Rating: 
Summary: FORGET IT!
Review: If you possess at least an ounce of intelligence, you'll loath this very poorly written novel. Everything about it is aimed for the swallowest of minds. A tedious read and an empty book.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic read -- perfect for summer
Review: I just tore through Carolyn See's new Book and I can't reccomend it highly enoug to people looking for a thoughtful, intelligent and caring novel about the relation of art and artists. The characters are complex and the plot unfolds gently as we watch a young man find the themes that will power his creative energy for his adult life.
Rating:
Summary: No plot - no character - no drama - no sale
Review: I really wasted my money on this tripe. Random floating thoughts and musings of an aging authoress do not make a novel, certainly not a remotely good novel. A failing effort.
Rating:
Summary: MINDLESS TRASH
Review: This is a thoroughly stupid and simple-minded novel which desperately tried to be hip and funny and instead fell flat on its face.
Rating:
Summary: Worst novel I ever read
Review: After reading the good reviews, I was devastated when I suffered through See's Handyman. I can't find one merit at all in this fifth-rate mess of attempted literature. Who could possibly rave about this thing? It fails on every level and leaves one with a most sour taste in the mouth.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Dull and Devoid of Talent
Review: The critics were out to lunch on this one. One cliche after another. No depth, no drama. As predictable as an afternoon TV soap, only not as compelling or believable. Pure third-rate trash.
Rating:
Summary: It reads like a great painting...
Review: A must for every artist whose creativity is stifled. See has the ability to paint a story that allows the reader to visualize the beauty of the paintings similar to the way a reader could hear the music in "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love."
Rating:
Summary: A THOROUGHLY ROTTEN BOOK !!
Review: What an utterly shallow, bogus book this was. I suppose it's typical admirer is a prototype burned out ex-hippie from the sixties. But for mature, educated readers, this trashy book is a waste of good paper. Ridiculous characters, stupid plotting. Critical raves?? PLEASE!! Give me a break.
Rating:
Summary: Amateurish?
Review: I fear many of my fellow readers haven't the first clue as to what they're talking about. I am shocked to see criticism of this book. Carolyn See is hardly amateurish. She has not yet written a bad novel, and she is well-loved and respected by Los Angeles Book Review readers and many former students.Her deceptively simple stylings create a minimalistic and realistic narrative that imbues her writings with a sense of character and place that lesser authors (hiding behind big words and complex sentences) would kill for. To dismiss her work because it isn't complex enough is to miss the entire spirit of her work. But, then, nothing's for everyone!
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book of the Year (So Far)
Review: I can always count on Carolyn See's books to cheer me up. "Dreaming" was a book I read over and over again. "The Handyman" is like it. Both are part humor, part philosophy, part tragedy. It's amazing how the book (and "Dreaming") walks such a fine line between funny and sad. "The Handyman" is about a wandering angel of sorts. He's not aware of his angel status but we are. The book is a kind of "magic surrealism", much like the character in the book's painting. It's not important that See be a *painter* but that she be an artist to understand how truly accidental the creative process (and its appreciative audience) can be. I'd recommend this book in a heartbeat, particularly to young men who don't know what to do with their lives, but also to lonely women who are clinging to the past. It's a magical experience, this book.
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