Arlene's profile

"ravingreader"
 
 
Nickname: ravingreader
Location: Sacramento, CA
Birthday: Aug 4
In My Own Words:
I've been doing book reviews weekly for 10 years, alternating between the local daily newspaper and local radio station. Generally, I'm prompted to respond to Amazon.com when I think some reviewers have been unfair to a writer, or the book seems to be receiving very little attention.

My 'work' has included technical writing, media relations, and photography, some in the political realm.

I… Read more
 

Reviews

Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
4.0 out of 5 stars It's the Characters, July 12 2002
I am shocked to read the negative reviews on this novel. This story is character-driven, while the great majority of today's novels seem plot driven or dependent on the shock of incest, poverty, domestic abuse. What's wonderful is that these are ordinary people in small town America (and not an unusual small town) yet the author is able to make them fascinating. I was disappointed when the novel ended because I wanted to continue observing their lives. This is for readers who are tired of the literary pretentiousness represented by some of today's "in" authors like Jonathan Franzen, for readers who are tired of writers who don't believe in punctuation (as in the Nobel Prize… Read more