Rating: 
Summary: ROMANCE + THRILLER + HISTORY = GREAT READ
Review: "If the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam had come together for a one-night stand," their rangy, blue-eyed boy would have been Charlie Blair, Special Agent, FBI. Petite, inquisitive Lauren Miller is "the child Anne Hutchinson and George Washington never had." Do the twain ever meet in Susan Isaacs always fresh, sometimes frightening eighth novel, Red, White And Blue? You bet. But first we're introduced to the great-great-grandmother they share: A century ago 15-year-old Dora trembled by the rail of an immigrant laden vessel nudging New York Harbor. She was pregnant and unwed. Therefore, when fellow passenger, winemaker Herschel Blaustein, proposed marriage, Dora uttered her first word of English: yes. They were a mismatched, unhappy pair. He yearned to return to Cracow; she searched crowded streets for the face of her former lover. And, Jake, their early-arriving firstborn is a bit of a crank, perhaps due to the fact that "Dora had never actually exhibited any behavior that might be construed as mother love." Ruthie, their second child, with two top front teeth so crooked that they practically made an X was sanguine, believing in romance. As a young man, what glib, handsome Jake lacked in formal education he made up for in legerdemain, raking in jackpot after poker jackpot. Inevitably, he was caught cheating and forced to leap from a moving train smack into frigid Wyoming. Had it not been for the warmth of Queenie Smith's bed and body, Jake would have become a tall ice cube. He changed his name from Blaustein to Blair, remained with Queenie, and sired four children. Willie, their eldest, had dreams. He didn't want to be like his father who couldn't do anything a man was supposed to do - split a log, ride, or shoot. Willie yearned to own a ranch. Fortunately for the cash poor young man along came Lois, heiress to the Circle B. They produced Charles Bryant Blair who, in the fullness of time, fathered our hero, Charlie Blair. In parallel begettings, Ruthie married a brutish ne'er-do-well. She named their daughter Sally Ann because "It was the most American name Ruthie could think of for a child who, she knew, was going to be in need of a land of opportunity." Marty Freund was the man Sally Ann married. Their progeny included Barbara, a dependable girl, prone to considering her place in the universe. She wondered if there was any place for her "from sea to shining sea." During a Catskills singles weekend Barbara found her niche when she met history teacher Jed Miller. Their daughter, Lauren Miller, has her father's red hair, the black eyes of her great-great-grandmother Dora, and a favorite question - why? Lauren became a reporter, presently employed by the New York based Jewish News. Hearing of a video store bombing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, supposedly a hate crime perpetrated by a group called Wrath, Lauren is convinced that this story is her ticket to fame. She heads West. Suspecting that their Wrath informant is double-dealing, the FBI needs an undercover agent to infiltrate the brace of bigots. Divorced, dissatisfied with his status quo, and willing, Charlie is dispatched to Wyoming. At this point the novel's pace accelerates, spinning into a gripping, rapid-fire thriller. Especially noteworthy is the author's ability to mime the prurient invective spouted by white supremacist groups - one shudders. Working as a garage mechanic, Charlie ingratiates himself with Wrath's leader, Vernon Ostergard - "Not an obvious nutcase, but a guy who had no interests beyond his own bigotry." In the process of winning the degenerate leader's confidence, Charlie alienates Ostergard's general, Kyle McIntyre, a psychopathic killer, and one of the slimiest characters to slither across a page. Lauren asks too many questions, and is stalked by Ostergard's lieutenant, Gus Lang, "A bully, a man who liked to crush things." Nonetheless, Charlie and Lauren have found each other. They're in love and in danger, as they pit themselves against unspeakable evil. A bit like a virtuoso's solo recital, Red, White And Blue gives Ms. Isaacs an opportunity to display her many faceted talent. And, she gives a bravura performance in offering a story which is at once a moving exploration of what it means to be an American, an expose of mankind's darker side, and a touching romance.
