Rating: 
Summary: So, so enjoyable, and then...???
Review: There's a familiarity and depth to Pete Hamill's descriptions of post-WWII Brooklyn that must come from personal experience. The place and time are rendered clearly and throughly and honestly... he deserves great credit for that. He also deserves credit for delivering a story that manages to touch on the realities of the social condition of the day, and while there is clearly a message and perspective the author is trying to impart he does so without preachiness. Other than some cartoonish-ness in the characterizations of the story's villains, the whole thing was a very engaging read, and then...??????? I don't want to give the ending away, but suffice it to say it was incongruous with the grittiness and honesty indicative of the first 95% of the book. I found myself saying 'Oh I hope he doesn't end it THIS way, he wouldn't possibly end it THIS way' and then, well, he did. Despite the childish and unfortunately predictable ending, still worth the read if for nothing other than the vivid painting of life as a 20th century child of blue-collar immigrants.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love it....but....
Review: Michael Devlin, the hero of Pete Hamill's Snow in August is a typical, all-American boy of the 1940's. He lives in an apartment with his mother in New York, his father having died in the second World War, reads Captain Marvel comics, plays stick-ball with his friends, and dreams of nothing more than the life he already leads. ENOUGH with the atmosphere. The greatest disappointment for me of this novel is that the author works overtime to paint the post-war scenery for the reader. A mention of Bing Crosby on the radio is accompanied by a Who's Who of popular radio of 1947. It gets a bit wearisome. Although it does LEND to the story to set the time and place, the constant barrage of pop culture circa 1947 reads more like name dropping, or as if the author spent most of his research time reading lists and incorporated them in just that forum, a list. That said, the story is a charming one. Michael Devlin, the story's hero and protagonist, is dared by his friends to go to the local Jewish synagogue to search for the 'hidden treasure' they are certain lies within. Michael accepts the dare, and is suprised to find himself befriending the synagogue's Rabbi Hirsch, and losing interest in finding this so-called treasure. Michael slowly discovers that the real 'treasure' is the wealth of history and magic which the Rabbi, and the Jewish history, holds. He studies Talmud, learns basic Yiddish, and even manages a substantial discount on a new suit with his recently acquired third language (English, Latin for Church, then Yiddish). Conflict arises when Michael witnesses a brutal attack on a local merchant by a member of a street gang. Rather than be branded with 'the mark of the informer' (a knife cut from lips to ear lobes) Michael stays silent, except for with his mother and the Rabbi. However, the silence catches up with him, as the identity of the attacker becomes known to the police, and Michael, his mother, and the Rabbi are targeted by the gang to be killed, as the gang is certain that Michael has been the one to give them up to the police. Mixing actual history with a far-fetched, unbelievable ending to resolve this conflict, the author does himself a major disservice by concluding the book in the manner which he chose. Hamill's natural storytelling charm and adept character development are mired in a fantastical conundrum which completely overshadows the rest of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Snow In August
Review: In this novel, a boy named Michael Devlin, an 11 year old, Irish boy, goes through the trials of life. He has to make many decisions that reflect his character. The rest of his life may rely on one deciion. At first Micheal is just an 11 year old boy who likes baseball and playing with his friends. But as the book goes on Michael runs into a rabbi, who teaches him the lessons of life. He is taught Yiddish and many great things, and by the end he gains maturity. He learns who his true friends are and will go through anything to protect them. Snow is an important part of this novel. It represents the miracles that can happen, even to an ordinary 11 year old boy. Read on to learn how the segregation of the people can be magically brought together.
Rating:
Summary: Snow in August review
Review: This book is about a young irish boy who lives in brooklyn. Him and his mother live there after his father was killed in the war. He meets a rabbi and becomes very close with the rabbi. They build a strong bond throughout the book. Michael teaches the rabbi english and all about america, while the rabbi teaches him yidish and about the jews reliegon. Throughout the book they face many challenges dealing with racism and inequality. They had many times of seeing people being unwanted because of their race of religan. They wanted the world to be more interacted with different races. They used many different things to acomplish their goal for equality, for example thy used magic to help them teach the people that are racist such as the falcons, a local gang, a lesson. They also have to deal with death due to world war II. Throughtout this book they form a tight freindship adn learn many lessons.
Rating:
Summary: THE GOODS AND BADS OF SNOW IN august
Review: to me the book SNOW IN AUGUST was both good and bad. Good in the way it unites a Irish catholic boy and an orthodox jewish man together, in an enviroment where it would be almost impossible. The author Pete Hamill used realistic events in order to illustrate how this is possible. The author uses events such as the Jackie Robinson signing in order to make it more realistic . The Flaw of this book came at the end when michael recreated a jewish myth the Golem, and turned the book into a fairy tale, which i did not like, because the whole time I took the book seriously, and at that point i kind of took it as a joke. Therefor if the author would have changed the ending and made it more realistic, i would like it more and it would deserve all 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: marks poo poo head review
Review: i thought that the book had a lot of good points and was all around really good. i could relate to the characters and i really enjoyed the theme plots, and just most of the book. the only thing that really upset me was the end. i absolutely hated it. i thought the book was very realistic and then this happy, every thing is ok don't worry ending just came out of no where and it really upset me. however i did enjoy the book very much.
Rating: 
Summary: a student in highschool
Review: Pete Hamill's "Snow in August" is a wonderful book. With all of the different events in this book I would never want to put it down. I thought that the many different choices and situations the people were put in got me at the edge of my seat. I was extremely interested in the stories that the rabbi was telling his new friend Micheal. The Rabbi told Micheal the stories of his life and tought him how to speak yiddish. Micheal repaid him by teaching him about baseball and the english language. The Rabbi got very interested in baseball and took Micheal to see their first baseball game together. They went there to root on Jackie Robinson and show him their support. throughout the novel they made many different connections with Jackie Robinson.
Rating:
Summary: A jew And A kid from IReland
Review: This book was an excellent boook until the end. It was intresting to read about what happens to Micheal. The book was a pretty hard book to put down becuse you didn't know what would happen next. There were a lot intresting parts like when the rabbi and priest got together to clean of swastikas. The thing that made me give it 4 stars instead of 5 is the endind it ruined the book for me i thought there was going to be a serious ending but no there were mud figures prancing around. So if you want to read a good on what an irish boy has to deal with in america read this book and skip the end.
Rating:
Summary: Amy's Review
Review: It was an easy book to get into, but the ending made me not want to read it again. It had a happy ending, but it sounded like the author was trying to cram too much information into the ending. All the loose ends turned into a big happy knot at the end.
Rating:
Summary: We were asked to write this review...
Review: We liked this book all the way until chapter 35. Everything leading up to the ending was good, but the ending knocked a star off of the rating. We thought that the plot was clever, but Hamill's overuse of mystical themes was unnecessary. We also believed that Father Heany's character was underdeveloped. Hamill could have developed him into one of the better characters in the book. Although the author dropped us a few hints of magic throughout the novel, the ending was a complete surprise. Magic played a big part in the book, but we felt it was overplayed, especially at the end. If you like magic, then this would be a great book for you; however, if you are into the realistic type novels, this book may not be your favorite. Overall, a good book, but the ending was sort of a "let down."
|
