Wed - Kind of Madness - Too Short a Blessing - Savage Adoration
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Arrogant Interloper
Catherine George
Manufacturer: Mills and Boon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0263767671 |
Customer Reviews:
Great characters!.......2003-08-01
Jane had always been sensible. She held a responsible job in London and was engage to a solid citizen, Adrian. Only one thing was missing--and Jane was not willing to wed without love. So, she called off the engagement, gave notice at work and faced the prospects of her new future---without a fiance and without a pay check. Even her parent's cottage, which she thought of using while they were on holiday, was unavailable. Pond House was being
repaired by the man who'd taken over the old Calvert Estate--a nouveau rich upstart by the name of Max Brigstock. Jane found him intriguing, in fact, something about him seemed rather familiar...
Average customer rating:
- Dangerous Interloper by Penny Jordan (Large Print Harlequin Hardcover)
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Dangerous Interloper
Penny Jordan
Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
Jordan, Penny
| ( J )
| Authors, A-Z
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
Romance
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Accessories:
-
philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer
ASIN: 0263128911 |
Customer Reviews:
Dangerous Interloper by Penny Jordan (Large Print Harlequin Hardcover).......2006-06-09
Description from the book back cover:
Miranda Shepherd couldn't remember the last time a man had made such an intense physical impact on her. It was ridiculous of her to feel like a giddy teenager when she was a mature career woman of twenty-eight. In any case it wasn't possible to bump into a total stranger, however attractive, and feel the world fall apart. But that was exactly what had happened with Ben Frobisher. How embarassing it would be if he discovered her secret! Because Ben showed no signs of wanting anything more than friendship. What was she to do?
Average customer rating:
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King Of Hell, Vol. 7
In-soo Ra , and
Jae-hwan Kim
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
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TokyoPop | By Publisher | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Fantasy | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
TokyoPop | By Publisher | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Fantasy | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1591828678 |
Book Description
*King of Hell is sure to please fans of sword play and sorcery *Consistent bestseller based on BookScan reports *Fast paced action and sidesplitting humor leaves fans clamoring for each successive volume! *By the illustrator of TOKYOPOP's Warcraft:The Sunwell Trilogy
When Young and Majeh join forces to fight One-Eye's zombie army, they soon realize that there's more to the army than meets the eye. Many of Majeh and Young's friends are found among the ranks of the soulless warriors. As the two fearless fighters try to free their friends, looming in the distance is their final destination: Devil Mountain!
Customer Reviews:
Think and Act and Live Like the Enemy.......2004-05-18
Several months ago I read a first novel by Will McCarthy and was impressed. The novel is AGGRESSOR SIX. This is a novel of alien contact and war. What makes it different from others of a similar theme is that physics actually plays a part. The aliens have a huge empire (still just a spot on the map) that has existed for eons. Long enough for the forces of the spiral arm to have stretched and split the collection of worlds. Lo and behold, almost next door they run into humanity which is also attempting to expand into the stars. The aliens attack and humanity loses. Word gets out to Earth that the aliens are on their way.
It will be many years before they arrive. Many plans are hatched to try and deal with the aliens who have reached humanity's furthest settlement and wiped it out. One of these plans is to train soldiers to live and think like the aliens and thus hopefully come up with a way to turn the invaders aside. This is called an aggressor six; a six-member group that is at once a colony and a family. They train and train. Later they find out that they are only one of three sixes. The other two are a six of dolphins and a six of machine AIs. The dolphins kill some researchers and it is decided that the plan does not work. But the humans are close. The machines are VERY dangerous if you say the wrong thing to them, but the machines understand the aliens. The aliens are getting closer (still a year or so away from Earth).
This is a novel that does an excellent job of creating alien aliens. Not just strange, but plausible in their own right. A wonderful book for fans of hard SF.
Becoming the Enemy.......2003-12-25
Aggressor Six is the first SF novel by the author. Several centuries in the future, Earth has settled the Solar system and established colonies in five other stellar systems using fusion-powered slow ships. All of the colonies, except Sirius, have FTL communications with Earth through massive ansible relays. Unfortunately, an alien invasion from the waist of Orion hit the Sirius colony first and, before the news could reach the other human planets by lightspeed radio signals, a second force hit the Wolf colony. The Waister ships, traveling at ninety percent of lightspeed, then moved against the Lalande colony and a scout group attacked the Solar System.
The human government tried desperately to understand the alien technology and to find some way to counter or nullify the alien weapons. Using memory retrieval technology, they discovered much about the alien language and social structure. However, most of the alien technology was incomprehensible to human researchers.
In this novel, one small group, Aggressor Six, is dedicated to understanding the aliens by learning to "live and think and spit like the enemy". Captain Marshe Talbott is the queen, Navy Lieutenant Josev Ranes is Drone One, Marine Corporal Ken Jonson is Drone Two, Lieutenant Sopho Yeng is Worker One, Sergeant Roland Hanlin is Worker Two, and Shenna is the Dog. All have had a Broca web implanted with the Waister language loaded and available to their own brains. Sheena, a Martian Retriever, has a vocoder on her collar to help her speak.
