Drum Major : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Get Real!
Review: A book club friend reviewed this one for us. The review was pretty bad, but I asked for her copy of the book anyway.

I noticed that the publisher is one of those places where the author pays to have his work printed. I can see why.

It's pretty bad. The premise is good, but the writing is just plain awful. I could never recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: I'm objective...it's pretty bad.
Review: I considered whether to write a review till I saw the scathing comments of someone else.The words were so harsh it seemed that person had something personal against the author. Then I saw it was unsigned by someone in the USA and decided to consider the source.

I don't understand that persons comment about the line that says "Cuban men love to be adored." As a Cuban American woman I can tell you, Cuban men love to be adored. I found the book to be good, not great, but not the worst book I've ever read. I've learned in my life, if you ever really want to know something, see for yourself.

My book club read this book. 8 said they liked it, 2 were neutral, and 2 disliked it. That's probably are more accurate, unbiased evaluation.

Rating:
Summary: A classic? Maybe!
Review: I have a special place in my heart for the Ed Wood film "Plan 9 From Outer Space" -- this cult classic is fun to watch precisely because it is so bad. Now we have "Drum Major" which, if anything, is so bad that it surpasses "Plan 9" as truly bad art.

Reading the first few chapters I found it difficult to decide if the author's style (i.e., lack thereof, including typographical and grammatical errors) was intentional or not. It became unrelentingly clear however that the author was ignorant of many of the rudiments of writing and that as a reader I would have to simply deal with his tortured text.

These problems aside, another larger problem loomed: the plot. "Unconvincing" is a kind way to put it; "insulting" to the reader another. I err on the side of honesty and lean towards the latter. If the protagonist Estenio Morales is a "drum major" for human rights then I can name a number of other thugs who can likewise lay claim to the same title. The author claims to have an insight on Latin culture but it appears that this insight is one of reinforcing stereotypes.

I notice that a few of the "positive" reviews state that the novel "reads like a watching movie"... like "Plan 9" for instance?

Not even close.

Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: I have a special place in my heart for the Ed Wood film "Plan 9 From Outer Space" -- this cult classic is fun to watch precisely because it is so bad. Now we have "Drum Major" which, if anything, is so bad that it surpasses "Plan 9" as truly bad art.

Reading the first few chapters I found it difficult to decide if the author's style (i.e., lack thereof, including typographical and grammatical errors) was intentional or not. It became unrelentingly clear however that the author was ignorant of many of the rudiments of writing and that as a reader I would have to simply deal with his tortured text.

These problems aside, another larger problem loomed: the plot. "Unconvincing" is a kind way to put it; "insulting" to the reader another. I err on the side of honesty and lean towards the latter. If the protagonist Estenio Morales is a "drum major" for human rights then I can name a number of other thugs who can likewise lay claim to the same title. The author claims to have an insight on Latin culture but it appears that this insight is one of reinforcing stereotypes.

I notice that a few of the "positive" reviews state that the novel "reads like a watching movie"... like "Plan 9" for instance?

Not even close.

Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly the worst book I've read....
Review: I liked both lead characters. I think the author captured so much of the ethnic background. With Estenio and the story of the prison, you made the story come alive. Every page was spellbinding. It was intense and realistic. The author wrote in such a way that I could see every part of it in my head. It was like I was watching a movie. The whole time I was reading, I was on the edge of my seat! He has a gift for writing and I can hardly wait for another book.

Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: One of my fellow book club members lent me a copy to read and I must say that parts of the book were so bad, sometimes I just had to laugh out loud. The idea for the plot is not bad, though - maybe the author can re-publish it after running a grammar check on it and getting rid of his weak attempts to sound "ethnic" (like spelling kill 'keel', which I found annoying).

The reason I'm giving this 2 stars is (1) for the effort and (2) there were a few parts that were OK [Estenio's journal, for example)

Rating:
Summary: Get Real!
Review: There is NO WAY that 8 out of 12 book club members could have liked this book! Our book club received an unsolicited copy to review. We take these submissions seriously. One of our members read it, and brought it to our monthly meeting HOWLING about how awful it was! We read many, MANY sections out loud--each more ridiculous than the last. Don't tell me there can be differing opinions on this. If you're a person who loves reading and/or literature, it is impossible to consider this in the same noun-group. There are innumerable misspellings, hugely awful grammar (not meant to connote "local color," just bad editing), insanely cartoonish characters and a plot wrought from a 3rd grader's small-world imagination. There are many wonderful Latin American and Cuban books out there that should be read. Don't waste your time on this sophomoric drivel.

Please note, I HAD to give it one star to submit this review. It doesn't deserve even that.

Rating:
Summary: We give it 2 thumbs up
Review: Wow..what a wide range of reviews. I got an unsolicited email of this book and decided to buy it. Before I could my girlfrind bought it and I read Mary Higgins Clark. I enjoyed this book better then Mary Higgins Clark. Unlike one of the reviewers, I liked the writing. Much of the story telling was in such detail it was like watching a movie. It was different, quite a change of pace, and I like it. Last, I've never read a novel that ended with a poem. What a unique idea.