A Review of The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Philip_Spires]Philip Spires
The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally is based on the life of an Australian bushranger called Jimmy Governor. Fictionalised as Jimmy Blacksmith, the character takes several steps down the social ladder in terms of his name, but remains at the bottom of the pile in reality by virtue of being not only black, but also an Aborigine. As Jimmy Blacksmith, however, the character is not without skills. He speaks English and can build a uniform fence as strong and even as anyone. He can work as hard and deliver as much as any hired hand, except, of course, by definition.
Thomas Keneally's novel is highly successful in its presentation of white people's assumptions of superiority. Knowing that they occupy a level much higher up the Victorian pyramid of life that has God and The Queen at the top, they can be imperially confident that anything they might think or do must necessarily outshine what the likes of Jimmy Blacksmith can achieve. When reality suggests a contradiction, then their position of privilege allows them to change the rules in order to belittle achievement and deny results.
To label such attitudes as merely racist is to miss much of the point. These whites, always eager to proffer judgment at the turn of twentieth century Australia, did not regard their attitudes as based on race. The relevant word was surely not race, but species, since the indigenous population was seen as something less than human. So even when Jimmy Blacksmith displays complete competence, strength, endurance or cooperation, even if he becomes a Methodist Christian, marries a white woman according to God and The Law, even if he speaks the master's language, he remains by definition something short of human. An ultimate irony of Jimmy's acceptance of his duty to marry the pregnant girl, by the way, is that the child turns out to be white, fathered by another of the girl's recent acquaintances. So, as an oppressed black man, Jimmy Blacksmith is left carrying another white man's burden.
Jimmy reacts against his treatment. His reaction is violent. He takes an axe to several victims, most of them women. He then flees and is joined in crime by his brother, Mort. Together they evade capture, despite being pursued by thousands until an inevitable fate materialises.
Jimmy Blacksmith presents several problems for the modern reader, however. Powerful it may be, but then Thomas Keneally's attempt to render an accent in writing does not work. As a consequence, the dialogue sometimes seems confused and opaque. The author stated some years later that if he were to write the book now he would describe events from the perspective of a white observer. This would, however, render Jimmy an object, and the reader is often surprised by occupying the role of subject in this book.
Thomas Keneally does create some wonderful scenes. Jimmy's shedding of blood is brutal, but is it any less brutal than the slaughter of thousands by the British? And in the end, did those with power treat their working class subjects any better than they treated Jimmy? Was the young white bride Jimmy took any better off than him by virtue of her species superiority?
Alongside Peter Carey's Kelly Gang and, from a factual perspective, Alan Moorehead's Fatal Impact, Jimmy Blacksmith provides a different and complementary insight. To experience the book's power, the modern reader has to know something of Australia's history and, crucially, something of the 1970s attitudes that prevailed at the time of writing. Any shortcomings then pale into insignificance when compared with the novel's achievement.
Philip Spires
Author of Mission and A Fool's Knot, African novels set in Kenya http://www.philipspires.co.uk
Migwani is a small town in Kitui District, eastern Kenya. My books examine how social and economic change impact on the lives of ordinary people. They portray characters whose identity is bound up with their home area, but whose futures are determined by the globaised world in which they live.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Review-of-The-Chant-of-Jimmy-Blacksmith-by-Thomas-Keneally&id=6649268] A Review of The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally

