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Rating: 
Summary: About the last 30 pages earn this book five stars
Review: I had to read Philadelphia Fire for a writing class and, after delving into the book, I found that it was written in that love it or hate it "stream of conciousness" style. The person of the narrator switches from character to character and other people in the story seem to appear without any warning or introduction. But the reason I gave this book five stars is because of the way the last and the way Wideman describes the homeless man sucking the ketchup and maynoise off of Mcdonalds plastic hamburger wrappers is painfully insightful and provocative. This book is worth the read simply because the ending is fabulous and leaves you with a sense of how the world doesn't care about innocent people being killed and that most people are only concerned with themselves. END
Rating: 
Summary: Escapism at its Finest
Review: In Philadelphia Fire Wideman takes on the task of engaging with issues important to the African American community while at the same time presenting them from a modernist viewpoint. Yet topics such as voyeurism, fidelity, and even the title fire are left behind in the main character's escapism. Perhaps Wideman wants to show the disorienting effects society plays on the male African American mind. However, the style becomes tiresome, despite glimpses of simply beautiful writing, and halfway through I found myself looking for an escape as well.
Rating: 
Summary: overwritten mess
Review: starts out as though it's gonna tell a story, then the plot is just abandoned -- forget it, it's never resolved -- and part two is supposedly the author musing about "what would i write if i was gonna write about this stuff?" -- and then part three has nothing to do with anything. well, as my mama used to say, "there's a whole lotta writing goin' on... and not much reading." in other words mr wideman just performed this for himself, for his own private pleasure and none of ours.
Rating:
Summary: May 13, 1985
Review: Wideman's book, Philadelphia Fire, starts with an absorbing idea - Cudjoe, an African-American expatriate, recently returned from Mykonos, returns to Philadelphia to write a novel about the bombing and fire at the Move complex in West Philadelphia and find the one child who survived. Yet for me, the book did not fulfill its promise. The stream of consciousness writing was complex, and distracted me greatly from the story. I was also disappointed that the bombing incident itself, its political underpinnings, and the story of the elusive child were never truly told. Rather, the book focuses on Cudjoe's experiences upon returning to Philadelphia; his failures and successes as a father, teacher, writer, and husband; and his investigations into the incident. Cudjoe's realizations redeem the book, as his insight into the life of an African-American man are profound. While I was disappointed that the subject in which I was interested was never covered in depth, the descriptions and feelings evoked by the title character made the book certainly worth reading.
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