Disclaimer: Obviously, reading likes and dislikes are highly subjective.  Bestsellers like the ones I recommend on AskWriteFish's home page have more than enough reveiws.  My tastes often veer toward the obscure or unnoticed.  Sometimes I know the author, sometimes not.  And yes, writers do review each other's books; however, they almost always decline if they do not "like" the book or feel they can only give a mediocre review.  And, as with all my writing, if you don't agree, you can always feed it to the fish.
 

 As Long As It's Big by John Bricuth

Big In So Many Ways
     After listening to John Bricuth's reading from As Long As It's Big for the St. Louis Writers Guild, I was impressed and purchased his book. However, I must confess, I was a little daunted by the cover description: "A Narrative Poem," which implies a long poem. 
    I recalled Mr. Bricuth telling us it was written in blank verse (not the free verse I'm accustomed to), and I thought, Gee, am I qualified to read this? I hadn't actually read a long narrative poem since college and that was, yikes, more than thirty years ago.
    After the first page or so, however, I was absorbed. Now, after having finished the book, the form fascinates me, primarily because of Bricuth's brilliant mastery of it. He made it easy and natural to read, almost like listening to my own heartbeat, quickly, in tempo with my life and all of those around me. Reading in rhythm with the rhyme is of course the intended effect but how few of us can write in such rhythmic rhyme?
    Bricuth's pacing and the juxtaposition of tragic verse and humor work exceptionally well. I'm amazed with As Long As It's Big, how its three-line blank verse is so skillfully crafted and beautifully written, especially since it is a 217-page (long) narrative poem. One of my favorite passages is, "Looking back, realizing most of / What they'd gotten simply served to give / Times liquid moments weight, some space where life's / Bright foam could pool and linger in a thing, / Not run away like moonlight through your fingers...." As throughout the book, it matches the imagery with the character's emotions perfectly.
    This fine poem will remain on my shelf as a mainstay of brilliant writing to encourage others to read, to read again, and to select passages for inspiration.

   Eric Chaet’s People I Met Hitchhiking On USA Highways is not genre fiction or tell-all memoir. Readers looking for slick suspense thrillers with psychotic killers torturing pretty blondes, dinosaurs eating lawyers or drama in real life tales about alcoholic celebrities need to look elsewhere.
     Perhaps those who appreciate complexity of thought, and those who enjoy Kerouac and Brautigan or Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg may find Chaet more familiar; however, he is not, nor does he strive or pretend to be any of those fine writers. Eric Chaet is unique, his prose calculated to make you stop. And think. Sometimes those thoughts can be disturbing, depressing or, at the very least, troubling.
     The searing clarity in the confusion and chaos (reflected in his organizational style) is painful as it forces us to honestly reflect on the human condition. But Chaet does not leave us mired in this despair. He provides moments of illumination and pure joy, reconnecting us with simple pleasures, where a bird’s song brings us "washed clean – back from defeat, from history, from being overwhelmed."
     Hitchhiking with Chaet, we meet character after character struggling to survive as he does on just a few dollars stretched over months of wandering. Often, in following him on this lonely journey we feel the same raw edge, the same panic, and we experience demeaning work where we can almost hear the nuts and bolts rattling around in our heads. Yet we are better for the experience.
     Eric Chaet is aware of his writing style. "Even my sentences are unusual and frequently difficult." If you applied "writer’s workshop" parameters to his work, then you might bleed him to death. His use of ampersands and "tho" may be distracting at first, and I’m not sure what purpose they serve. (Perhaps changing them to ands and though might provide the answer.) But don’t mistake this for lack of poetic skill or intelligence. Some messages require an experimental touch and a unique pattern. To dismiss it, as one reviewer has, as a "bastardization of Into the Wild" is missing the point entirely. If you accept the originality of his work, then you will find knowledge and truth.
     Perhaps Chaet’s declaration on page 98 regarding his unusual style should have been at the beginning but, as Chaet might say, the beginning is not necessarily where you might begin. "I have gone back & forth in time…." He also adapts various points of view; however, each character is pure, unmistakable, Eric Chaet, and he speaks with empathy and understanding.
     It would be a mistake for us to view Chaet as anything but a unique mind and spirit worth our attention. He must be read simply because there is no one else writing as he does. And, fortunately for us, Eric Chaet, the hitchhiker and survivor, is "still alive!"

A Million Would Be Nice by Ken Scott

Disturbingly Sympathetic
     Ken Scott’s book is well worth the read. Like many of you, I have a stack of books on my nightstand and sometimes I read two or three simultaneously, choosing whichever one matches my mood. Occasionally, I’ll start a book like that demands attention and won’t allow time for the others. A Million Would Be Nice is one of those books. I couldn’t divert from it until I was finished. It was much better than others I’ve read in this genre of crime thriller/suspense. Scott writes with intensity, and he is able to shift gears and thrust us into the warped thoughts and motives of various characters. While the main character is not traditionally sympathetic, there is no doubt about the origins of his sexually charged, murderous arrogance and cold-heartedness. What makes this book curiously different is that despite a few academic literary flaws, the intense writing style carries the story and lifts it above the others. Therefore, I can easily recommend A Million Would Be Nice. I didn’t want to stop reading, which is the best measure for any fiction, regardless of genre.
     To offer a disclaimer, I feel compelled to inform you that I bought A Million Would Be Nice because it is published by Libros International, the same company that published my own novel Where the River Splits. Often, as with any reviews, I don’t necessarily agree with nor understand the high ratings and sometimes befuddling raves. However, I truly enjoyed this book and can without hesitation recommend it.

