return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
Follow Us: 
   First Impressions: Book Reviews

Member Reviews of forthcoming books.

Book Jacket

A Good Hard Look:
A Novel
by Ann Napolitano

Publisher: Penguin Press
Publication date: 07/11/2011.
Novels, 336 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 20
Readers' Consensus: 4.5
More information
Buy This Book
First Impressions: Page 1 of 3
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Robin M. (Corpus Christi, TX)

A Good Hard Look
Ann Napolitano has produced one of those rare novels which will pull you into another time and place- Milledgeville,Georgia and Andalusia-home of Flannery O'Connor.Like Flannery's famed peacocks perched precariously in a magnolia tree,the inhabitants teeter on the edge of normalcy,living on the periphery of each others lives while inwardly struggling with the isolation and constraints of their own.It is only after a shockingly violent and tragic event that will break your heart that they begin to really see each other and transform their own lives. I would highly recommend this book.it is beautifully written and stayed with me long after the last page was turned.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Judy B. (Marysville, OH)

This wonderful book does Flannery O'Connor proud
I wanted to read this book because the real-life Flannery O’Connor is a main character. And, yes, her character alone grabbed my attention when I started reading, but the more I read the more I could not put the book down. We are privy to the internal lives of no less than eight main characters and they are all compelling. The writing style is quiet, unassuming, compassionate, giving voice to the turmoil and clashes of opposites in the heart of each character—intense joy and heartbreaking tragedy, passion and indifference, selfishness and generosity, engagement and withdrawal, attraction and rejection. This book is luminous with sadness and insight. The author writes on her Web site that she worked on the book for seven years because she wanted it to be worthy of O’Connor, whom she admires not only as a great writer but as a person who lived a “well-lived life,” a concept that is a major theme of this book. I feel that she has done O’Connor proud. I’m inspired to re-read Flannery O’Conner and to get my hands on Ann Napolitano’s first book, Within Arm’s Reach, right away.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Anne B. (Odessa, WA)

A Good Hard Look
If you like in-depth character development, this is an excellent book for you. It reminded me of the excellent films of director, David Mamet. Ann Napolitano has a unique way of delving into the souls of her characters, taking you into the depth of each soul while enabling you to understand and appreciate their bazaar behavior. The plot grows and twists in ways that totally surprised me, yet left me appreciative of each the character's reactions -- and I don't normally read fiction. How she was able to involve Flannery O'Connor in this novel was amazing. This is a great read. I couldn't put it down.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Marjorie A. (32606, Florida)

A Satisfying Read
This book is almost as satisfying as reading Flannery O’Connor. The characters are not as unusual as hers, and yet, to me her themes of morality and ethics that are present in her fiction and essays are a significant part of this plot. Maybe it is because I am a Southerner, or because I am close to O’Connor’s age, I resonated with many of the characters. I am recommending this book to friends

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Carole G. (Hollidaysburg, PA)

A View From The Grandstand Of Life
This story captured both my interest and my empathy for the various characters from the very first page. As their lives moved forward I sensed a feeling of knowing and understanding each character, their intricacies and motives. A fascinating thread of the ever present peacocks is expertly woven throughout the storyline, perhaps representative of disappointment, passion, dominance, and what you learn to live with. The plot is about life, not as they dream it will be or plan it to be but simply the reality of what is. Lives intermingle, expectations are altered, needs change, people change, opposing forces clash and ... time passes by.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Barbara A. (Roswell, GA)

Well worth the read!
As a Georgia resident (but not native), I thoroughly enjoyed Napolitano's exploration and examination of the lives in a tiny Georgia town, transformed by its most famous daughter, Flannery O'Connor. Napolitano does such a beautiful job of connecting the reader with Flannery and those highlighted individuals from her life, it has spurred me on to read Flannery O'Connor's works. I would highly recommend this book!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Ken F. (Mukwonago, Wisconsin)

A fine novel, perfect for reading groups
I finished reading A Good Hard Look a few days ago, but the squawk of those nasty magnificent peacocks still resonates. Flannery O’Connor and her final years at Andalusia, her family farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, is at the core of this powerful novel. I didn’t know much about O’Connor when I started the book. I know much more now and I have one of her collections on hold at my local library.

Ann Napolitano has written a compelling story with a Southern Gothic feel. I loved the way that the major characters lives intertwined, amid the horrible noise of those darned peacocks. I became particularly involved with the marriage of Cookie and Melvin…a comedy of errors laced with tragedy…and the aftermath of that relationship. And Melvin’s friendship with Flannery was fascinating; two lonely people coming together out of need.

In fact, the novel is filled with lonely people making choices and having to live with the outcome of those choices. And I felt for those characters. I wanted them to find the right path through their hardships. Some do, some don’t. Such is life.

I work at Books & Company, an independent bookstore in Oconomowoc, WI. A Good Hard Look will surely end up on my recommend shelf. It’s a novel that moved me and involved me. It’s a fine novel, perfect for reading group discussions.

1 2 3   next »

Become a Member
The Expats by Chris Pavone
Editor's Choice
  •  Jun 17 
  •  Jun 15 
  •  Jun 13 
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah Jacket

Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Karen Joy Fowler

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves Jacket

The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
TransAtlantic
Colum McCann

TransAtlantic Jacket

The most mature work yet from an incomparable storyteller, TransAtlantic is a profound meditation on identity and history in a wide world that grows somehow smaller and more wondrous with...
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Movies Based on Books: Summer 2013 (May - August)
Jewish Themed Young Adult Books, Not About The Holocaust
Books to Give This Mother's Day
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
Recent Reader Reviews
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years... read more
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part... read more
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
A magical book, an enchanted house, a cast of characters who previously lived there but remain on the walls in photographs to be talked to whenever... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Little Princes
Conor Grennan
2. Ava's Man
Rick Bragg
3. Half the Sky
Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
4. K Blows Top
Peter Carlson
5. The Special Prisoner
Jim Lehrer
More...
Book Club Recommendations
A Monster Calls
by Siobhan Dowd, Patrick Ness
Paperback (Mar/13)
The End of the Point
by Elizabeth Graver
Hardback (Mar/13)
Out of The Easy
by Ruta Sepetys
Hardback (Feb/13)
Maggot Moon
by Sally Gardner
Hardback (Feb/13)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
4.5 Stars            (Jun/13)
Flat Water Tuesday
by Ron Irwin
Four Stars            (Jun/13)
Crime of Privilege
by Walter Walker
Four Stars            (Jun/13)
Her Last Breath
by Linda Castillo
4.5 Stars            (Jun/13)
More...
  Latest BookBrowse News
Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate (Jun 12 2013)
Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Which of these Summer movies based on books would you like to see? (Info on each movie here)
The Great Gatsby
Epic
Man of Steel
World War Z
The Lone Ranger
The Wolverine
R.I.P.D.
Percy Jackson
Paranoia
The Mortal Instruments
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club
More about
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton
Join the discussion!

The Light Between Oceans

Win This Book!
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton


"An intense and gripping novel of betrayal & guilt."
- Ayelet Waldman


Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I G I O Ear A O T O"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Carol Rifka Brunt
Kent Wascom
Jennifer McVeigh
Elizabeth Becker
frame bottom
HOME Book Submissions | Advertising | Library Subscriptions | Reviewing for BookBrowse | Contact Us