Beautiful Somewhere Else : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Escape Worthy
Review: "Beautiful Somewhere Else" is a quick read, with instantly interesting characters that are both likeable and not, but nonetheless extremely entertaining. Policoff's writing is both funny and sincere, and creates a perfect narrative to a sometimes far-fetched plot. But from page one, til the end, you are completely enthralled in the world that is set up before you. The story captures you, brings you to somewhere else that is mystical, detailed, and weird. A true novel that steps outside of reality with characters that are very familiar. A quick and utterly perfect read for the warm days of summer.

Rating:
Summary: Obsessive summer
Review: Although this is not your classic light beach reading, you should bring it to that summer rental house because it takes you on a different kind of trip. Not only is the novel mostly set on the Cape , but it captures the end-of-summer inner turmoil that is more real and true than the plot description would indicate. The obsessive character of the protagonist is particularly vivid and drives the sensational descriptions throughout the book. A wonderful first novel!

Rating:
Summary: vivid as a short story
Review: The strength of this book lies in the voice of Paul, the narrator: it springs to life as immediately as if the novel were a short story, and Policoff needed every word to establish his character. The is a quiet sense of humor and misery in every line. Plotwise I thought the book needed a little more focus on both takeoff and landing, and slightly less on the confusing turbulence of the second half, forgive the metaphor. All in all a charming and vivid novel.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, wry pageturner with a brain.
Review: This isn't a quick bathroom read: sex, drugs, obsession, longing and the supernatural woven into a tight atmopsheric narrative about a man stuck in time, among other places. Policoff's character is what happens when Hawthorne meets Capote and Woody Allen drives by to wave hello. Too moody to be a throwaway summer/beach rag; sip a dark beer while you read - this book is pure autumn.