You get a double dose this week as I will not be updating the blog for 1.5 weeks. I should have a couple of new reviews queued up by the time I get back, as I plan to do a lot of reading :). k
Joyland, Stephen King (3.5)
Stephen King can always be counted on to deliver a solid
story with interesting characters, new plot and often, these days, a dose of
nostalgia. This book is no different. It’s a story of a college kid who spends
his summer working at Joyland – a less than Disney, more than carnival type of
place. Add in carnies, fortune-tellers, a dash of love and a FunHouse mystery
and you have a good yarn. The fast paced, short chapter style along with constant
activity leads this to be a quick summertime read. I wouldn’t call it one of
his best, but I really enjoyed the combination of good plot and thoughtful
characters.
The New Centurions, Joseph Wambaugh (3)
Joseph Wambaugh is highly respected as an author of very
‘real’ fiction, specifically concerning inter-city police drama. As a retired
LA police sergeant who worked in the 60’s, Mr. Wambaugh has unique experience
and views of police life. This book follows three police rookies in LA just
prior and during the famous Watts riots. Each section has three chapters (one
first person for each officer) and skips a year for each section. You follow
the three from the academy through their first four years of policing. I
appreciated the real-ness of the stories, but frankly there was no real plot. Since
this was one of his earlier novels, I expect it is appreciated for its raw
portrayal of everyday life of rookie policemen, which was new and fresh in the
1970s. I just found I was waiting for more.
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