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Summary: The PJ's
Review: I really liked this book because I live in the projects out here in Newark...I think he may have actually written the book with a description of this place in mind...and the kinds of seemingly insignificant descriptions he gives really paint life in the projects teh way it is, the same way he projected urban "clocker" life in his other novel. His descriptions of smells, sights, the overreaction of the jakes to every little thing, how we get misrepresented and stuff like that...yo, this was (except for all the parts about Brenda) just like reading a story about me.
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Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This was one of the most boring books that I have read. Don't buy this book if you like to read boring books
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Summary: GOOD WRITING DESTROYED BY OVERLENGTH
Review: All of Richard Price's books were lean, taut, realistic and fast.This one starts well, but then you realize that you're about to sit through another "Day In The Life" story that isn't all that new or different. And why does it take 700 pages to tell this story? Everyone will argue character development and dialogue, fine, there are more economical ways to accomplish this than risking boring the reader to tears and giving him a very predictable ending as opposed to something insightful.
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Summary: not with a bang but a whimper...
Review: The first 500 pages of (the paperback version of) this book are almost as good as Price's masterpiece of life (and death) on the mean streets, Clockers. But then something goes awry. Instead of quitting while he is ahead, Price tags on a tedious 150-page denouement seemingly meant to be his answer to Alex Kotlowitz's searing anatomy of the racial divide, The Other Side of the River. I love Price's subject material, his style, and his characters; I only hope his next work is less schizophrenic.
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Summary: A nailbiting thriller with political integrity and depth
Review: I loved this book for several reasons, but mainly for the way that it combines the ability to keep you on the edge of your seat, with real human values and insight. Far too often characterisation is the first casualty of the modern obsession with 'pace' in thriller-writing. This is not the case with Freedomland. Real people do real things and make real mistakes for reasons that we can all relate to, and there isn't the faintest whiff of corniness about any of it. In fact, Freedomland is more than just a thriller- it's too good to be confined to the ghetto of 'genre' and instead should be given the rightful title of novel, in the old-fashioned and best sense. The story develops in a very satsifying way and the pace of disclosure is confident, controlled and sensitively handled. The book is highly evocative, and grittily authentic, and Price consistently manages to avoid the lazy cartoonish descriptive shorthand that so many other 'page-turners' indulge in. Characters and situations are described so that you can alomst smell them. I also really enjoyed the way in which the book had a conscience, and the way in which Price subtly lets his sympathies with the plight of Urban Americans, both Black and White, shine through. But I would hate for anyone to think that the book is not also just an excellent read, plain and simple. It's sincere, but not 'worthy' and lovers of dense plot will be more than satisfied. Thoroughly recommended.
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Summary: Richard Price knows his people.
Review: Slow, yes. Fascinating, absolutely. Richard Price's characterizations ring true on every note. Price really gets inside the skin of these residents of two down-and-out communities on the Jersey side of the Hudson, where the future is bleak. Using an event where a white mother blames the disappearance of her child on a black male, we follow Lorenzo, the white male cop who know HIS community, and Jesse, a white female reporter for the local rag as they sort out the people and the facts over the next few days. We meet many of the people who have no future in this bleak ghetto. Making nobodies fascinating, is Price's forte. We truly want to know more about these people and what will happen to them when the book ends on page 721.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent read
Review: I am somwhat mystified by previous reviewers who have found this book too long and boring. This book is exactly as long as it needs to be. The characters are wonderfully developed, the dialogue is terrific, and the story is disturbingly real. Even though you have an idea what really happened to the unfortunate victim from early on,the power of the writing keeps you going. This story forces you to consider how societal stereotypes and the power of the media victimize us all.
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Summary: I bought this book because I love Clockers.
Review: The film, that is. I've not read Price before, and may notagain. The story drags, the characters aren't developed enough, andthe seemingly good premise doesn't take off. Can't recommend.
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Summary: Slow, boring, tedious, predictable...
Review: I think Price was so caught up in his attempt to accurately capture the "language" that he lost sight of the story. I can't image anyone finding the middle 200 pages anything but boring.
Rating:
Summary: Not Impressed
Review: I bought this book because Imus highley recommended it on one of his programs. I was not impressed. The writing style is hard to follow, the action slow. He tries to develop the characters, but many scenes seem to have no connection to the characters or the plot. I won't read another book by this author.
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