Rating: 
Summary: Read it and decide for yourself
Review: I've thought a lot about the ending of "Snow in August," and I've come away with mixed feelings. Many reviewers have commented on the last forty pages, and I have to admit it is not the way I would have liked the book to end. But it is Hamill's story to write the way he wants, and I have to concede that he set this ending up during the course of the book. The ending didn't come out of nowhere, and I guess you'll have to read the book to decide for yourself. But it will be worth it, because before we get to the conclusion you'll discover some of the most moving story-telling I have ever experienced. Hamill, probably relying on experiences of his own youth, does an excellent job of setting up his cast of Brooklyn characters: the Devlin family, mother and son and deceased father, the Rabbi, the Catholic parish members, Frankie McCarthy and his gang of thugs, the Falcons. The terror he builds is almost unbearable at times - the scenes of beating and torture are gut-wrenching. I found reading this book an emotional experience like no other. Even the final tableau of this book was very moving. The growth in friendship between the young teen Michael Devlin and Rabbi Hirsch is exceptionally well developed through their mutual love of history, languages, and the Brooklyn Dodgers during the rookie season of Jackie Robinson. As I read about this unlikely duo, I kept thinking of the relationship between Huck Finn and the runaway slave Jim. There are haunting sections of this book that will remain with me for a long time. In fact, I think this would make an excellent movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book to Get Lost In
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get lost in Brooklyn, circa 1947. There is some fantasy involved towards the end that perhaps might not seem plausable at all--however, if you take the whole of the book it just works. Well worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Super Read
Review: An enjoyable and sweet story. There are few storytellers as engaging and talented as Pete Hamill. This book harkens back to an earlier time where people of different backgrounds learned about their neighors' cultures without the forced and sanctimonious multiculturalism we see today. It reminded me of the stories that Colin Powell tells of learning to speak Yiddish in the South Bronx. The book also contains an interesting treatment of Jewish mysticism woven into the narrative. One of the best stories that I have read in awhile.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT book - until the end
Review: I agree with the reviewer above who thought the book was great except for the last 40 pages. Pete Hamill is a great writer and writes vividly about a young Catholic boy who befriends a rabbi. They learn from each other - and the reader, in turn, learns quite a bit about religion, struggle, and friendship. The book is intense and you will not want to put it down! It is unfortunate in the way it ends, however. It just is not a believable or even possible ending, in my opinion. I thought I might have missed a detail when I was reading the events that unfurl at the end, so I even re-read the last 2 chapters - but it still was unsettling, and I didn't miss any details. It's a great book until the ending. This high quality story deserves a much better ending than the one Pete Hamill chose to give it. Read this book for the learning experience and 90% of the book - the last 10% is just not the way it should have ended.
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