Rating: 
Summary: What it didn't say, said a lot
Review: Andre Dubus III, writes in a way that is so pointed, yet understated that when I had finished the book, I could appreciate the complete greatness of it. Bluesman is set in 1967 and as any American historian knows, we were, as a country was headed into turmoil. Dubus III takes the time period and manages to capture the innocense of small town values as America was embracing the war in Vietnam and the sexual freedom (awakenings) in America. This view of these issues contrasts the way America looks back at these very same issues, and Dubus captures the way it was, rather than the we choose to remember it.
I also found Dubus III was able to spin a tremendous plot in a well written, sensitive way. There were strong ties between a father and a son, a first love involving the son and a girl from high school, as well as how the loss of a spouse effects people and the decisions they make. It certainly is a picture that Norman Rockwell would paint, in a time that Rockwell's work was being displaced as the accepted images of America.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful, sometimes haunting read-highly recommended.
Review: A finely-written novel which is both a coming-of-age tale and an examination of the human spirit in all its shame and glory, Bluesman is the story of Leo Sutter, and boy on the verge of being a man in a sleepy paper mill town. Leo is coming to terms with the usual problems which beset all young men-love, sex, responsibility-against the background of a mostly redneck town in Viet Nam-era America. Through Leo's interactions with those close to him-his girlfriend, Allie, her communist father, Chic, Leo's father Jim and-most importantly-his dead mother (through her poetry and diary)-Dubus delicately and expertly examines the human condition. The book draws brilliantly on the blues music Leo so loves, and the strength of his bond with both his mother and father, to create genuine melodrama and subtly compelling plotlines. Dubus has spare, delicately understated style which is far more descriptive than a thousand pages of Danielle Steele could ever be. An enjoyable, potentially life-changing book which had me dusting off my old Lightin' Hopkins records, and which begs for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: A coming of age story
Review: Bluesman by Andre Dubus IIIA beautifully written novel by the author of HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, this coming of age novel takes place during the Vietnam War era of the mid to late 60's. Young Leo Suther is about to turn 18 and is getting ready to find out what life outside of school is all about. He's got a new girl, Allie Donovan, who he's desperately in lust with. Her father, Chick Donovan, soon becomes his mentor and he's offered a job to help Chick build houses. It's Leo's first "real" job, and it makes him feel like a man. With Allie by his side and a great job, life is looking good. His home life isn't all that bad either. He and his father live side by side, sharing their love of the blues every night and playing music along with their family friend Ryder. Katie Faye, Leo's mother, had died years ago from cancer, and his memories of her have faded, but are being kept alive by his father's love for her. Throughout the novel, references to Katie's life are made, and her story unfolds as Leo learns about a mother who loved poetry and whose biggest desire before she died was to go to Paris. Her story helps shape Leo's future, as the reader soon finds out. Leo is at a turning point in his life. With only one more year left of high school and a good job with Chick, Leo is ready to leave school and start a family of his own. He fantasizes about living with Allie and their many kids. This fantasy life of his puts blinders on Leo, as he finds out too late how Allie feels about him. And with problems of her own, Allie soon turns her back on Leo, leaving Leo feeling alone and frustrated. As their relationship hits rocky ground, Leo's life starts to fall apart, and he soon sees that not only has Allie's feelings for him have changed, but all around him friends and acquaintances are moving on. Change is in the air, and Leo isn't sure if he's ready for it. I can't really say enough about BLUESMAN. It's a complex story composed of many layers. Leo's issues with Allie, with her father, and even his mother, are at the root of Leo's story. Political issues of the day are not the main focus, but help add to the story line. Communism, the Vietnam War, the attitudes of the late 60's, are all underlying themes of this book. It's not an easy read but I would definitely recommend this for it's beautiful prose and descriptions throughout the book. It's a great coming of age story, and if nothing else will leave with the reader memories of a time in history that has left a mark on many today.
Rating:
Summary: A coming of age story
Review: Bluesman by Andre Dubus III A beautifully written novel by the author of HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, this coming of age novel takes place during the Vietnam War era of the mid to late 60's. Young Leo Suther is about to turn 18 and is getting ready to find out what life outside of school is all about. He's got a new girl, Allie Donovan, who he's desperately in lust with. Her father, Chick Donovan, soon becomes his mentor and he's offered a job to help Chick build houses. It's Leo's first "real" job, and it makes him feel like a man. With Allie by his side and a great job, life is looking good. His home life isn't all that bad either. He and his father live side by side, sharing their love of the blues every night and playing music along with their family friend Ryder. Katie Faye, Leo's mother, had died years ago from cancer, and his memories of her have faded, but are being kept alive by his father's love for her. Throughout the novel, references to Katie's life are made, and her story unfolds as Leo learns about a mother who loved poetry and whose biggest desire before she died was to go to Paris. Her story helps shape Leo's future, as the reader soon finds out. Leo is at a turning point in his life. With only one more year left of high school and a good job with Chick, Leo is ready to leave school and start a family of his own. He fantasizes about living with Allie and their many kids. This fantasy life of his puts blinders on Leo, as he finds out too late how Allie feels about him. And with problems of her own, Allie soon turns her back on Leo, leaving Leo feeling alone and frustrated. As their relationship hits rocky ground, Leo's life starts to fall apart, and he soon sees that not only has Allie's feelings for him have changed, but all around him friends and acquaintances are moving on. Change is in the air, and Leo isn't sure if he's ready for it. I can't really say enough about BLUESMAN. It's a complex story composed of many layers. Leo's issues with Allie, with her father, and even his mother, are at the root of Leo's story. Political issues of the day are not the main focus, but help add to the story line. Communism, the Vietnam War, the attitudes of the late 60's, are all underlying themes of this book. It's not an easy read but I would definitely recommend this for it's beautiful prose and descriptions throughout the book. It's a great coming of age story, and if nothing else will leave with the reader memories of a time in history that has left a mark on many today.
