The Turnaround: Summary and book reviews of The Turnaround by George Pelecanos, plus links to an excerpt from The Turnaround and a biography of George Pelecanos.
The Turnaround
by George Pelecanos
Hardcover: Aug 2008,
304 pages.
Paperback: Apr 2009,
304 pages.
On a hot summer afternoon in 1972, three teenagers drove into an unfamiliar neighborhood and six lives were altered forever. Thirty five years later, one survivor of that day reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. But another survivor is now out of prison, looking for reparation in any form he can find it. The Turnaround takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the '70s to the changing neighborhoods of D.C. today, from the diners and auto garages of the city to the inside of Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, where wounded men and women have returned to the world in a time of war. A novel of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory and violent redemption, The Turnaround is another compelling, highly charged novel from George Pelecanos, "the best crime novelist in America." -Oregonian.
Pelecanos raises important questions about racism, friendship, loyalty, guilt and redemption in this tightly written story that leaves the reader pondering these issues long after the novel has been read. (Reviewed by Diane La Rue).
The New York Times - Janet Maslin
He tells a tight, suspenseful story. And he packs enough of a wallop to put The Turnaround on an express bus of its own.
The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson
[A] mature story, told with easy mastery, and no one who cares about Washington and about excellence in American writing should miss it.
he New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio
The home truths he examines here...are familiar themes of his gritty Washington-based novels. But he has rarely pushed these articles of faith to such painful extremes or seemed so optimistic about the chances for redemption.
Library Journal
Starred Review. A virtue of this fine novel is the author's evident love for his characters, even the lost ones.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Pelecanos shows the distinction between those capable of making that turnaround and those who can't, while exploring a common humanity that goes deeper than differences of skin color and home turf.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The result is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel of crime, friendship, aging and redemption.
The Fisher House Program War veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are coming back with
injuries that would have been fatal a few years ago. Medical advances mean
that more young men and women are returning home with serious brain injuries and requiring artificial limbs. These vets need long periods of rehabilitation.
To assist them and their families, the Fisher House Program was created. New
York real estate magnate Zachary Fisher donated money to build Fisher House
'comfort homes' on the grounds of each of the major military medical centers
in the United States which enable families of vets to live close to their family member while he or she undergoes rehabilitation.
Anywhere from eight to
twenty-one suites exist in each home which military families can use at no
charge. The families share a common kitchen area, dining area and
there are living areas with play rooms for young children. Each family has
their own bedroom suite with a bathroom.
There are paid staff at each Fisher House, but volunteers play an...
Lost Memory of Skin is a provocative novel of spiritual and moral redemption from Russell Banks.
These are 2 of the 4 readalike suggestions for The Turnaround. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
read more
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
read more
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
read more
British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
Full Story
BookBrowse
(984 words).