An Aussie Journey - The Dead Heart by Douglas Kennedy

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Philip_Spires]Philip Spires
We first meet Nick Hawthorne in a Darwin bar. As a stripper offers contorted perspectives on what Australia has to offer, our hero from Maine meets a fellow countryman from Detroit intent on doing to Asia what America does to most places. (Personal opinions, eh?) Nick has some of those. He has a personal approach to life, but feels he gets little out of it, despite having achieved the status of being the first person principal character of Douglas Kennedy's novel The Dead Heart.
Nick is a journalist who has only ever had bit jobs. They interested him bit, earned him a bit, stimulated somewhat less. Then he found a map of Australia and became so obsessed with the continent's emptiness that he sold up and left the US to discover the unknown, to visit the unvisited. He is less than impressed with Darwin. It's not a good start. But a VW camper van bought from a Jesus freak promises a great escape along the road to Broome. Not round the corner...
A hitcher called Angie provides welcome diversion from the repetition of the road. She seems easy-going, not to mention easy, and a little threatening. She is travelling for the first time, but exudes confidence. Nick, however, retains control. Or so he thinks...
Until he finds himself in Wollanup. It's a town whose recent tragic history has removed it from the map. Nick has arrived at nowhere, the dead heart of a land. He is now unknown, has sex and beer on tap and an awful diet. A horror story haunted by powdered eggs...
Until Krystal starts to cook... His mechanical skills come into play. The rebuilt camper van is destroyed again. Its renewed mobility is a threat.
Events happen, like they do... Douglas Kennedy's The Dead Heart evolves into a kind of fast-moving, page-turning thriller. But there are characters here. Something - not sure what! - seems almost credible. Nick is not the most likeable person, but this rather self-centred, thirty-odd, overweight hedonist does realise that there might be more to life than unlimited sex and beer on tap. He wants both, but clearly somewhere other than Wollanup.
What happens in The Dead Heart is crucial. It's a plot-led work, but it is also engaging and well written. Its racy style fits the characters� obvious preoccupations and helps to create a vivid portrait of lives that know only the here and now.
The Dead Heart is a book to be read in a single sitting. The process will leave readers wondering how they might have reacted in such circumstances. And what about Australia as depicted? Is this a stereotype? You bet...
Philip Spires
Author of Mission and A Fool's Knot, African novels set in Kenya http://www.philipspires.co.uk
Migwani is a small town in Kitui District, eastern Kenya. My books examine how social and economic change impact on the lives of ordinary people. They portray characters whose identity is bound up with their home area, but whose futures are determined by the globaised world in which they live.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?An-Aussie-Journey---The-Dead-Heart-by-Douglas-Kennedy&id=6649499] An Aussie Journey - The Dead Heart by Douglas Kennedy

Tips for Finding Awesome Books That You Never Want to Put Down

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_Beaty]Vanessa Beaty
For some there is nothing better than sitting down to read a good book. Whether you prefer thrillers, love stories, science fiction or any other type of writing, finding the perfect book is a dream come true. There are a number of ways that you can find that special book, the one that you simply cannot put down until you have finished every single word.
First, consider what types of authors you like. For instance, if you prefer a fiction author over a documentary type book, then you will want to focus on only fiction. Of course, fiction contains a lot of different genres. Your local bookstore or library can likely help you to determine what specific genre most interests you. Take some time to browse the aisles and read the topics of each title. This will give you an idea of what specific type of writing you prefer. You want to find a book that draws you in. it simply makes sense that you want something that is going to pique your interests and keep you fascinated. You want to choose a book that has characters that you can connect with.
Generally speaking, there are three major elements of a good book. These include the characters, the plot and the action involved in the storyline. It is up to the writer to put together a storyline that will fascinate his or her readers. The writer's job is to provide entertainment for their readers. When you are searching for a good book, you want to ensure that you get something that is going to entertain you. If you prefer a science fiction author then you are likely not going to be content with someone who writes only romance titles.
If you are searching for a good   rel=nofollow [http://www.sakura-publishing.com]fiction author, there are a number of publishing companies that you can look to. Some publishing companies will work with authors on a number of genres while others may stick to just one type of book such as a romance novel or thriller/mystery. You will simply have to do your research and find the publisher or author that best suits your interests. You can also do a quick Google search for publishing companies and get a list of the titles that they provide as well as the topics of each of those titles. This can help you to choose that next great title that you simply will not be able to put down.
Vanessa Beaty is a Freelance Writer - See Her Professional Website At: [http://www.freelancemoms.blogspot.com/]Vanessa Beaty - Freelance Writer
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-for-Finding-Awesome-Books-That-You-Never-Want-to-Put-Down&id=6647568] Tips for Finding Awesome Books That You Never Want to Put Down