Ken Jonson is the only one in the group that has ever had contact with the Waisters, although it has all been during firefights. One of the reasons that he has been selected is his prior interest in acting. At first, he keeps having post-traumatic shocks from his experiences while boarding a Waister ship and subduing the crew. Once he gets beyond the flashbacks, however, he starts trying to think, act and talk like a Waister. Soon the whole group is doing the same.
Captain Talbott's superior, Colonel Jhee, is a by-the-book administrator and doesn't really understand the objective of the group. He threatens to cut their funds on several occasions and soon begins to wonder at their sanity. He also keeps information from them.
Aggressor Six soon starts to produce assessments of enemy objectives, tactics and motives, but Colonel Jhee only wants to know where they will strike and when. He also wants that information yesterday. Whenever Talbott and the group try to explain the necessity of working through the available data, he threatens to bring them up on charges if they don't produce according to his deadlines.
Then Aggressor Six learns that they are not alone, but that two other Aggressor Six groups have been established. Their Waister knowledge insists that they must face the other groups. Colonel Jhee blows his top and locks them into their quarters.
This story is an interesting extrapolation of current techniques of assessing enemy policies and strategies. The human forces also have some advanced technology compared to the present and use it to gain a great deal of data on the enemy mindset. The problem is integrating all this data into usable information, so the Aggressor Six groups were formed.
This novel has a few weaknesses, including the introduction of slowlight, the ghosts, and several scenes involving outside groups. These sections rather distracted from the main story. However, the scenes where Jonson is boarding the scout ship and fighting his way out again definitely contributed to the storyline. Overall, the plot was interesting and ran smoothly, with those few exceptions.
Recommended for McCarthy fans and for anyone else who enjoys military SF involving analysis of enemy intentions and capabilities.
Excellent first contact story.......2001-10-09
AGGRESSOR SIX is not only one of the best first contact stories I've ever read, it's also one of the very best first sf novels. The 'Aggressor Six' of the title is a group of five people and a Martian retriever trying to simulate, and thereby understand, the behaviour of an insectoid alien hive culture before it wipes out yet more human colonies. Intelligent and fast-paced, the novel had me completely hooked by page 2 and wouldn't let me go: the characters are interesting, the writing taut and economical, and the inherent tension would do credit to a Hitchcock movie. It amazes and saddens me that so wonderful a book is out of print, unfilmed, and so little known.
An impressive debut.......2000-07-29
"One part STARSHIP TROOPERS, one part OUTER LIMITS-style psychological suspense... McCarthy cranks up the tension effectively. Recommended." -- Charles DeLint, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. .
"A short, fast-moving tale of human and alien psychology. The exploration... is well done and fascinating. I like McCarthy's details. Not many authors can create truly alien aliens, but McCarthy appears to be one of them." -- Janice M. Eisen, Aboriginal SF. .
GET THIS BOOK BACK IN PRINT!
Happy reading--
Pete Tillman
Average customer rating:
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Aggressor Six
Wil McCarthy
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000OAGGUE |
Amazon.com
Fans of Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples know that Ruth Reichl is a wonderful memoirist--a funny, poignant, and candid storyteller whose books contain a happy mix of memories, recipes, and personal revelations.
Amazon.com Interview
We chewed the fat with Ruth. Read our interview. | |
What they might not fully appreciate is that Reichl is an absolute marvel when it comes to writing about food--she can describe a dish in such satisfying detail that it becomes unnecessary for readers to eat. In her third memoir, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, Reichl focuses on her life as a food critic, dishing up a feast of fabulous meals enjoyed during her tenure at The New York Times. As a critic, Reichl was determined to review the "true" nature of each restaurant she visited, so she often dined incognito--each chapter of her book highlights a new disguise, a different restaurant (including the original reviews from the Times), and a fresh culinary adventure. Garlic and Sapphires is another delicious and delightful book, sure to satisfy Reichl's foodie fans and leave admirerers looking forward to her next book, hopefully about her life with Gourmet. --Daphne Durham
More from Ruth Reichl
Tender at the Bone |
Comfort Me with Apples |
The Gourmet Cookbook |
Remembrance of Things Paris |
Endless Feasts |
Gourmet magazine |
Amazon.com's The Significant Seven
Ruth Reichl answers the seven questions we ask every author.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: Kate Simon's New York Places and Pleasures. I read it as a little girl and then went out and wandered the city. She was a wonderful writer, and she taught me not only to see New York in a whole new way, but to look, and taste, beneath the surface.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?
A: Ulysses by James Joyce. What better place to finally get through it?
Keith Jarrett's The Köln Concert. If you're going to listen to one piece over and over, this is one that doesn't get tiresome.
How to Build a Boat in Five Easy Steps. Since I'm going to be watching one movie over and over, it might as well be useful.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told?
A: I'm such a good liar, I wouldn't know where to begin.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: I can write pretty much anywhere. But I prefer small, cozy spaces, with a good view over a lake or a forest, and room for the cats to curl up.
