Rating: 
Summary: Sequel Outshines the Original
Review: Eight years after the events of Walking Across Egypt, Edgerton resumes the story of now twenty-four-year-old Wesley Benfield, ex-con resident of a Baptist halfway house called BOTA (Back On Track Again). This sequel does what few sequels can: it outshines the original. I frequently laughed out loud and near the end, I was moved almost to tears. Edgerton is a Christian who can respectfully mine the foibles and humor of organized religion, specifically of his fellow Baptists, and more specifically of the men running Baptist colleges. The pompous Sears twins, Ted and Ned, are brilliantly drawn in their endless fund-raising and insensitivity to the genuinely disadvantaged. I was so pleased to find out that Mattie Rigsby was still alive at age 86, and that Wesley had promise despite his rocky start. As in Walking Across Egypt, though, Edgerton leaves us with a less than satisfying conclusion. Will Mattie be able to resume taking care of herself? Will Wesley end up back in jail? This time, there's no sequel, at least not yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacked the Mattie Spunk
Review: I anticipated this novel to capture the uniqueness of Walking Across Egypt. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.WAE introduced me to Mattie Rigsbee, an energetic, high-spirited senior that loves to cook and bake her way through life. She took in Wesley, a juevile delinquent, and gave him the love and encouragement he needed to become a fine, young man. Which is where _Killer Diller_ takes up. Wesley is now at a strict Christian School, enrolled in a Project Promise Program that restructures, rehabilitates, and reprograms disadvantaged youths in the "only" way, the Baptist way. He attends classes, is in a band, and is a preceptor to an autistic boy named Vernon (who says "Killer Diller", hence the title) teaching Vernon how to lay bricks as part of another administration inspired program. Influenced by Mattie to the Christian life style, Wesley enthusiastically embraces their philosophy without question. His remarkable "recovery" attracts the attention of the manipulative Christian College Administration. They scheme to use him and his band to advertise their Christian college and ultimately, orchestrate fund raising to fullfill their self-serving purposes. He begins to ask questions and seek answers to the confusing and conflicting interpretations of the bible and the self-serving actions of the college administration. What seems to be lacking is Mattie's presence in the story. While she is "there" her character is minimized. The ending feels rushed and somehow unfulfilling. Christian and Bible hypocrisy is explored deeply in this story as Wesley searches for answers. While I feel Mr. Edgerton explored this aspect very skillfully, somehow it collectively fell flat in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Lacked the Mattie Spunk
Review: I anticipated this novel to capture the uniqueness of Walking Across Egypt. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. WAE introduced me to Mattie Rigsbee, an energetic, high-spirited senior that loves to cook and bake her way through life. She took in Wesley, a juevile delinquent, and gave him the love and encouragement he needed to become a fine, young man. Which is where _Killer Diller_ takes up. Wesley is now at a strict Christian School, enrolled in a Project Promise Program that restructures, rehabilitates, and reprograms disadvantaged youths in the "only" way, the Baptist way. He attends classes, is in a band, and is a preceptor to an autistic boy named Vernon (who says "Killer Diller", hence the title) teaching Vernon how to lay bricks as part of another administration inspired program. Influenced by Mattie to the Christian life style, Wesley enthusiastically embraces their philosophy without question. His remarkable "recovery" attracts the attention of the manipulative Christian College Administration. They scheme to use him and his band to advertise their Christian college and ultimately, orchestrate fund raising to fullfill their self-serving purposes. He begins to ask questions and seek answers to the confusing and conflicting interpretations of the bible and the self-serving actions of the college administration. What seems to be lacking is Mattie's presence in the story. While she is "there" her character is minimized. The ending feels rushed and somehow unfulfilling. Christian and Bible hypocrisy is explored deeply in this story as Wesley searches for answers. While I feel Mr. Edgerton explored this aspect very skillfully, somehow it collectively fell flat in the end.
Rating:
Summary: a spinoff with less oomph than Walking Across Egypt
Review: If you've not read Edgarton's Walking Across Egypt, forget this and go read that. Then read this if you want, but know that WAE is better. WAE is an engaging and warm read; its sequel, Diller, is okay but a little weaker and more forgettable. WAE centers on a lovable, interesting, cozy old woman and her community; Diller centers on a lovable delinquent young man and his community. (The two characters are in both books. Their worlds intersect.) WAE made more of an impression on me, but this one is not a bad story to while away some hours with.
Rating:
Summary: a spinoff with less oomph than Walking Across Egypt
Review: If you've not read Edgarton's Walking Across Egypt, forget this and go read that. Then read this if you want, but know that WAE is better. WAE is an engaging and warm read; its sequel, Diller, is okay but a little weaker and more forgettable. WAE centers on a lovable, interesting, cozy old woman and her community; Diller centers on a lovable delinquent young man and his community. (The two characters are in both books. Their worlds intersect.) WAE made more of an impression on me, but this one is not a bad story to while away some hours with.
Rating:
Summary: KIller Diller Is OK
Review: Killer Diller is another book about Mattie and Wesley, almost a sequel to Walking Across Egypt. Wesley is in a home that places strict rules and curfews on him. He is in a band. He is in love with an overweight woman, who is staying at the Nutrition House on Ballard University campus. Wesley is searching for the meaning of the bible and he begins preaching. He's also become a part of Project Promise, a chance to teach a mentally challenged child his talents. He gets this boy in his band playing bass. Then Mattie has a heart attack and Wesley tries to sneak out. He ends up in the hospital with Mattie! Mattie gets put in a nursing home, and Wesley's roommate, Ben, has been talking about escaping... This novel is pretty good. I enjoyed reading it, even though Mattie seems to have lost her spunk. If you've read Walking Across Egypt, then you should read Killer Diller, just to catch up with old Mattie and Wesley.
Rating:
Summary: KIller Diller Is OK
Review: Killer Diller is another book about Mattie and Wesley, almost a sequel to Walking Across Egypt. Wesley is in a home that places strict rules and curfews on him. He is in a band. He is in love with an overweight woman, who is staying at the Nutrition House on Ballard University campus. Wesley is searching for the meaning of the bible and he begins preaching. He's also become a part of Project Promise, a chance to teach a mentally challenged child his talents. He gets this boy in his band playing bass. Then Mattie has a heart attack and Wesley tries to sneak out. He ends up in the hospital with Mattie! Mattie gets put in a nursing home, and Wesley's roommate, Ben, has been talking about escaping... This novel is pretty good. I enjoyed reading it, even though Mattie seems to have lost her spunk. If you've read Walking Across Egypt, then you should read Killer Diller, just to catch up with old Mattie and Wesley.
Rating:
Summary: The surreal world of stop-motion survival
Review: Not as inspired as Raney, but a decent summer read. You probably need to have a sympathy for what at-risk students become as grownups. You'll feel like you got a glimpse of their own peculiar logic. The dog is charmless.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty near as good as Mattie's home cookin'
Review: Personally, I liked Raney and Walking Across Egypt better than this one, but it's still pretty damn good. Wesley , the delinquent sort of adopted by Mrs. Mattie Rigsbee in Walking Across Egypt, is now 24, and still a bit of a handful. He's a resident in a Christian halfway house in rural North Carolina. There's a love interest, a band, and there's Vernon, who 'bout steals the show when he appears on the page. And of course Mattie herself, who is older still but still cooking up a storm.
Good story, great author; sequel to follow, surely.
Rating:
Summary: this book is funny
Review: this book is real funny. With a few different angles it gives a taste of religion with a twist. The book can be graphic at times though
|
