Book Roundup

Yvonne Zipp welcomes back a lost novelist, ponders the death of chick lit, and giggles over a teen comedy by a writer for 'The Simpsons.'

from the June 8, 2007 edition

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Five Skies, by Ron Carlson (Viking)

Three men fleeing grief and guilt meet in Idaho to build a motorcycle stunt ramp across a gorge in Ron Carlson's moving, beautifully written novel. At first, all Arthur Key and Darwin Gallegos agree about is the inherent stupidity of their task, but wary distrust slowly gives way to friendship as the men bond over hard work well done (and the chance to tease the junior member of their crew, ex-thief Ronnie Panelli). Ron Carlson's first novel in 30 years somehow puts into words the thoughts and emotions of quiet men in a way that puts us talkers to shame. Grade: A–

I Love You, Beth Cooper, by Larry Doyle (Ecco)

Übernerd Denis Cooverman uses his valedictory address to tell the head cheerleader, her soldier boyfriend, and hundreds of other people how he really feels in this raucous romp of a teen comedy. Told over the course of graduation day, TV writer Larry Doyle's debut novel gets at the agony of adolescence in a way that will have people covering their faces with their hands, reading between their fingers to see what disaster will befall Denis next and snorting with laughter the whole time. But Doyle ("The Simpsons") is deft enough a writer to reveal the nuances to Denis, Beth, and their friends in between the gross-out gags. (The only exception is Kevin, the boyfriend, and his two goons, caricatures I found helpful to think of as zombies, since they've been allotted about that much personality.) There's maybe two too many showdowns between Denis and Kevin near the end, but readers may be laughing too hard to notice. Grade: B+

The Overlook, by Michael Connolly (Little, Brown)

There's radioactive material loose in Los Angeles, and one man has less than a day to track it down. No, not Jack Bauer – LAPD officer Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. But the "ripped from '24' " setup is just one of the problems with "The Overlook," bestselling author Michael Connolly's 18th novel. (In fairness to Connolly, Harry doesn't stoop to torturing suspects, and the situation plays out very differently than it would in the hands of CTU.) Originally written in serial form for The New York Times magazine, "The Overlook," despite being expanded and revised, still bears the hallmarks of a rush job. Harry's new partner, Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras, gets a nickname in lieu of character development, and, at one point, Connolly manages to wedge three clichés into two sentences. More surprisingly for the usually reliable author of "The Lincoln Lawyer," readers will be two to three steps ahead of Harry. Grade: C+

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