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Rating: 
Summary: Too many off-key notes
Review: A story about an American Ambassador with a son who hates him to such an extreme that he plots his death. Considering the times in which this story occurs (mid/late '80s) and the slew of recent terrorist acts, 1979: Hostages taken at the U.S. Embassy in Iran.
1983: U.S. Embassy bombed in Beirut, Lebanon. 63 dead, including 17 Americans.
1983: U.S. Marine barracks bombed in Lebanon. 241 American dead.
1983: U.S. Embassy bombed in Kuwait. Five dead.
1984: U.S. Embassy annex bombed in Aukar, Lebanon. 24 dead, including two Americans.
1984: Kuwait Airways Flight 221 hijacked. Two Americans murdered.
1985: TWA Flight 847 hijacked. One American murdered.
1985: Achille Lauro ocean liner hijacked. One American murdered.
1985: Attacks on Rome and Vienna airports. 20 dead, including five Americans.
1986: Bombing of La Belle discotheque in West Berlin. One American dead.
1988: Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 dead.
1980-1992: Dozens of Americans and other Westerners kidnapped and murdered in the Middle East, mostly in Lebanon. it is totally inconceivable that this story would end as it does. I also found lots of disappointing tidbits here n there that stretched credibility to the max (reasons for the sons extreme hate for father & Americans makes no sense, inexperienced ambassador and wife both able to elude experienced CIA followers, sons intellectual abilities and memory at the ripe old age of 5 y/o, etc.) but even so it was a story beautifully told in the Just tradition. This man can write!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, if you can find a copy.
Review: I felt compelled to write when I read the other reviews. I think Just is getting a bad rap. The novel is interesting and creative, and full of poetic prose. I enjoyed the characters. There's the bright but somehow clueless Ambassador and his wife who have lived their lives of adventure, giving their son everything that they would have wanted. But their son, raised overseas (Germany, France and Congo, if I recall correctly) in a "sophistocated" globe-trotting world, rebels against it all. The novel portrays a fascinating dichotomy of a patriotic American father, and his son, who chooses to become a German terrorist.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading, if you can find a copy.
Review: I felt compelled to write when I read the other reviews. I think Just is getting a bad rap. The novel is interesting and creative, and full of poetic prose. I enjoyed the characters. There's the bright but somehow clueless Ambassador and his wife who have lived their lives of adventure, giving their son everything that they would have wanted. But their son, raised overseas (Germany, France and Congo, if I recall correctly) in a "sophistocated" globe-trotting world, rebels against it all. The novel portrays a fascinating dichotomy of a patriotic American father, and his son, who chooses to become a German terrorist.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful.
Review: Just, usually so talented, wastes himself on this effort. It starts bad and stays that way. It is a real shame, though his other attempts (Echo House, even the uneven Stringer) are worth while.
Rating:
Summary: Awful.
Review: Just, usually so talented, wastes himself on this effort. It starts bad and stays that way. It is a real shame, though his other attempts (Echo House, even the uneven Stringer) are worth while.
Rating:
Summary: Too many off key notes
Review: This is a story about an American Ambassador, his wife and son. Where the son so obsessively hates his father as to plot his death. So hates Americans that he commits terrorist acts. Considering the times in which this story occurs (mid to late 1980s) and all the recent terrorist acts having taken place, 1979: Hostages taken at the U.S. Embassy in Iran.
1983: U.S. Embassy bombed in Beirut, Lebanon. 63 dead, including 17 Americans.
1983: U.S. Marine barracks bombed in Lebanon. 241 American dead.
1983: U.S. Embassy bombed in Kuwait. Five dead.
1984: U.S. Embassy annex bombed in Aukar, Lebanon. 24 dead, including two Americans.
1984: Kuwait Airways Flight 221 hijacked. Two Americans murdered.
1985: TWA Flight 847 hijacked. One American murdered.
1985: Achille Lauro ocean liner hijacked. One American murdered.
1985: Attacks on Rome and Vienna airports. 20 dead, including five Americans.
1986: Bombing of La Belle discotheque in West Berlin. One American dead.
1988: Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 dead.
1980-1992: Dozens of Americans and other Westerners kidnapped and murdered in the Middle East, mostly in Lebanon. it is totally inconceivable that the story would end as it does. I found lots of disappointing tidbits here and there that stretched credibility to the max (reasons for the sons extreme hate for father & American makes no sense, inexperienced ambassador and wife both able to elude experienced CIA followers, sons intellectual abilities and memory at the age of 5y/o). But even so it was a story beautifully told in the Just tradition. This man can write!
Rating:
Summary: Too many off key notes
Review: This is the first book by Ward Just I have read, and probably the only book I will ever want to read by him again. It's hard to follow because the plot jumps like crazy, and at times it barely makes sense. It does not keep the reader captivated and the plot line lacks a central purpose.
Rating:
Summary: The Book is all right
Review: This is the first book by Ward Just I have read, and probably the only book I will ever want to read by him again. It's hard to follow because the plot jumps like crazy, and at times it barely makes sense. It does not keep the reader captivated and the plot line lacks a central purpose.
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