White Widow

Rating:
Summary: The white widow is not a mystery, but a good standard novel
Review: It never occurred to me to consider Lehrer's THE WHITE WIDOW as a mystery when I gave it a very favorable review in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. As mainstream fiction, THE WHITE WIDOW is a most satisfactory novel about life along the Texas Coast during the heydey of bus travel--an era sadly past. Lehrer, who worked as a ticket agent in Victoria, Texas, back in the 1950s, knows the ins and outs of the bus business and makes his bus drivers and their world seem real and important. This is Lehrer's best novel, and it offers a nice complement to his non-fiction A BUS OF MY OWN. Jim Lehrer's father once owned a bus line in--as I remember it--Kansas, so Jim Lehrer knows the business better than anybody writing today. His collection of bus memorabilia is extensive--he even owns an old Flxible, the bus that clocked millions of passenger miles in an era that Jim Lehrer and I hold dear to our hearts

Rating:
Summary: An excellent work describing the true lives of many men.
Review: Mr.Lehrer puts into words the feelings, hopes and experiences of men who perform "regular" jobs. He opens their daydreams, hopes and wishes. He almost tells too much about what really runs through our minds! Truth be known, nearly every man has seen his own "white widow."

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and surprisingly eery....
Review: The White Widow came and went, leaving our hero a shadow of a man. Although Lehrer's novel has an ending, the reader is allowed to bring further conclusions into play even after the book has been set aside. Jim doesn't let his story end with his ending...he allows his reader to end it with their own idesa or wishes. Thanks, Jim.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating!
Review: The White Widow came and went, leaving our hero a shadow of a man. Although Lehrer's novel has an ending, the reader is allowed to bring further conclusions into play even after the book has been set aside. Jim doesn't let his story end with his ending...he allows his reader to end it with their own idesa or wishes. Thanks, Jim.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and surprisingly eery....
Review: This is a story that starts out rather slow, but builds up into a writhing tale that reaches a climax that will leave the reader stunned. Jim can really write a good yarn. My major interest is non-fiction, but I would recommend this book to anyone. It illustrates real human emotions and how people deal with them. Also, it shows the dangers that arise when we cease to live in reality. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Definitely weird
Review: This is a very strange tale. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but I don't think I want to plumb Lehrer's literary depths any further.

Lehrer knows how to capture the moment -- and he can be extremely funny. But there's something lurking in this novel that I'm not completely comfortable with.

Rating:
Summary: Leave the driving to Lehrer
Review: White Widow is Jim Lehrer's succinct, unadorned yet poignant account of the life of a simple man Jack T. Oliver. Oliver residing in Corpus Christi, Texas, the son of a local ophthamologist is a proud and professional bus driver for the Great Western Trailways line. He is soon to be promoted to the exalted rank of Master Operator, a result of years of exemplary service. Never one with lofty aspirations, he is happily married to an equally simple wife who was his first and only love. His sole hobby, which he shares with his wife is the decoration of his humble abode for Christmas.

Oliver who possesses a fertile, Walter Mitty-like imagination is smitten with emotion when a gorgeous raven haired passenger boards his bus. Imagining her to be the beautiful Ava Gardner he pictures himself as her paramour. She evolves into a regular passenger on Fridays causing Oliver to lose focus on those things that were truly important to him, his job and his wife. His lack of concentration results in some disastrous repercussions to his existence.

White Widow was a nice easy read, written in a flowing style that paralleled the personality of the main character.

Rating:
Summary: The upheaval of a simple life
Review: White Widow is Jim Lehrer's succinct, unadorned yet poignant account of the life of a simple man Jack T. Oliver. Oliver residing in Corpus Christi, Texas, the son of a local ophthamologist is a proud and professional bus driver for the Great Western Trailways line. He is soon to be promoted to the exalted rank of Master Operator, a result of years of exemplary service. Never one with lofty aspirations, he is happily married to an equally simple wife who was his first and only love. His sole hobby, which he shares with his wife is the decoration of his humble abode for Christmas.

Oliver who possesses a fertile, Walter Mitty-like imagination is smitten with emotion when a gorgeous raven haired passenger boards his bus. Imagining her to be the beautiful Ava Gardner he pictures himself as her paramour. She evolves into a regular passenger on Fridays causing Oliver to lose focus on those things that were truly important to him, his job and his wife. His lack of concentration results in some disastrous repercussions to his existence.

White Widow was a nice easy read, written in a flowing style that paralleled the personality of the main character.

Rating:
Summary: Starts slowly like a Sunday drive..then takes off!!
Review: WHITE WIDOW will sneak up on you.

'On Time' Jack Olsen is a well respected and well liked Bus driver in Texas.

He's a all around nice guy, with a nice house, and a even nicer wife.

Everything is fine until the 'White Widow' boards his bus..

Author Lehrer's despritions of the places and people of Texas are very effective. The story takes place in the 1950's, but there is nothing dated about WHITE WIDOW..

'On Time Jack' is much more complex then your average fictional character, his emortions, hidden away from his friends are troubling and very poignant.

Give WHITE WIDOW a try, i don't think you'll be disappointed..