Review - Sun, Sand and Rock N Roll

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Paul_Lappen]Paul Lappen
Sun, Sand and Rock n Roll, Nikhil Lakhani, 2011, ISBN 9780982952399
This is the story of a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the day that it is taken away from him.
JB Strassenberger is the leader of a 4-piece rock band called Generation Rebel. Wherever they play, they gather more and more fans. Whatever that undefinable "it" is that distinguishes a great band from an average band, Generation Rebel is overflowing with "it." The sky seems to be the limit. During a mass audition for Atlantic Records, JB meets KG, a guitarist who is every bit JB's equal. After getting over his initial jealousy that he may not be the best guitarist in the world, JB arbitrarily invites KG to join Generation Rebel. As a 5-piece band, if anything, their rise to the top picks up speed. One day, they take a helicopter to Las Vagas to play some concerts. The helicopter crashes, and JB is thrown clear.
He wakes up several days later in an Indian village called Shaktipur. Located in an isolated bit of Nevada, it is behind some sort of mental barrier, so it is not accessible to the average person. JB is angry, sarcastic to everyone, and a little scared, especially when he is told that his was the only body at the crash site. There are several escape attempts, all unsuccessful. The people of Shaktipur, despite his bad behavior, because of a prophecy that a white man will join their village.
JB decides to totally change his attitude, and accept being in Shaktipur, after he meets a beautiful woman named Saraswati, the chief's daughter. Red Rage, his beloved guitar, thought to have been lost in the crash, is returned to him, so he is able to show the villagers what he is all about. One night, the village is attacked by a shakti, a four-legged carnivorous beast that is all teeth and claws (another good reason why no one leaves the village). There are many casualties. JB finds the lair, and, with a little help from his friends, does battle with the shakti, armed only with Red Rage. During JB and Saraswati's wedding celebration, a helicopter suddenly appears and lands. The guitar battle was heard many miles away, and the authorities were notified. Does JB return to "civilization" or does he stay in Shaktipur?
Here is a great piece of writing. For those who are any sort of rock music fan, the guitar battle with the Shakti deserves to be read more than once. For everyone else, this story also has heart and emotion. It is very highly recommended.
Paul Lappen is a freelance book reviewer whose blog, [http://www.deadtreesreview.blogspot.com]http://www.deadtreesreview.blogspot.com, emphasizes small press and self-published books.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Review---Sun,-Sand-and-Rock-N-Roll&id=6654523] Review - Sun, Sand and Rock N Roll

