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Rating: 
Summary: A Remarkably Successful Book
Review: I hate to give a book a bad review, but after noting the high praise other reviewers have given this book, I have to reply. I bought the book solely because I read the cover story article in New York magazine on the making of this book and Mr. Morrow's six figure advance for it ("How to Make a Bestseller" 2/10/97.) Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I think I read a little over the first one hundred pages before I had to put the book down. The story was almost melodramatic, and at times the writing so veered towards the sentimental, that I couldn't believe this was coming from the same man who edits Conjunctions, which is primarily known for its experimental use of language. Trust the NY Times Review of Books on this one. Maybe some of Mr. Morrow's other books are better, but I would think twice before picking up a copy of this book. And the fact that this book earned a six-figure advance, while I certainly think 99% of writers of literary fiction are underpaid and am all for sizeable advancements, the amount spent on this book and marketing it can only take away money that could otherwise be spent on more deserving books.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! Inspired! (At least to my tiny 13 year old mind.)
Review: I loved Mr. Morrow's writing style and prose. Some people say it was boring, but I thought it was just enough to pull you into the book. I found it very suspenseful towards the end, and was somewhat surprised by the ending. I enjoyed the book immensely.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! Inspired! (At least to my tiny 13 year old mind.)
Review: I loved Mr. Morrow's writing style and prose. Some people say it was boring, but I thought it was just enough to pull you into the book. I found it very suspenseful towards the end, and was somewhat surprised by the ending. I enjoyed the book immensely.
Rating:
Summary: Giovanni gives the gift of Top Management Secrets!!
Review: One might wonder how it is that so elegantly contrived a novel might yield management secrets of the highest grade. And yet like an oilfield with its dark and bubbly secret lurking just beneath the earth's loamy crust this book fairly percolates with what most readers--myself included!!--tend to seek even in the most literary of beach reads: MANAGEMENT SECRETS. Now, I'm a girl who can't get enough of the info that helps make our world-beating corporations tick. And in this book Brent Morrow really goes all out. I know, I know: the guy has a highly literary reputation, he edits Conjunctivitis, pals around with Roger Daltrey, once wore his glasses on his forehead in New York magazine. And yet he is deeply, intimately in touch with the Manager Within. His characters act out a Platonic drama of sorts in which each character embodies a trait that managers find either infuriating or enchanting. As everyone knows, it's human nature that drives business, and these traits can mean the critical difference between success and failure. Morrow, too, is well aware of these pertinent facts and when he puts them into play with the willful mastery of the finest caliber prose stylist that he is, you know that the flakes are going to fly with all the whiz-bang excitement of a top-notch Hollywood thriller! I highly recommend Giovanni's Box!!
Rating:
Summary: Giovanni gives the gift of Top Management Secrets!!
Review: One might wonder how it is that so elegantly contrived a novel might yield management secrets of the highest grade. And yet like an oilfield with its dark and bubbly secret lurking just beneath the earth's loamy crust this book fairly percolates with what most readers--myself included!!--tend to seek even in the most literary of beach reads: MANAGEMENT SECRETS. Now, I'm a girl who can't get enough of the info that helps make our world-beating corporations tick. And in this book Brent Morrow really goes all out. I know, I know: the guy has a highly literary reputation, he edits Conjunctivitis, pals around with Roger Daltrey, once wore his glasses on his forehead in New York magazine. And yet he is deeply, intimately in touch with the Manager Within. His characters act out a Platonic drama of sorts in which each character embodies a trait that managers find either infuriating or enchanting. As everyone knows, it's human nature that drives business, and these traits can mean the critical difference between success and failure. Morrow, too, is well aware of these pertinent facts and when he puts them into play with the willful mastery of the finest caliber prose stylist that he is, you know that the flakes are going to fly with all the whiz-bang excitement of a top-notch Hollywood thriller! I highly recommend Giovanni's Box!!
Rating: 
Summary: Just couldn't stay awake
Review: Set in a richly described but unnamed Western town, the lead character, Grant, comes home to visit his aunt and uncle who live there. He is in his early thirties, divorcing his wife, and looking for a place he can call home. His aunt and uncle have been receiving mysterious night visits by someone setting out to intimidate them, and the book's intention is to unravel this mystery. The title, Giovanni's Gift, refers to a cigar box full of mementos that Giovanni, a friend of the uncle, leaves behind when he dies. The reader immediately suspects there was a murder. The box is an allegory to Pandora's box and as Grant discovers the meaning of each item in the box, the story becomes more complex, especially since Grant falls in love with Giovanni's daughter. The preservation of the land is another subplot and the author constantly veers off the story with poetic metaphorical language to make this point over and over again. I do have to applaud the author though for his skill with words and for having whatever it took to be recognized in the publishing world. I think he says a few important things about the environment. But I just couldn't stay awake.
Rating:
Summary: Just couldn't stay awake
Review: Set in a richly described but unnamed Western town, the lead character, Grant, comes home to visit his aunt and uncle who live there. He is in his early thirties, divorcing his wife, and looking for a place he can call home. His aunt and uncle have been receiving mysterious night visits by someone setting out to intimidate them, and the book's intention is to unravel this mystery. The title, Giovanni's Gift, refers to a cigar box full of mementos that Giovanni, a friend of the uncle, leaves behind when he dies. The reader immediately suspects there was a murder. The box is an allegory to Pandora's box and as Grant discovers the meaning of each item in the box, the story becomes more complex, especially since Grant falls in love with Giovanni's daughter. The preservation of the land is another subplot and the author constantly veers off the story with poetic metaphorical language to make this point over and over again. I do have to applaud the author though for his skill with words and for having whatever it took to be recognized in the publishing world. I think he says a few important things about the environment. But I just couldn't stay awake.
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