Author: stumberry

Genre: Book   

Grade: A/B

Notable People: Chris Hillman

Title: Time Between

Review: So you want to be a rock and roll star?????? Hillman’s autobiography is a stunning history of the last 50 years of rock, country, bluegrass and all forms of Americana music. Hillman is the Forrest Gump of the music biz, having been around for many of the breakthrough explorations of late 20^th century popular music, as second fiddle to Roger McGuinn (Byrds), Gram Parsons (Burritos) and Stephen Stills (Manassas)…and then going on to be a star in his own right with the Desert Rose Band in the 80s-90s, and as a still active solo act. A consummate pro telling wonderful stories about the times they are a changin’. If you are a lover of these genres of American music, this is must read “A”. If not, well, Hillman is a fair to middling writer (kudos that he actually wrote it himself) and an Evangelical, which is a bit much for me…..and makes it a “B” read……. Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship. My senses have been stripped. My hands can’t feel to grip. My toes too numb to step. Wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin’.

Genre: Book 

Grade: A-

Notable People: Alice Hoffman

Title: The World That We Knew

Review: Hoffman’s 28^th standalone novel is a wonderfully written story of three separate woman escaping from Nazi occupied Berlin to France in 1939. Full of terror, heroism and mysticism, the book details their amazing quest to survive during those times of unspeakable atrocities, with the aid of many true underground heroes, amazing fortitude and faith and shared courage…..along with the assistance of the mythical protective Golem. Riveting book, as well it should be. Not always pleasant, but hard to ignore.

Genre: Book 

Grade: A-

Notable People: Archer Mayor

Title: Marked Man

Review: The extraordinary 33^rd consecutive annual installment in Archer’s long running series finds our hero, Joe Gunther, and his crew alternating between a hard to describe, eccentric and dangerous family in Brattleboro, Vermont, and, a host of low level mobster types in Providence Rhode Island (Little Rhody to the initiated). The long running cast of character is back (not aging, though Joe must be close to 110 by now given that he fought in the Korean War….…guess that is literary license), and Archer does his usual bang up job of exposing and initiating us all to the obscure nooks and crannies of Vermont life. The alternating between two seemingly disembodied storylines was a bit distracting for me in this one, but it all comes tighter eventually. Well written, great dialog, amazing sense of place. I hear number 34 is already written and getting ready for Fall release. You go, Archer!!!!

Genre: Book 

Grade: A-

Notable People: David Baldacci

Title: Walk the Wire’

Review: the sixth and most recent in the prolific Baldacci’s’ wonderful Amos Decker series will not disappoint. Weaving a bewildering and intense murder mystery with national security issues in remote North Dakota, the book weaves a compelling portrait of the mind of Decker, a man devastated by loss and head trauma, who becomes a relentless avenger for truth. The character development keeps getting better in this series, and it’s a hard to put down nail biter. Send more Decker!!!!

Genre: Film 

Grade: A+

Notable People:  Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elgort, Jeffrey Wright, Nicole Kidman, Directed by: John Crowley

Title: The Goldfinch

Review: Beautifully rendered interpretation of a masterpiece book by Donna Tartt which I reviewed many years ago. Fegley and Elgort are wonderful as the young and older Theo Decker- a young man who loses his mother in a terrorist attack inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in his shock and trauma makes off with three-hundred-year old art masterpiece. The cast is dead on for the book and the reflections of life as art take us on whirlwind story. I loved the book, and the film surprisingly does it justice.