The Conference on Beautiful Moments and
The Identify Club: New and Selected Stories
by Richard Burgin

Glowing Dark
    While many readers may find Richard Burgin's work disturbing, there is no doubt he is a master storyteller. Each word and phrase is carefully crafted and compels the reader forward. Often the endings do not seem to resolve much, rather they seem to hurl you into darkness, spinning and twirling, disoriented, and awash in loneliness, with an eerie sense of "it's not over yet." But if you are confident enough to regain your footing and if you appreciate the glow of exquisite writing, then don't deny yourself these stories. 
     Women in particular may have a hard time finding Burgin palatable, as his work is often about male strangeness, lurking emotional twists, and implied violence. But for those women wanting to explore the dark psyche of disturbed men, and the motives of female characters who interact with them, it can be eye-popping and intellectually stimulating.
     Even trying to review Burgin's work can be daunting. The stories vary widely in content. The characters are complex. And the endings often leave you feeling uneasy. (Maybe that's why there aren't many reviews here on Amazon. I'd love to hear from others.) Bottom line, however, this is superb writing. Don't miss out. I echo Floyd Skloot; it's no wonder he won five Pushcart Prizes.
     An excellent review by Julia Gordon-Bramer of  The Identity Club can be found online at nighttimes.com.

So, Where'd You Go To High School? The Baby Boomer Edition
by Dan Dillon

Learning Memories
     I kept getting lost in Dan Dillon's book. Not because of poor plotting or literary mistakes. Rather, Dillon's arrangement of St. Louis high school facts and clear, concise writing made it easy for me to sit for hours meandering through memories and learning things I wish I'd known then, and feel enriched for knowing now.
     Dillon's book is a mixture of history, anecdotes from St. Louis celebrities, and insightful essays on everything from rock radio to nuns. The photos, features, text boxes, and statistics provide intriguing snapshots of our high school years. Open to any page and you'll find compelling tidbits that make you want to pause, reflect, and remember.
     While I can easily recommend this to anyone who went to high school in St. Louis, it will also make a great guide book for those annoyed out-of-towners who are inevitably asked, "So, where'd you go to high school?"

Ashes To The Vistula by Bill Copeland

Holocaust Reality as Fiction
     Usually, I have no trouble writing about books; however, Ashes to the Vistula presented some challenges, perhaps because it is different than most holocaust literature that I've read. I suspect we've all read such books as The Diary of Anne Frank, Night by Eli Wiesel, maybe The Investigation (documentary drama of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials) by Peter Weiss, and others. Those were true stories, non-fiction. Ashes to the Vistula is a novel. While some may exist (and I'm showing off my ignorance), I don't know of other fictional accounts of the holocaust. 
     Ashes to the Vistula succeeds as a first rate novel because of Copeland's "hours of research" and his ability to create wholly believable characters in Filip Stictchko, a Polish orphan, and his mentally challenged friend, as we follow them into Auschwitz. I was fascinated by the highly effective system of forced/slave labor set up by the Nazis, perhaps similar to well-run corporations. Except of course, in the camps, your "salary" or reward was avoiding death. And depending on your "rank" within the camp, you might gain an occasional candy bar, an extra ration of food, access to others, influence, and so on. The various levels of responsibility, and the concomitant moral ambiguity, could directly affect chances at survival. Managerial talent, leadership, and the (amoral?) ability to kill were in themselves survival mechanisms.
     The first person, present tense, usually reserved for short stories, did on occasion seem stylistically awkward; however, it's rare, and is far outweighed by what is gained. It is a testament to Copeland's writing that he is able to use present tense for the length of a novel, to craft a taught, intricately woven plot with believable characters, and to explore the complexity and moral ambiguities of survival.
     Not only can I recommend Copeland's book, I can suggest that someday it might mark a moment in "holocaust fiction," an area only those who have a firm grasp of holocaust reality can master. Ashes to the Vistula is an excellent read, a fine novel.

Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller
by Steve Weinberg

Trust This Writer
     I thoroughly enjoyed Taking on the Trust. Admittedly, I've often not been inclined to finish "academic" books about relatively obscure historical events and people, reading a bit here and there before relegating those books to the bottom of a more "exciting" pile of pulp, pap, pop, and so on.
     However, in reading Taking on the Trust, I wanted to know more about the saga of the intriguing Ida M. Tarbell and the reticent Rockefeller, a familiar name but, for me and no doubt others, not a familiar character. I wanted to turn the page. Each paragraph was loaded with information and lured me on. What more can any reader ask?
     Eventually, the pop books get passed on to others, or tossed into a campfire, especially if they aren't any good. A few are worthy of shelf space. Using this criteria, Taking on the Trust is a high-quality, successful book, one that will remain of my shelf for a long time.

It's Not About the Money by Brent Kessel

Agonizing Archetype
     Essentially, it’s not about the money tries to help you understand your relationship to money by identifying "The Eight Financial Archetypes." However, the simplicity of that assertion and the repetitious description of these "archetypes" suggest this book could have been condensed to a magazine article. Here are the magical eight: The Guardian, The Pleasure Seeker, The Idealist, The Saver, The Star, The Innocent, The Caretaker, and The Empire Builder. And here is an example of the "in depth" descriptive prose. "Idealists are, as the name implies, highly idealistic." The author does attempt to dig a little deeper, but the numerous, equally pointless sentences made me stop.
     To be fair, this book might be appealing to perhaps a college freshman with a sudden profound interest in psychology and finance and absolutely no prior experience. Three stars result from this sense of fairness, and my reluctance to give bad reviews. I much prefer positive ones.