The random number generator has chosen… Diana as the winner of the giveaway of LoveHampton.  Thanks to all those who participated!

All the Pretty Horses
Cormac McCarthy
302 pgs

After his parents divorce, 16 year old John Grady Cole and his friend Lacey Rawlins decide to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico. The year is 1949, and while most would travel the highways in a car, this pair travel by horseback. Shortly before making the crossing they meet up with the mysterious 14 year old Jimmy Blevins who is determined to tag along. After losing his horse in Mexico, Blevins steals it back while Cole and Rawlins take a different path finding work on a ranch. Unfortunately the trouble caused by the young Blevins will come back to haunt them all.

The first two thirds of the novel is used to introduce the reader to Cormac McCarthy’s view of Texas and Mexico with his unique use of punctuation and prose. Though not as sparse as in his most recent novel The Road, McCarthy’s usual wordsmithing is on display again in All the Pretty Horses, the first in his Border Trilogy. Some sentences run on for entire paragraphs with incredible metaphors and beautiful imagery. In the final third the story begins to pick up as John Grady Cole is faced with isolation and heartache culminating in painful decisions.

The real weakness of this novel lies in the first two thirds which is much slower plot wise. If you haven’t read a McCarthy novel before or if you have and didn’t enjoy it this isn’t the book for you. But if you’re a fan go ahead, pick up All the Pretty Horses, the writing and the end are worth it.

Rating: 8.0

The Crying of Lot 49
Thomas Pynchon
152 pgs

Oedipa Maas is surprised to find that she has been named executor of the will of California real estate mogul Pierce Inverarity. Upon beginning her duties as executor she discovers what appears to be a strange conspiracy to deliver mail through Tristero, a centuries old rebel postal service. This organization is represented by a diagram of a horn which begins to turn up everywhere Oedipa looks.

The Crying of Lot 49 is a bizarre novel. It is by far Pynchon’s shortest novel, but is certainly not short on peculiarity. The conspiracy is quite convoluted and sometimes hard to follow for Oedipa and the reader. The book is anything but transparent, it twists the mind. This is sometimes a weakness, as is its lack of an obvious conclusion for those who need one. Pynchon has a knack for unique, almost stream of consciousness prose as well. Though this type of writing is not too dominant in this outing.

If you’re looking for a good introduction to Thomas Pynchon this is the best option. But if clarity and straightforward narrative is what you’re after you would be wise to look elsewhere.

Rating: 6.5

I have received another book for giveaway. This one courtesy of FSB Associates who is working with the author. The novel is LoveHampton by debut author Sherri Rifkin. Here’s a little about the book and the author:

After a recent breakup sent her into a self-imposed “personal hiatus,” thirty-something New York TV-promo producer Tori Miller is determined to get a life. The fastest way? A Hamptons summer share house. She ditches her old look — thanks to a last-minute makeover on a reality show pilot — and over the next three months, the new-and-improved “Miller” becomes the wing woman to a glamorous new BFF, goes head-to-head with her house’s prickly Resident Alpha Female, and is drawn into a web of secrets by a charming Brit. But soon she finds herself entangled in one too many complicated romantic situations — and the many Hamptons Unwritten Rules threaten to implode her new, carefully cultivated social standing. Now the fabulous life Tori has might not be the one she wants, and she must decide who she really is, what she wants, and what she’s willing to give up to get there . . . all by Labor Day.

Sherri Rifkin, a former TV marketing executive, lives in New York City, where she writes for a variety of entertainment and media clients, including Bravo, USA Network, and the Style Network. This is her first novel. For more, please visit www.sherririfkin.com.

There are not prerequisites with this one.  All you need to do is send me an email with the subject line, “LoveHampton”.  Include your name.  I will contact the winner to get the snail mail address.  The winner will be chosen randomly.  The deadline for this contest is Monday, June 2nd at 9pm PDT.

Red Seas Under Red Skies
Scott Lynch
558 pgs

Red Seas Under Red Skies is the second book in the Gentleman Bastards series. How’s that for a moniker, eh? The first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora (no review, rating: 9.0), was a terrific debut Fantasy novel. This second book continues the story of Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen, two thieves that hatch incredible plots to take the wealthy for copious amounts of money. In this volume they have come to the island of Tal Verrar to con the owner of the Sinspire, casino to the rich, only to be sidetracked by a demanding employer who insists they take up pirating.

This book is a fun read just like the first. Locke and Jean are witty, egotistical (particularly Locke) and talented. Red Seas is another fantastic adventure which had me engrossed from the start. After the first couple of chapters it looked to be better than the first, however in the end I rate it slightly below Lies.

Unfortunately Lynch got a bit carried away with the plot, throwing in pirates, countless enemies and assassins and other side stories. It was all a little too much. There was probably enough material in the novel for three full books. These several threads had the ending feeling somewhat rushed.

Regardless of these shortcomings, Red Seas Under Red Skies is terrific fun and left me impatient for the third volume, The Republic of Thieves, due early next year. Recommended to anyone looking for a bit of swashbuckling adventure!

Rating: 8.5