Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: Down-home magic realism, a book that sings, treats with stuff that is tough and hard but never turns bitter ... teacher Alice with her troupe of fourth graders, spnning them into her own perceptions of the world, taking them to abbatoirs and murder trials, is a classic ... it's a long while since I've discovered so fresh a masterpiece ... loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: Highschool Review
Review: Hype, the one simple word for Lewis Nordan's novel Wolf Whistle, this book won The Southern Book Award and was considered The Top 15 Books In The Past Fifteen Years by The Editor Of The Bloomsbury Review. It was considered the one of the worst fifteen books I've read, due to the stale humor of this book. One good example of this is when Red is accusing Runt of smelling like bird poop and Runt says, "I ain't no anthropologist," to me that's like Janet Reno doing stand up comedy. Maybe the way he writes the story moving to different characters makes it a little bit more interesting. Like discussing Alice Conroy's life and how she is a sweet, open-minded teacher. Then moving to Glenn Gregg, a boy crying for freedom from his abusive father and trying to kill him but only hurts himself in his attempt. Nordan's style actually creates a spider webbed ending moving all the characters together at the end but is too fascinating to give away. The author is has indeed related this story to Emmit Till and segregation but that kind of makes this novel a snooze because it is nothing you haven't heard. I will admit his story could be considered colorful due to character descriptions but nothing special. I think this book shouldn't be read unless you are living in a one-bedroom apartment by yourself with nobody but your pet gerbil. Great for maybe an older audience but I do not recommend this book for people under twenty five.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: I found this book to be very powerful and emotional. There is so much humanity here. The writing is excellent, the images evocative. Even though I knew (and so will you) early on that things won't turn out all right, I was strongly drawn to the characters, especially the ones who were 'centered' in the midst of the horror. Read this gem and then pass it on to someone else who appreciates truly good writing and important issues.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: I found this book to be very powerful and emotional. There is so much humanity here. The writing is excellent, the images evocative. Even though I knew (and so will you) early on that things won't turn out all right, I was strongly drawn to the characters, especially the ones who were 'centered' in the midst of the horror. Read this gem and then pass it on to someone else who appreciates truly good writing and important issues.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful in fits, Too "Out There" in parts
Review: I'm not quite sure how to review this. I'm a 30 year old guy originially from New York City and now in California. I know nothing about the south, or about the morays of life in a small town, or about the civil rights struggles. This book does a fabulous job of making me feel like I lived in a small southern town, despite that background. I felt that I understood the tensions between classes, between races, and the long-standing relationships that permeate small town life. In that way, the book was ingenious. I felt that I knew the characters intimately, and could understand what they were thinking and saying. That's quite a feat, to make a NYC guy feel at home in a small town in Mississippi. Kudos to the author for that.But. BUT. Mixed in with the wonderful language and snapshots of southern life were these - I think - over the top and ineffective attempts at surreal, "out there" moments. Talking vultures. Visions of the future in a raindrop sitting on someone's coat. Talking, thinking parrots who play an active role in the town's life. It was just too much for me - it felt like a gifted writer was trying very hard to be creative, and inventive, and "on the edge" - but in my view it just took away from the effectiveness and strength of the book's other features. Don't have a talking vulture speak to me - have one of the wonderful characters do so. I just can't take this surreal stuff seriously. This book, in general, tells the story of a small town in the heart of Mississippi which is visited by a black kid from Chicago. Probably because he doesn't understand what his role was supposed to be in a small Miss. town at that time, he whistles at a white woman and is as a result brutally murdered. This horrible, real event is the anchor - but not the main focus - of this book. If you ask me, the real focus was on the lives of the people who live in the town. My favorite part of the book - and one I urge you to savor - is the interaction between auntie and uncle, and the scene with uncle at the trial. These were the two "real" people in the book who really geot to me. Real, every day love and fear and triumph and adversity. Honestly, unless you like weird stuff - like your plot being told to you by a flying, talking vulture - try something else. If you want surreal done well, try some of Louis de Bernieres earlier books. If you want southern lit done well, try Faulkner.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful in fits, Too "Out There" in parts
Review: I'm not quite sure how to review this. I'm a 30 year old guy originially from New York City and now in California. I know nothing about the south, or about the morays of life in a small town, or about the civil rights struggles. This book does a fabulous job of making me feel like I lived in a small southern town, despite that background. I felt that I understood the tensions between classes, between races, and the long-standing relationships that permeate small town life. In that way, the book was ingenious. I felt that I knew the characters intimately, and could understand what they were thinking and saying. That's quite a feat, to make a NYC guy feel at home in a small town in Mississippi. Kudos to the author for that. But. BUT. Mixed in with the wonderful language and snapshots of southern life were these - I think - over the top and ineffective attempts at surreal, "out there" moments. Talking vultures. Visions of the future in a raindrop sitting on someone's coat. Talking, thinking parrots who play an active role in the town's life. It was just too much for me - it felt like a gifted writer was trying very hard to be creative, and inventive, and "on the edge" - but in my view it just took away from the effectiveness and strength of the book's other features. Don't have a talking vulture speak to me - have one of the wonderful characters do so. I just can't take this surreal stuff seriously. This book, in general, tells the story of a small town in the heart of Mississippi which is visited by a black kid from Chicago. Probably because he doesn't understand what his role was supposed to be in a small Miss. town at that time, he whistles at a white woman and is as a result brutally murdered. This horrible, real event is the anchor - but not the main focus - of this book. If you ask me, the real focus was on the lives of the people who live in the town. My favorite part of the book - and one I urge you to savor - is the interaction between auntie and uncle, and the scene with uncle at the trial. These were the two "real" people in the book who really geot to me. Real, every day love and fear and triumph and adversity. Honestly, unless you like weird stuff - like your plot being told to you by a flying, talking vulture - try something else. If you want surreal done well, try some of Louis de Bernieres earlier books. If you want southern lit done well, try Faulkner.
Rating:
Summary: fabulous!
Review: it's crazy, it's cool, it's unusual. you'd feel a a strange gallimaufry of emotions that would toss you in all directions.
Rating: 
Summary: Well done
Review: Lewis Nordan always manages to write great novels, and WOLF WHISTLE is no exception. This book is a little more serious than his other novels, but, somehow, it still manages to be very funny. At times, you want to laugh out loud. At other times, you want to cry. It is an emotional roller coaster: one of the best books to come out of the south.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: Lewis Nordan always manages to write great novels, and WOLF WHISTLE is no exception. This book is a little more serious than his other novels, but, somehow, it still manages to be very funny. At times, you want to laugh out loud. At other times, you want to cry. It is an emotional roller coaster: one of the best books to come out of the south.
Rating:
Summary: fabulous!
Review: Lewis Nordan does a wonderful job of creating a trashy, ghetto world without stereotyping any race. A short, nice read. You will find yourself laughing out loud in places where he brilliantly uses dialect. He paints vivid pictures and puts you in the swamps of the town. Definitely worth your time.
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