Naked in Church : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: naked truth
Review: I would have to say that I enjoyed the characters most of all in Naked in Church. They were all extremely well developed and multidimensional, so much that they seem real because they are all a little bit [messed] up. I had a difficult time putting the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next in their lives. I was a little disappointed when it ended because I was left wanting more. Overall, I would say that I definitely enjoyed this book.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly detailed characters, passion and compassion
Review: In his second novel, John Howell repeats his magic for bringing characters to life [1st novel: The Goddess Patrol]. The reader vividly experiences all of the intensities, successes and quiet realizations of the folks who populate Little Pond, NY. Major issues [including teen-age alienation, kidnapping, suicide]are played out against the backdrop of this little hamlet in a deftly written series of alliances, betrayals, brushes with sanity and with the law. Very engrossing, very entertaining - I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Well developed Cuban-American heroes.
Review: John Howell's novel is a brilliant, complex, sympathetic, insightful warts and all depiction of a Cuban immigrant family's triumphs and tragedy in exile in a small, parochial, New York State town. They confront local bigotry, Latin traditions, and their own demons while at the same time being caught up in the chaos that erupts in their town when cultures and classes collide at the end of the millennium. Some of those who end up as heroes in the end are the ones I least expected.