Reservation Road

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books you'll read
Review: A very haunting book that prompts one to re-examine the black-and-white condemnation of hit-and-run incidents. The reader is encouraged to see all the varying shades of grey that make both the victims (i.e. Ethan and his family) and the perpetrator (Dwight) real and worthy of sympathy. The emotional climax of the book, when the two fathers confront each other, was beautifully written, and very poignant. The scene was accompanied in my mind by Bruce Springsteen's song "Missing", which served on the soundtrack of the film "The Crossing Guard", which has a very similar story line, and impact, to Schwartz's book.

Rating:
Summary: Reservations
Review: I carefully considered the rating, and finally gave it three stars for the lovely prose and the plot line.

Frankly, I did not enjoy the journey...the characters fall flat and the actual execution of the plot is dry and in some places way too contrived. I simply did not care that much about the characters. I finished because I had bought a hard back version based on a review in Atlantic Monthly, but I was not left longing for more or even appreciating the whole effort. I felt cheated and Atlantic Monthly owes me $ 19.99.

This is the only book in a long time I sold to a used book store. Normally, I keep all books, especially hard backs. But I could not imagine ever picking this one up again for any reason whatsoever.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling and quick read
Review: I had recommended this book to my book club to read. It was voted down. (Their loss they missed a good one) So I went ahead and read it on my own. Im so glad I did. It was such a compelling story. I still keep thinking about it. I have tried to put myself in each of the characters place how would I have handle the situation they were in? I cant imagine it, and there are no easy answers. Which comes through in each of the characters. You can feel their pain and struggle. The characters were so well developed even the children. (Emma Sam and Josh) They just werent bystanders in the story. My heart went out to all of them as if they were real people. Yes even the bad guy who did the unthinkable. Even though I think what he did was horrible and cowardly since he didnt stop. I still felt sorry for him. His life even before the accident seemed to be spinning out of control. He just couldnt get it together. Then this happens. I may have hated what he did but I couldnt hate him. It made for a very emotional read. But I loved it. One of the better books I have read. And to think I first saw it on "Good Morning America: recommended by Charlie Gibson. Thank you Charlie. Its a book I wont soon forget.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books you'll read
Review: I ordered this book after being recommended it by my best friend. He felt it was one of the best he had read, but thought I might have a problem with since I have children. It is a very hard subject and the fact that you are thrown into it within the first pages makes it that much harder. As I was reading, I couldn't believe that I was reading such a great book. I enjoyed the 3 points of view and liked the fact that the 2 men were in first person, while the mother was in third person. It allowed you to look at the husband from his view and his wife's view. Yes, the ending disapointed me when I read it, but thinking about it afterwards, I realized it was the perfect ending. A "hollywood redemption" ending would have ruined it. My friend and I discussed it at length afterwards and through our discussions realized so much more about the book and how good it was. My wife has refused to read it and I don't blame her as it is hard to take the loss. I think of this book often and I know that I'll re-read it soon. It is great on so many levels. I would not recommend this to the casual book reader looking for a simple novel. If you read it, expect to re-visit it often. And for those who read it and were disappointed, I challenge them to really think about it and see how many layers this book has.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT GIVES WITH THE ENDING?
Review: I really liked this book until the end when it all fell apart. It's as if the author didn't have any idea how to conclude what was an interesting read. The ending seems like it was written by someone other than the author. I still give it three stars for the originality of having different narrators tell their story.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading but NOT 5 stars...
Review: My favorite writer is Graham Greene & I almost never get the feeling I got when I read "The Quiet American" & knew I'd end up reading everything the man had written; I got that feeling about John Burnham Schwartz reading this excellent, understated, convincing thriller that succeeds in being much more concerned with the people than with the events without being boring. All the characters, including both boys and both wives, are excellently drawn. The book's just a pleasure to read as a piece of craftsmanship, dark subject matter notwithstanding. The only fault I could find is the somewhat sporadic appearance of the Learner dog, who sort of gets forgotten for a while & then suddenly reappears, & that's a very, very minor flaw in an outstanding novel. I'll make a point of reading whatever Schwartz writes.

Rating:
Summary: An understated marvel
Review: There's an inherent problem in writing (and reading) novels which devote themselves entirely to unexpected death and its aftermath, entirely aside from the fact that it's a subject matter which has been done, and re-done, and overdone since the dawn of fiction, and is therefore very difficult to make fresh, interesting or insightful. The major problem is that the author runs the very real risk of dousing the reader with such unrelenting dreariness that finishing the book is almost a chore. As far as novels about death go, Reservation Road is far better than most. It's thought-provoking, sincere, and, for the most part, avoids melodrama. But there's not much new for Schwartz to explore-if grief is a universal language, the theme of personal loss is a literary staple. The ending of the book (I won't spoil it) is somewhat surprising, and emotionally fulfilling at first-until one gives it serious thought and wonders if the author sacrificed reality for the sake of making "a point" about human nature.

Two things save Reservation Road, however, and make it worth reading. The first is the character of Dwight, whose anguish and self-loathing in the wake of the accident he caused is arresting, complex, and unique. The second is Schwartz's prose, which is lucid and engaging-on occasion, it's even downright eloquent. In the end, the novel is an almost perfect hybrid of Jacqueline Mitchard's far inferior "The Deep End of the Ocean" and James Agee's superior "A Death in the Family." It may not be a lasting work of literature, but it's a good piece of contemporary fiction. I would consider sampling Schwartz's work again.

Rating:
Summary: Reservations
Review: This is a good, good book. It is also very rare in that it deals with a very traumatic sitation in as anti-Hollywood of a way as possible, that is, REALISTICALLY. The character development and the plot are loyal to one another and the book manages to use the emotions of sadness and futility to a high degree. If you like books (or movies) like Remains of the Day, you will like this.