Facing Demons Ain't Easy

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Cobb]Douglas Cobb
What do you do, where do you turn, when you have no hope, when you think that you have nowhere to turn? Facing Demons by Ashley Sanders is a fascinating, page-turning YA novel which explores the turmoil-filled, tumultuous lives of four teenage individuals who face tragic and desperate situations, and the often self-destructive decisions they make, that lead them to the brink of wanting to end it all. It's also about how they all wind up at the Anchor Beach Rehabilitation Clinic, ran by Blake Solomon, and how their lives are changed for the better. As the title suggests, they each have to face their demons before they can conquer them. We get to learn very dramatically about the four people's lives because each one tells their tales in the first-person, present tense. The stories of Jason (a gang member), Rebecca (a drug addict and child prostitute forced into it by thugs who keep her doped up), Matthew (a homeless African refugee living on the streets), and Felicity (a reckless, high-risk taking, rich kid who cuts herself), will live with you long after you finish the book.
Blake Solomon gets a second chance at life when his metastatic cancer goes into remission in the prologue of Facing Demons. That's a big reason behind why he wants to give other people a chance, also. He's a great character, because though he has doubts like all people do, he keeps his resolve strong, despite some setbacks he experiences with the four other main characters. He deals with their problems in a kind, concerned, attentive manner, and it's apparent he deeply cares for his patients and wants to help them succeed on their road to recovery. Blake is described as looking "a bit like George Clooney, even has the stubble, but with a few more streaks of grey in his hair."
The stories of the characters Rebecca, Jason, Felicity, and Matthew are introduced in the novel's first chapter, "Their Stories." They present their lives in stark and honest vignettes that are powerful and moving, and the author makes them come alive for the reader. I feel fortunate that my two kids, one now seventeen and one who will be twenty-one soon, have not had to handle the problems and face the terrible situations that the teens of Facing Demons are forced to confront.
Rebecca, for instance, realizes as she's being used by criminal figures as a prostitute that she's heavily addicted to drugs. Though doing without them causes her to experience withdrawal symptoms, she decides to do just that, and hide the hypodermic syringes full of drugs that are given to her, until she has enough to carry out her plan of "escaping" from them through injecting several syringes full of drugs into her scarred veins, one after another, hoping to die from an overdose. She passes out, and doesn't remember much after that.
Jason is a violent gang member who beats up any rival gang members who infringe on his gang's territory. He has scars from several past battles, and many tattoos he displays proudly. He tells us that he was not always like he now is, but that he became a gang member "when my family was murdered by a vicious Negro gang." Since that time, he says that he has hunted the killers down, and that: "They are now all in jail, two of them paraplegic." He wouldn't likely have ever wound up at the Anchor Beach Rehabilitation Clinic, if it hadn't been for eventually meeting up with someone who shoots him.
I won't get into the reasons why the other two teens who are the focus of Facing Demons wind up at the clinic; I don't want to reveal any further information that might spoil your enjoyment of this finely crafted novel. When you read their stories, you'll wonder how the teens managed to last as long as they have, before they fall under the care and guidance of Blake Solomon. It's lucky or by God's good will and grace that they end up at the Anchor Beach Rehabilitation Clinic, for if they hadn't have made it there, they likely would have become casualties of their fates, their lifestyles, their poor decision making skills, and their backgrounds.
Facing Demons is an inspirational novel about teens facing some very desperate circumstances, of their own making, and much that is beyond their control. It is a great book that will move you profoundly as you read it, pull at your heartstrings, and perhaps jerk a few tears from your eyes. It's a novel that I recommend for any teens, though perhaps specifically for any teenager who is going through similar problems in his/her own life. Facing Demons is also a perfect novel for parents to read, along with their teens, and then use it as a tool to open up meaningful dialogue with them. If you like reading page-turning, touching stories of hope in spite of sometimes having to manage with the crappy hand that life has dealt you, I would highly recommend that you check out Facing Demons by Ashley Sanders today!
Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb for http://www.bestsellersworld.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Facing-Demons-Aint-Easy&id=6654772] Facing Demons Ain't Easy

Review - Not Waving, Drowning

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Paul_Lappen]Paul Lappen
Not Waving, Drowning, Linda Sands, 2011, B005Q1BSUY (Kindle e-book)
This is the story of three generations of women in Savannah, Georgia.
Bobbie, from the early 1900s, spent time in the equivalent of the child welfare system. She is now a New York City newspaper reporter, in Savannah for a story, who is not above the occasional theft. As the years go on, she marries Sam, and they live in New York City. He is a good husband, except for his tendency to take off for a week or two, with no explanation as to where he is going or why. During World War I, she volunteers to write letters home for wounded soldiers who are unable to do it themselves. She and Sam slowly drift apart (he is dying from some sort of lung disease); in the 1930s, several of her newspaper columns are about Flora, the Waving Girl. Something of a Savannah tradition, she would wave to every ship that used Savannah's port; every ship, every day for many years.
Flora, from 1940, is the Waving Girl. She lived with her brother George, who took care of a local lighthouse (that is why she could wave to all those passing ships). She tells her story as an old woman, making arrangements for George's funeral. She also talks about the involvement of her brother, now a Monsignor, during the days of Prohibition and speakeasies. The city erected a bronze statue of her to acknowledge her service. A question that she is asked frequently is why she waved to all those passing ships for all those years. Was it unrequited love? Was she waiting for someone?
Maggie, from 2011, is an architectural photographer living in Philadelphia. She flies to Savannah after receiving a late-night phone call saying that her husband, David, is missing and presumed dead after a boating accident. Their marriage had also seen better days; David liked to go to Savannah alone. Maggie begins to realize that David had a whole other life in Savannah, of which she was not a part. She is told all about Flora, and sees the cottage where she and George lived, along with the lighthouse that he kept in operation. Maggie also starts to fall in love with a local lighthouse restorer.
This is a very "quiet" novel, all about feelings and finding yourself. It has a lot of excellent writing, but it is not a very optimistic story. The reader will not go wrong with this one.
Paul Lappen is a freelance book reviewer whose blog, [http://www.deadtreesreview.blogspot.com]http://www.deadtreesreview.blogspot.com, emphasizes small press and self-published books.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Review---Not-Waving,-Drowning&id=6656649] Review - Not Waving, Drowning

Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees: A Review

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Holly_Weiss]Holly Weiss
Does the world need another book about Mozart? Only if it is unique. Mozart's Last Aria, a historical crime thriller about the mystery surrounding the great composer's life, fits the bill.
Enter the opera hall as Matt Rees brings 18th century Vienna to life in his clever and entertaining expedition through the opera halls and streets Mozart frequented. Deception, passion and fear roam in the city where Freemasons furtively meet to usurp power from those who abuse it.
The book's heroine and narrator is Mozart's sister, Nannerl, who, upon hearing of her brother's death, leaves her oppressive husband to attend the funeral. Once in Vienna, she unravels clues that point Mozart's suspicious death by poisoning. Nannerl, an accomplished harpsichordist and pianist, had given up her performing career years ago in favor of her precocious brother. Estranged and bitter, she says, "I had to acknowledge that... I had been merely a Mozart. Only he had ever been 'Mozart'." Fueled by guilt over their lack of communication, she becomes a persistent and effective detective. Historians believe that rheumatic fever caused Mozart's death. Mozart's Last Aria tells us that Mozart believed he was poisoned weeks before he died. Whatever Freemason directive he tried to promote may have been the cause of his death. Nannerl stops at nothing to find his killer. She may have lived in the 18th century, but she functions like a contemporary CSI investigator.
Mozart's Last Aria will certainly capture the attention of music lovers, but its real draw will be enthusiasts of historical mystery. It is reminiscent of Mistress of the Art of Death by Arianna Franklin moved forward several centuries and minus the gore. The ending is a bit far-fetched and the book seems a platform for the author to parade his musical knowledge, but all in all the book is a fun romp.
Recommended especially for music lovers.
Holly Weiss is the author of a historical fiction novel, Crestmont, writer and reviewer of newly-released books. [http://www.hollyweiss.com]http://www.hollyweiss.com.
Free reprint of article if entire bio is intact.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Mozarts-Last-Aria-by-Matt-Rees:-A-Review&id=6645387] Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees: A Review