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: "She'll be right back."
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: Elizabeth I. She fascinates me. She had a great mind, enormous appetites--and she was a survivor. The most interesting woman of an interesting time, and I have a million questions I'd like to ask her.
Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: You mean after creating world peace? This is a hard one. But I've always wanted to be able to fly.
Book Description
Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world—a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us—along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews—her remarkable reflections on how one's outer appearance can influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives.
“This wonderful book is funny—at times laugh-out-loud funny—and smart and wise.” —The Washington Post
“Reichl is so gifted . . . the reader remains hungry for more.” —USA Today
“Expansive and funny.” —Entertainment Weekly
Customer Reviews:
Made me happy!!!!!.......2007-10-09
This book made me so happy! It was just such a fun read. Anyone who's into food will love this book. She's a very clever writer. I didn't want the book to end!!!
food service for the high and mighty.......2007-09-14
I like the book til about 3/4 of the book. It was cute in the beginning, but it was getting tiresome. There were parts of the book that was funny. But, if you don't go to expensive restaurants, and know about gourmet foods and restaurants. It becomes tedious. I had a hard time relating since I don't go to pricy reataurants. But, it did give you a different outlook on the restaurant business. How they treat you. I go to my local restaurant, or coffe shop any day. They know my name, and it is personal. But, in these xpensive restaurants you have the status if you are somebody, and they will seat at the best table in the house. Getting back to the book, The best part were the disguises, how her family felt when she had all the disguises, now that was funny. The treatments of the customers if you were famous. They would get the best table in the house. And when she was found out to be the food critic of TNYT. Then they gave her the best table, the best wines, made sure she had a full glass of wine. I never even thought of going to a restaurant and being a social event.
Outstanding!! I Didn't want it to end!.......2007-09-12
The title of Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl's third food memoir comes from TS Eliot's Four Quartets and is courtesy Ruth's husband, Michael but the reader doesn't understand his reasoning for the quote until near the end of this delightful collection of tales of Reichl's time as food editor of the New York Times.
Filled with stories of her life as a critic, reviews of New York restaurants--well known and some not as well known, as well as recipes, this book is absolutely unputdownable. Imagine, if you will, how Ruth discovers, on a trip to NYC that her photo is plastered on bulletin boards in restaurants all over the city and decides that that she's not going to be able to go to restaurants as herself and fairly do a critique. Instead she devises a plan. She will go incognito. Ruth enlists an old friend of her mother's who was an acting coach and with her help she becomes Molly, a middle aged woman from the Midwest; Brenda a vivacious and friendly woman; the sexy Chloe; Betty a plain elderly woman, and even Miriam her own cantankerous mother. As one can well imagine, these women get very different treatment from one another and VERY different treatment from Ruth Reichl, the food critic.
My mouth was watering as I read of Ruth's experiences in restaurants that I can only dream of eating at in NYC (although I do admit that I will attempt some good sushi again after reading how it is properly eaten) and I know that many a fine eating experience will be enhanced.
I borrowed the three Ruth Reichl books from the library, but will be buying copies of my own for my keeper shelf. I am not sure if I will eventually try any of the recipes, but I sure want to. The only thing that disappointed me was that after reading these three books, one right after another, that there are no more Ruth Reichl books to read. I guess I am going to have to satisfy myself with a subscription to Gourmet magazine and hope she has another book in her future with which to entertain her legions of fans.
Hysterical undercover foray into upper crust elitism.......2007-08-09
This is Ruth Reichl's third book in her witty autobiographical series chronicling life from food poisoned youth to New York's most esteemed food critic. This book describes in hilarious detail the many disguises she assumed to turn the world of food critiquing into a reality show of epic proportions! Laugh out loud good. One should really start with her first book, "Tender to the Bone", to get the full effect of this writer's charm.
Conspicuous Consumption.......2007-07-15
This book left me feeling like I consumed too much, uncomfortable and wondering why I spent so much time doing it. It's a little interesting in the way that it's a little interesting to know what Paris Hilton is saying and doing. In fact it may be exactly the same as reading this book. The author is good at describing food but not that wonderful at making the stories involving. Her fascination with herself bleeds into bizarre as she dons disguises at various times. I found her reviews and the peek at the underbelly of the New York Times fairly intriguing. However, the uncomfortable feeling comes from my understanding of how the privileged in this country have taken conspicuous consumption to obscene levels and we all become participants by glorify them. I don't want to know any more about Paris Hilton or read any more food orgies thank you very much.
Books:
- The Iowa Award: The Best Stories, 1991-2000
- The Madame Realism Complex (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents)
- The Old Gringo: A Novel
- The Old Limey
- The Persia Cafe
- The Rich Man's Table
- The Sculptural Imagination: Figurative, Modernist, Minimalist
- The Spirit of Tio Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story/El Espiritu De Tio Fernando : Una Historia Del Dia De Los Muertos
- The Swoop! And Other Stories (A Continuum Book)
- The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories
Books Index
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