Rating: 
Summary: Has Butler's Muse Gone Brain-dead?
Review: "Fair Warning" indeed. That is what the prospective purchaser requires here. This is a very disappointing effort by an author whose previous work I have often found both insightful and enjoyable.This is a book of subjective reflection by a two dimensional main character surrounded by other two dimensional charictatures. What would make a reader care for any of these cardboard cutouts? None are developed to the point where they hold interest, much less engender affection or empathy. If this novel did not appear to hold itself out as a study of interiority and self-reflection -- a devling into the soul of the main character -- perhaps then the lack of depth and nuance would be less irritating. If Butler has decided he now wants to write "romance novels," then he better add some of the juice of "They Whisper." If , on the other hand, he wishes to continue to hold the attention of "literary fiction" readers, I suggest a little more meat on the bones of this very boney effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Butler explores materalism using a female auctioneer...
Review: Butler is a writer that seems to enjoy taking challenges, and Fair Warning is no exception. Francis Ford Coppola hired him to write a story about a female auctioneer for a magazine. Later, Butler expanded the story into 225 pages. He does an amazing job writing from a female perspective.
The main character, Amy Dickinson, is the star auctioneer at Nichols and Gray. We follow her as her company is in the process of being sold, and as she begins a relationship with the French businessman who is purchasing the company. Also, at the same time her life seems to be coming together, the lives of her sister and her mother are falling apart. Her sister, who has a picture perfect family, is getting a divorce, and her mother is still dealing with the death of her husband.
But between the development of the plot, Amy describes lots of things. Things she's auctioning, things in her apartment, hands of her lovers, and even cities. (Houston, New York, and Paris.) Butler's description technique is perfect. It's never too over the top, and he uses amazing imagery.
Amy also reflects on what it means to collect things, what it means to own things, what it means to be owned, and what it takes to own yourself.
Fair Warning is definitely a book that will make you think, and perhaps even make you look at your life in a different way.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done Romance
Review: Fair Warning is the first of Butler's novels that I have read and therefore, I came to the novel with no expectations, other than the hope of finding a good read. Fair Warning is an enjoyable, quick read--a sort of sophisticated romance novel. I think, based on reading other reviews on these pages, if you come to this work expecting something like Butler has done before, you may be disappointed. If, however, you want to read a romance for grownups, this is your novel. It is the story of Amy Dickerson, a 40 year old auctioneer with some personal issues to resolve--her father, her mother, her failed love life. She becomes involved with two men as the novel progresses and begins to resolve some of those issues. She eventually falls in love. Not much else, but it is a quick compelling read which some readers will probably really enjoy. You just have to be careful that you are one of them.
Rating:
Summary: A Return to Butler
Review: I first heard of Robert Olen Butler when he won the Pulitzer Prize for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Then I read his book They Whisper and enjoyed it. Then, for some reason, I lost track of him. I didn't read anything else of his until I came across this novel, Fair Warning. The main enjoyment of this novel comes from a character study in the form of its protagonist, Amy Dickerson. She is an auctioneer for a small but prestigious Manhattan auction house. She has a natural ability to read and understand people which makes her very good at her job. She is able to see what people are willing to part with in terms of both money and objects. On the other hand, this ability interferes with her relationships both with her family and her potential lovers. While longing for the ethereal herself, she can only see people's material wants and that includes a person's desire for her. In the end, she must try to see her own desires most clearly and come to peace with them. This is a nice little book. Butler's prose is quite engaging and the book is short enough to be read at a single sitting. Amy and her relationships do make for a fun glimpse into an upper class New York/Paris world. I was tripped up a bit at the end by Alain's neo-Naked Pictures of My Ex-Girlfriends obsession which seemed a bit of a cheap ruse in an otherwise very emotionally realistic novel. Still, it is certainly worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: A Return to Butler
Review: I first heard of Robert Olen Butler when he won the Pulitzer Prize for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Then I read his book They Whisper and enjoyed it. Then, for some reason, I lost track of him. I didn't read anything else of his until I came across this novel, Fair Warning. The main enjoyment of this novel comes from a character study in the form of its protagonist, Amy Dickerson. She is an auctioneer for a small but prestigious Manhattan auction house. She has a natural ability to read and understand people which makes her very good at her job. She is able to see what people are willing to part with in terms of both money and objects. On the other hand, this ability interferes with her relationships both with her family and her potential lovers. While longing for the ethereal herself, she can only see people's material wants and that includes a person's desire for her. In the end, she must try to see her own desires most clearly and come to peace with them. This is a nice little book. Butler's prose is quite engaging and the book is short enough to be read at a single sitting. Amy and her relationships do make for a fun glimpse into an upper class New York/Paris world. I was tripped up a bit at the end by Alain's neo-Naked Pictures of My Ex-Girlfriends obsession which seemed a bit of a cheap ruse in an otherwise very emotionally realistic novel. Still, it is certainly worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Sappy and cliched story of a female auctioneer
Review: I think this is one of those books that will appeal more to women than to men. It is the story of a forty-year-old New York auctioneer who seems to think an awful lot of herself. She has the usual romantic complications, including a banal liaison with a cliched Frenchman, whose "secret," when we find out what it is, is pretty silly. This is not an offensive book; just not very interesting. There are some lines of dialogue here that will make you roll your eyes and groan.
Rating: 
Summary: Sophisticated romance
Review: Of the three Butler books I've read, this is the weakest rendering. The writing, as always, is artistic and nuanced. The characters, as always, are full-blooded and dimensional. What fails to measure up to Butler's talent is the story. We read and expect more -- more resolution, more understanding, more growth. Nonetheless, it bears the stamp of intelligence that we've come to expect from his work and is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Repeat of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
Review: Readers will be attracted to Mr. Butler's latest effort after being enchanted by 'A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.' However, Fair Warning, while not without merit, does not live up to the Pulitzer prize-winning Good Scent/Strange Mountain. The stories in Good Scent/Strange Mountain are told from the perspectives of Vietnamese immigrants, both male and female, living in the United States after the war. Fair Warning is told from the point of view of an attractive, successful young professional woman in modern New York. Neither is the vantage one expects from a white American male. I found this approach astonishing in Good Scent/Strange Mountain, but just entertaining in Fair Warning. The subject of the latter book is the worthy matter of peoples' relationships to objects of possession. This is potentially its most interesting aspect, but is treated too lightly to be completely fulfilling. There are moments of wry humor in Fair Warning, but not quite enough to overcome the lack of originality in the characters. I would recommend Fair Warning only as light reading. It is not for the reader seeking emotionally stimulating, thought-provoking literature.
Rating:
Summary: Occasionally nice writing but weak plot
Review: There are some great passages in this book, and some interesting dialogue between the main characters. Unfortunately the plot doesn't hold up and the conclusion of the book is pretty unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Occasionally nice writing but weak plot
Review: There are some great passages in this book, and some interesting dialogue between the main characters. Unfortunately the plot doesn't hold up and the conclusion of the book is pretty unsatisfying.
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