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G Gracce gravve — Don't Cry was a disappointing reading experience. At first I found the book to be kind of annoying. The first story was quite unappealing, in both the characters and whatever it was that was going on. Then for the next few stories the unappealing just kept happening. None of the stories could seem to escape feeling like there were shocking things being said for the sake of being shocking. Mostly they had to do with fucking, and oftentimes with the fact that women have vaginas. I realize this fact, and maybe if I had read these stories in Edith Wharton's time the shockingness of the black hole of mystery that is a cooter would have made me go into a convulsion of some sort, or maybe if I had read this as a woman in the sixties I could have rallied around the vagina-ness of all womenkind, but by 2009 it's not that shocking nor mysterious. So that's disappointment one, I wasn't enjoying the book. About 2/3's through the book I already started formulating some review ideas in my head. I was ready to tear this apart. I dreaded having to slosh through another 1/3 of the book, but I was ready to do it, just to be angered more. Instead here comes disappointment two. The third to last story is actually really good. What the fuck? No mysterious vaginas, no dime store versions of Levinas' theory of The Other / the face of The Other turned into some silly Feminist thing that held no water what so ever. No characters just blurting out things like, "My ex-boyfriend fucked me in the ass," and then spend a half a page ridiculing people who find comments like that to be uncomfortable as prudes (what to think of the reader who feels uncomfortable for a writer who thinks something like this is shocking, or gritty, or real), and also no Eggers like ironic distancing of oneself from the faults already showing in earlier stories through a separate story. None of those things. Instead a very good story. And then that story was followed up with two not quite as good stories, but still quite good ones. What the fuck. I couldn't even hate the book in peace, instead it had to end with three solid stories that were enjoyable, and if I hadn't had to read the first 2/3's of the book, I'd consider Gaitskill as a writer I should check out and read more of. Instead I'm left with a weird feeling of indifference, not knowing if the last three were a fluke or maybe signs of what her newer / more mature work is like. I guess the only way to find out is to read more of her books, but I don't know if I want to deliberately set myself up for more disappointments.

Luca Scordo _uca_cordo — Source: Received from author. Many thanks goes to Gerard de Marigny for sending me a copy of his book for review. I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. My rating: 3.5/5 Cris de Niro had everything. A beautiful wife, two young sons, with a third child on the way. Then, in one moment, tragedy struck, and the world would never be the same again. When the towers fell, taking the life of his wife, Lisa, and their unborn child, Cris was left bereft, lost in a sea of emotions. With despair setting in, Cris turned to the Bible for comfort and sustenance. Now, ten years later, Cris is starting up an agency to watch out for terrorism, to make sure another terrorist attack never happens on U.S. soil again. With the ten year anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching, Cris is left with a growing sense of urgency. He forms a business that is on the lookout for terrorism within the United States borders. What he doesn't realize, is how quickly he will stumble upon a plot meant to extrapolate and incapacitate those on the anniversary of 9/11. With topics taken straight from the headlines, and our worst fears, de Marigny takes us on a wild ride as we follow Cris, and his compatriots on their search for any terrorist plots. When their worst fears are realized, we are right there with them, trying to figure out just what is going to happen next, and who will end up the victor. There are a slew of characters in The Watchman of Ephraim, and at times it was hard to differentiate between them as some of them seemed to have the same voice, however they are united in their goal to keep America safe. The structure of The Watchman of Ephraim is sound, and it has great bones. I just wanted the story fleshed out a little bit more. Also, with a little tightening up, this read could be an excellent one.There is a lot of technical jargon in association with different weapons, and military terms, and definitions are given in the back of the book which helps the non-military reader. All in all, this is a heartbreaking subject to write about, and de Marigny writes with dignity and grace, while keeping in mind the grief of those who lost someone on that fateful day. I rooted for Cris to come out on top, and hoped that he would achieve the goals he set for himself, and those around him. I am definitely interested in seeing what happens next for Cris and his new agency.