Book Review: Pete Hamill's Tabloid City

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marcia_K_Applegate]Marcia K Applegate
Review: Pete Hamill's Tabloid City: Murder & a Newspaper
Hamill knows the newspaper business. He knows New York City, and the kinds of people who live, work and die there. In this short novel (214 pages in my Nook), he pulls together a dying NYC newspaper, its staff and its "murderers;", a cop and his son, a homegrown Muslim with terrorist dreams; an angry wheelchair-bound veteran; an aging artist; a wealthy woman with charitable instincts; a seemingly senseless murder, and a diverse cast of supporting characters so compelling and intriguing that I can't begin to describe them. But Hamill can.
His characters come to life on the page-corny as that sounds, I can't think of a better way to describe it-and they stay alive until they meet whatever end, good or bad, that he has selected for each of them. This is not a book about ordinary people living orderly lives. It deals with complex people caught up in a variety of messy situations, often of their own making, some of them agonizing, a few potentially horrific.
Hamill's writing is active and strong, vivid not only in color and clarity, but intensity. This is a tale that moves quickly, but builds each character and action in a measured, logical, almost what-else could-he-do-under-the circumstances way. The intensity of the action on many fronts begins early on and doesn't let up until the last sentence. We see the characters make choices based on their perceptions, in some cases misperceptions, and it becomes increasingly evident where each is likely to end up. I say "likely" because I missed completely in one case, having decided too soon how one story line would end. I was wrong. And glad of it.
Another of Hamill's gifts is his ability to build a sort of rationality into seemingly irrational actions; furious as I was at a couple of the characters for the choices they were making when there were better options, I understood their thinking and, from their internal monologues, where their actions came from. He pulls no punches. At one point, when the NYC cop realizes what his son is intending, Hamill takes the story where it logically should go-to its almost inevitable sad end.
I spoke earlier of the newspaper's "murderers." I chose that term because the "World" newspaper was killed by a confluence of today's technological advances, and the times and culture we live in. A disgruntled former employee, fired by the editor, starts a website and uses it-effectively-to discredit the paper and does other dirty deeds. This in the midst of a recession and a continuing drop in ad revenue, increasing costs of printing and delivering, and the upward trend of electronic publication not only of books but of newspapers and magazines, and you see why the owner of the "World" elects to go to all-online publication. And to ask all the present staff to apply for e-jobs. No promises, though. Can't take 'em all...
All that is background as the paper prepares its last gasp, its final issue, its complete transition from print to the electronic realities, played out side-by-side with the happenings in the lives of all the characters in the almost Naked-City organization of this gripping tale. Could anything in the journalism business be more current than what is happening in the "World's" world? While dealing with so many tangled lives, the tale works its way to a conclusion that is painful, maybe inevitable under the circumstances Hamill has set up for the characters, overlaid by the pressures and problems of trying to navigate the undercurrents of today's treacherous and scary world.
When the final issue is put to bed-maybe coffin is a better word-not wanting to allow their newspaper, their livelihood, their coworkers and competitors in the business pass from the scene unremarked, friends of the deceased hold a memorial service, maybe a wake, in the city room. Here's a taste of how Hamill describes the final party for their beloved and soon-to-be last afternoon newspaper in the City:
He sits there gazing into the city room, which is full of rowdy laughter, people slapping fives, shaking their heads, telling lies and war stories and doing anything to hold back tears. A few are wearing the fake page 1 on their chests, held by tape or pins. Briscoe knows what he is seeing. A wake. He notices now that some of them are wearing black armbands.
Then he faces the dense circle of people that has formed around the city desk, more than two hundred of them, many sipping drinks, chewing pizza, some with arms folded, others with hands jammed in pockets. Men, women, some in the rear standing on desks, photographers making pictures, some old reporters taking notes from the habit of a lifetime. Briscoe clears his throat and begins to speak.
When all is said and done in Hamill's story, the characters are left to find their own way through the rest of their lives. Hamill makes clear that life goes on, that in reality all is not yet said and done for those with the courage and the desire to look ahead, see where their particular future lies. And go out to meet it.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Book-Review:-Pete-Hamills-Tabloid-City&id=6664367] Book Review: Pete Hamill's Tabloid City

