The Handyman : A Novel (Ballantine's Reader's Circle)

Rating:
Summary: Lifechanges Gifted To Ordinary People By An Itinerant Artist
Review: I'm not quite sure what drew me to this book, not only examine it in the bookstore, but to then buy it and then quickly consume it in the course of a few days.I know that I found it lyrically simple and compelling. It is a storyof holiness cloaked in ordinary deeds and unconscious acts of kindness.

Carolyn See has created a character In Robert Hampton who while seeming to be a down and out painter, has a remarkable ability in his role of handyman to bring a a completely unconscious and remarkably simple selflessness that has a kind of curative effect on the many unhappy people he encounters in the course of his odd-job life.

While he himself doesn't have much self esteem and doesn't see himself as doing anything remarkably well, his ability to lift people out of their own wreckage toward a kind of path of salvation is his captivating gift -- perhaps it is his 'artistry'.

There is an element of the Jesus story retold in See's work. Her futuristic grant proposal prepared after her character's odd job life portrays him as a critically acclaimed 'artist' who went unrecognized in the latter years of the twentieth century. There is a "testament" quality to the proposal -- much as we read the seeminly unremarkable things which Christ did while he walked on earth in human form in the New Testament. For this reader, See's work brings me to ask myself whether I would know Christ if he entered my life today in some gentle and seemingly unimportant way. I'm not sure these parallels were intended by the author, yet, clearly, this is an inspirational and mystical story.

There is another piece of inspiration in this story for me personally. We don't have to do great things to make a difference in this world; instead, he need to realize the potential greatness of small acts of kindness, charity and an ability to transcend our own often myopic worlds.

However I brought this book home, I'm really glad I did. It continues to resonate through my mind after a few weeks since I've read it! There is something truly special in See's 'failed artist.'

A great read!

Rating:
Summary: Well someone really hates this...but not me
Review: If there were a monitor at Amazon to look over these reveiws he/she would discover that all the invective that has been thrown at See's novel on these web pages is the work of one person. Every one star review has the same tone, the same vocabulary, the same "message." Only someone who loathes humankind could loathe this book so much. I also note that every single one star review is anonymous. Of course. Only cowards can hate so much. I can't find anything in the pages of The Handyman that would spark such a tirade - other than that here is a novel that finally features characters interacting with each other on the most basic of levels, with concern and compassion, on a level that REAL people seem to have forgotten. I am enjoying this book and the Samaritan acts of Bob are far from treacly. Maybe for the pessimists and the misanthropes this book is an easy target for the pseudo-intellectual pans and ersatz hip review-speak that hatemongers love to dispense. But for the rest of the world - people who understand that to be alive is to care about fellow human beings - here is a book that is a primer for living as we approach a new century. Believe me, as the year 2000 approaches the world needs more handymen and painters like Bob Hampton.

Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Day At The Beach
Review: What could be better than lounging on the beach on a hot summer day, completely absorbed in a trashy novel like The Handyman? This is the one to stuff in your beach bag. Carolyn See is the queen of the tossaway tale, light and breezy, perfect for passing the time until the sun goes down and the fun starts up. Who cares if the characters are caricatures? Or if the plot never thickens, but merely curdles? Bob Hampton, the implausible cardboard cut-out protagonist of The Handyman, would surely enjoy filling his empty hours reading this book, as any self-infatuated person would. On the whole, this is as good as any Harlequin novel, but much more erudite and artsy. (Well, Bob is an Artist-In-Training, right?) Have at it, and enjoy!