Rating: 
Summary: This is more than we deserve
Review: This is an easy book to admire, if a hard one to enjoy. More than any other contemporary satirist, Tolkin has the gift of implicating his readers in the sins of his nightmarish protagonists. "Among the Dead" ends with a vision that is as apt and Old Testament-flavoured as that which caps off Flannery O'Connor's short story "Revelation". The final message - "This is more than you deserve"- reveals the kind of grace that can only come from a terrifyingly clear-eyed and angry God. The novel as a whole has a very surreal quality. In a wonderful set piece on a train, we realize Frank Gale, through his grief, conceit and weakness, is somehow dreaming the world around him into existence; it's a neat technical trick that allows the author to use mood to stand in for plausible plot and character development. (Frank's interactions with the airline representatives and his brother Lowell are not always credible, but it hardly seems to matter.) The pacing is excellent and the suspense wire-taut, which makes this a quick, while still grueling, read. Weak-stomached readers should be warned: this novel has some of the most gut-churning, violent prose I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: This is more than we deserve
Review: This is an easy book to admire, if a hard one to enjoy. More than any other contemporary satirist, Tolkin has the gift of implicating his readers in the sins of his nightmarish protagonists. "Among the Dead" ends with a vision that is as apt and Old Testament-flavoured as that which caps off Flannery O'Connor's short story "Revelation". The final message - "This is more than you deserve"- reveals the kind of grace that can only come from a terrifyingly clear-eyed and angry God. The novel as a whole has a very surreal quality. In a wonderful set piece on a train, we realize Frank Gale, through his grief, conceit and weakness, is somehow dreaming the world around him into existence; it's a neat technical trick that allows the author to use mood to stand in for plausible plot and character development. (Frank's interactions with the airline representatives and his brother Lowell are not always credible, but it hardly seems to matter.) The pacing is excellent and the suspense wire-taut, which makes this a quick, while still grueling, read. Weak-stomached readers should be warned: this novel has some of the most gut-churning, violent prose I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: This is more than we deserve
Review: This is an easy book to admire, if a hard one to enjoy. More than any other contemporary satirist, Tolkin has the gift of implicating his readers in the sins of his nightmarish protagonists. "Among the Dead" ends with a vision that is as apt and Old Testament-flavoured as that which caps off Flannery O'Connor's short story "Revelation". The final message - "This is more than you deserve"- reveals the kind of grace that can only come from a terrifyingly clear-eyed and angry God. The novel as a whole has a very surreal quality. In a wonderful set piece on a train, we realize Frank Gale, through his grief, conceit and weakness, is somehow dreaming the world around him into existence; it's a neat technical trick that allows the author to use mood to stand in for plausible plot and character development. (Frank's interactions with the airline representatives and his brother Lowell are not always credible, but it hardly seems to matter.) The pacing is excellent and the suspense wire-taut, which makes this a quick, while still grueling, read. Weak-stomached readers should be warned: this novel has some of the most gut-churning, violent prose I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not recommended reading for plane trips.
Review: This is my second novel, and I wrote it while the Player was being made. It's strange to review my own book, and maybe I don't mean to review it so much as to recommend the book. I find myself self-effacing now. This is odd.
Just buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Great lost book recommendation
Review: This is the first book I recommend to people who looking for something cool to read that's off the beaten path. The second would be "A Scanner Darkly," and there's some sort of connection there, but I can't figure out exactly what it is. It should have been a bigger hit, but I must say I like having this be "my" book. Mr. Tolkin, if you're reading this, please write more!
Rating:
Summary: Relentless
Review: Tolkin is a true believer. This is the stuff that keeps me up at night.I wonder what the atrocious "Deep Impact" would have been like if they adhered to the tone of Tolkin's original idea. The book? Relentless.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant black comedy by the author of "The Player"
Review: You wouldn't think that a novel concerning a man who has just lost his wife and daughter in a plane crash would contain laugh-out-loud dialogue and situations. Michael Tolkin, who wrote the novel in which the movie, 'The Player', is based, does a masterful job of writing. This tragic-comedy takes place, for the most part, in the mind of the "hero" of the novel. His thoughts, doubts, worries, and questions (MANY questions) make this an fascinating insight into the mind of a very troubled man. The supporting cast include his former lover who wants nothing more to do with him; his caring brother, who is repeatedly referred to as "Lowell, who is a homosexual"; his pain-in-the-ass parents; and the attractive airline representitive hoping to dissuade a lawsuit. A thouroughly different and enjoyable read
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