Christmas for Joshua By Avraham Azrieli - Book Review

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=S_Marie_Veronon]S Marie Veronon
Christmas for Joshua is a sensational novel written by seasoned Israeli author, Avraham Azrieli. This first person narrative is filled with religious paradoxes, sure to test any faith, and delivered just in time for the holidays! A devoted Jewish husband and father sees his world turned upside down when, just before Christmas, Mordechai, an orthodox Jewish boy, asks his daughter to marry him. On her wedding day, Rusty Dinwall is shaken to his very core and begins questioning all that he holds dear about the Jewish faith; the faith he has devoted his life too. Rusty converted from Christianity, over two decades ago, before he and his Jewish wife, Rebecca, took their own wedding vows. "Tis the Season to be Jolly," but, not for this loving father unable to accompany his daughter down the aisle.
Rusty is a picture of success; he's an accomplished heart surgeon, has a loving wife and daughter and is completely devoted to them and their Jewish faith and Synagogue where he is the President. Debra is deeply in love with Mordechai, so Rusty and Rebecca can only give their blessings when he asks for her hand in marriage. Secretly, they worry about the extreme views and traditions of the orthodox Jewish church. Then, the wedding day kicks off a personal saga for Rusty that becomes poignant, heart-breaking, and heart-wrenching as he struggles to find his place in his daughter's new life. He is faced with one conundrum after another with no easy solutions for him. The Rabbi called him a Shaygetz - not a true Jew in the orthodox Jewish faith. This little detail threatens his very existence among his new in-laws who expect him to convert to their orthodox standards. Outraged, Rusty draws solace from the memory of his mother and her Christian faith. Meanwhile, Christmas Eve approaches. As each chapter unfolds, Rusty turns up the Christmas music and themes of his childhood, using them, as he grasps for ways to express himself through his stress and indignation at the circumstances he and Rebecca must face. The predicament leads Rusty to actions that could be described as comical satire, except it could all turn tragic because it isn't exactly, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," for Rusty.
Avraham Azrieli is an astute and accomplished author and novelist. His latest creation, Christmas for Joshua, is a wonderful five-star spiritual fiction he can add to his growing collection. Avraham Azrieli proves himself, time and again, to be a popular contemporary writer for our troubled times, as his plots often expose attitudes, beliefs, and actions that contribute to human suffering. Christmas for Joshua is no exception as Rusty's personal story is all but a metaphor for how humanity itself cries out for religious tolerance and acceptance. Ultimately, this touching story can bring a little more, "Joy to the World", as Christians and non-Christians, alike, cannot help but at a basic human level feel compassion for Rusty, and wish him and his Jewish family a most Happy Rosh Hashanah in the coming year!
Reviewed by: S. Marie Vernon, pacific Book Review. http://www.pacificbookreview.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Christmas-for-Joshua-By-Avraham-Azrieli---Book-Review&id=6679243] Christmas for Joshua By Avraham Azrieli - Book Review

Book Review: Point Deception, by Jim Gilliam

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mayra_Calvani]Mayra Calvani
What happens when your loyalties are in conflict and you must betray your old mentor in order to fulfill your duty? What if this old mentor who used to protect and help you as a kid is now a dangerous drug-and-human trafficking overlord? This is the predicament our protagonist, Tim Kelly, faces at the beginning of this partly autobiographical suspense thriller by talented first-time author Jim Gilliam.
An undercover narcotics officer now working in the Mexican hacienda of Guzman, his old mentor, his real identity is discovered by Guzman's 'right hand," Rucho, a bully who also knew Kelly from his childhood days. Guzman decides Kelly's fate and orders that he be injected with heroine so he'll become an addict and beg for his own death. Unbeknown to Guzman, Rucho adds physical torture to the punishment. Kelly slips in and out of consciousness and through his mind we begin to see flashbacks of his life. So the book starts in the present but then goes back in time to relate the events that led him to his present situation, from his early days of fighting bullies, when he met Guzman and Rucho, to his escape at 14 to New Orleans to join the Coast Guard, to his experiences in the military and later to his becoming an undercover narcotics officer.
Point Deception is a compelling novel and its strength lies in the protagonist. Kelly is a complex character with lots of flaws, yet sympathetic in a bittersweet kind of way. A hot-tempered, impulsive romantic hero, he won't play by anybody's rules and makes his fair share of mistakes. Though it may put some readers down, I found all the details about weapons, drugs and the military fascinating. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. At times I felt there was a lot of telling but it didn't bother me for the most part. The dialogue is natural and there's enough suspense to keep readers turning pages. This is a novel that will strongly appeal to fans of military thrillers and also to readers who like strong and controversial characters.
Like his protagonist, Jim Gilliam ran away from home and joined the Coast Guard at 14. He has recently retired from the Navy's Military Sealift Command and is currently writing the sequel to his novel. He lives with his wife Laura in Warwick, New York.

Point Deception
By Jim Gilliam
Booklocker.com, Inc.
1609106202
978-1609106201
Release date: December 5, 2010
Paperback, 250 pages, $17.95
Action/Military/Thriller
Available from most online retailers
Mayra Calvani is an author, reviewer and freelance writer. Check out her books, workshops and author promo packages at [http://www.MayraCalvani.com]http://www.MayraCalvani.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Book-Review:-Point-Deception,-by-Jim-Gilliam&id=6674067] Book Review: Point Deception, by Jim Gilliam