Rating:
Summary: Not just another "coming of age" story
Review: Bluesman works on many levels. There are those that will wrap themselves in the simple tried and true format of a coming of age saga of a blue coller kid trying to eek out an identity in a confusing time--i.e.--the girlfriend, the troubled relationship with his father, his future, yada, yada, yada. The distinction that raises this novel above the typcial Holden Caulfield knock-off--is the selective sensitivity that Dubus endows endows his protaganist, Leo Sutter. Leo is a genuine maifestation of the teenage conditon-a blend of confusion, inertia, intelligence and and profound sensitivity. Leo's troubles are a perfect microcosm for the larger disarray of American society as we meandered into the Vietnam conflict and the loss of innocence that characterized the 60's. I bought this book becasue I enjoyed House of Sand and Fog--and I wasn't diaappointed--the characters are either partially formed or fully developed only to the extent necessary to carry the story--a trait intrinsic to House of Sand and Fog. Even if you have absolutely no interest in the constant references to the Blues music that provides the novel its title--buy this book. Not many works re-awaken the emotions and evoke the magnitude of conflicting desires that so dominate our adolescence. This book does.
Rating:
Summary: Dazed and confused in the blues.
Review: Dazed and confused in the blues Leo Sayer the young protagonist in Andre Dubus III's book the Bluesman is a young man coming of age in the time of social upheaval of the Vietnam era. Like many young man of that age his interest is sex, passion and music while trying to discover who he is and who he is going to be. Much to his delight he discovers sex with his girlfriend Allie Donovan. While being tutored by Allie on essential knowledge of the opposite sex, Leo is guided by his three father figures on the meaning of life. Leo's father Jim, introduces him to the world of Blues and acquaints Leo with his diseased mother,through her diaries and poetic writings. Leo's uncle Ryder provides harp lessons and helps Leo to feel the blues. Allies father Chick Donovan gives Leo an opportunity to work for him as a carpenter and teaches him the philosophy of Carl Marx. Throughout all of his lessons Leo exhibits a sensitivity, but remains dazed and confused as to the direction of his life. During this time Leo is faced with some decisions, which others of this era faced as well as some unexpected choices. Dubus, adeptly holds the readers interest and the reader alternately feels frustrated and sympathetic with Leo. Dubus is a skilled writer and his lyrical style reinforces the dreaminess of Leo's character. It encapsulates the essence of a youth who is impatient to get on with life along with the insecurity of how to go about it. Bluesman is recommended reading for those familiar with the Vietnam era and those who would like to know more about it.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written, Interesting Story
Review: I enjoyed Bluesman but not as much as his House of Sand and Fog. Bluesman is a story of an eighteen year old boy trying to figure out what he wants from life, he falls in love or should we say lust with a girl his age yet she is just as confused as he is. Growing up a motherless child, this boy/man has only a father and "uncle" to teach him the way and it seems that neither one of them really knows anything other than music, poker and bars, but mostly music!! The character who spoke volumes was his mother who left her journals and thoughts to him and her husband before dying. As alway Andre Dubus III is a wonderful writer, absorbing you into the story and leaving you thinking about the characters long after you have put the book down. I enjoyed the book a lot and would recommend for a quick summer read.
Rating:
Summary: An entrancing story
Review: I have no idea why the Kirkus reviewer essentially trashed this book. I found it entrancing. Dubus is a great storyteller, and he made me care about the characters. His prose is amazing: without the usual descriptive tricks (adjectives and adverbs), he creates a living, breathing world populated by well-realized characters. If it matters to anyone...as a former resident of western Massachusetts, I can assure you that Dubus perfectly evokes that part of the country. Those little mill towns are as claustrophic today as they were in the 1960's.
Rating:
Summary: An entrancing story
Review: I have no idea why the Kirkus reviewer essentially trashed this book. I found it entrancing. Dubus is a great storyteller, and he made me care about the characters. His prose is amazing: without the usual descriptive tricks (adjectives and adverbs), he creates a living, breathing world populated by well-realized characters. If it matters to anyone...as a former resident of western Massachusetts, I can assure you that Dubus perfectly evokes that part of the country. Those little mill towns are as claustrophic today as they were in the 1960's.
Rating:
Summary: Really Blue
Review: I really liked this book since it deals with a young man who seems so innocent and he's going in the real world through a crash course summer lesson. He's not really bitter, though he should be, like most teenagers- since many of them become far angrier than they really should be. I'd reccomend this book to almost anyone, that is of age of course. the only thing I did not like about this book was the description of Allie's doing after her and Leo have intercourse. But hey, I guess it helps the story....lol, nah, forget I said that
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