Rating:
Summary: ROMANCE + THRILLER + HISTORY = GREAT READ
Review: "If the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam had come together for a one-night stand," their rangy, blue-eyed boy would have been Charlie Blair, Special Agent, FBI. Petite, inquisitive Lauren Miller is "the child Anne Hutchinson and George Washington never had." Do the twain ever meet in Susan Isaacs always fresh, sometimes frightening eighth novel, Red, White And Blue? You bet. But first we're introduced to the great-great-grandmother they share: A century ago 15-year-old Dora trembled by the rail of an immigrant laden vessel nudging New York Harbor. She was pregnant and unwed. Therefore, when fellow passenger, winemaker Herschel Blaustein, proposed marriage, Dora uttered her first word of English: yes. They were a mismatched, unhappy pair. He yearned to return to Cracow; she searched crowded streets for the face of her former lover. And, Jake, their early-arriving firstborn is a bit of a crank, perhaps due to the fact that "Dora had never actually exhibited any behavior that might be construed as mother love." Ruthie, their second child, with two top front teeth so crooked that they practically made an X was sanguine, believing in romance. As a young man, what glib, handsome Jake lacked in formal education he made up for in legerdemain, raking in jackpot after poker jackpot. Inevitably, he was caught cheating and forced to leap from a moving train smack into frigid Wyoming. Had it not been for the warmth of Queenie Smith's bed and body, Jake would have become a tall ice cube. He changed his name from Blaustein to Blair, remained with Queenie, and sired four children. Willie, their eldest, had dreams. He didn't want to be like his father who couldn't do anything a man was supposed to do - split a log, ride, or shoot. Willie yearned to own a ranch. Fortunately for the cash poor young man along came Lois, heiress to the Circle B. They produced Charles Bryant Blair who, in the fullness of time, fathered our hero, Charlie Blair. In parallel begettings, Ruthie married a brutish ne'er-do-well. She named their daughter Sally Ann because "It was the most American name Ruthie could think of for a child who, she knew, was going to be in need of a land of opportunity." Marty Freund was the man Sally Ann married. Their progeny included Barbara, a dependable girl, prone to considering her place in the universe. She wondered if there was any place for her "from sea to shining sea." During a Catskills singles weekend Barbara found her niche when she met history teacher Jed Miller. Their daughter, Lauren Miller, has her father's red hair, the black eyes of her great-great-grandmother Dora, and a favorite question - why? Lauren became a reporter, presently employed by the New York based Jewish News. Hearing of a video store bombing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, supposedly a hate crime perpetrated by a group called Wrath, Lauren is convinced that this story is her ticket to fame. She heads West. Suspecting that their Wrath informant is double-dealing, the FBI needs an undercover agent to infiltrate the brace of bigots. Divorced, dissatisfied with his status quo, and willing, Charlie is dispatched to Wyoming. At this point the novel's pace accelerates, spinning into a gripping, rapid-fire thriller. Especially noteworthy is the author's ability to mime the prurient invective spouted by white supremacist groups - one shudders. Working as a garage mechanic, Charlie ingratiates himself with Wrath's leader, Vernon Ostergard - "Not an obvious nutcase, but a guy who had no interests beyond his own bigotry." In the process of winning the degenerate leader's confidence, Charlie alienates Ostergard's general, Kyle McIntyre, a psychopathic killer, and one of the slimiest characters to slither across a page. Lauren asks too many questions, and is stalked by Ostergard's lieutenant, Gus Lang, "A bully, a man who liked to crush things." Nonetheless, Charlie and Lauren have found each other. They're in love and in danger, as they pit themselves against unspeakable evil. A bit like a virtuoso's solo recital, Red, White And Blue gives Ms. Isaacs an opportunity to display her many faceted talent. And, she gives a bravura performance in offering a story which is at once a moving exploration of what it means to be an American, an expose of mankind's darker side, and a touching romance.
Rating: 
Summary: stick with this one!
Review: allright-being an avid issacs fan who usually reads and re-reads all of her books, i must say that was gong into red, white and blue expecting vintage susan. what i got was a little different and initially i was not thrilled. i didn't know how she was going to work outside her usual new york-jewish humor jursidaction. the result: she's not nearly as funny. the one delight i could usually count on from isaacs was a laugh out loud narrative. her characters are so acerbic and so dead pan, and that is what, if anything, this novel lacks. but all is not lost!!! what she has done is crafted an intricate story that weaves together generations in the same masterful way as "Almost Paradise". stick with this one, please. what you will find is an origainal story, even if it is within the convention of a romance. it is six degrees of separation in story form and so plausibe that it would make anyone want to trace back their roots. and within all this generational experience and nostolgia is modern parable about 'love thy neighbor-or at least tolerate them!' that never becomes preachy. there is a good deal of relevant social commentary and sure-it comes off at times as hokey patriotics-but who cares.so i may not re-read it 27 times! but if anything, ms. issacs can still manage to make me smile!
Rating: 
Summary: Big disappointment!
Review: As an ardent Susan Isaac fan, and like most of her admirers, I was excited to find she had finally written another novel. I bought the book and looked forward, with relish, to the usual great read. The first (and major) part of the book dealt with the ancestry of the two (supposedly) main-characters-to-come. It was interesting, but just as I became involved with each new group of characters, they were gone. When we finally got to Charlie and Lauren, it felt as if everything moved along way too fast so the author could finish the book in the publisher's alloted number of pages. The fact that they were in bed together in a flash was very disappointing. I did not relate to them at all. And where was the tie-in with the first section of the book? What was the point??? It would have been nice if Charlie and Lauren had, at the very least, discovered their common ancestry. By the end of the book, I didn't care if they lived happily ever after or never saw each other again. The whole storyline about the white surpremacy group, Wrath, seemed very contrived, innocuous, and open-ended. My advice to readers new to Ms. Isaacs is to start with one of her other novels. After reading "Shining Through," which I LOVED, I couldn't get enough of her wit and great writing style and read all the rest of her published books in succession. This one was such a letdown. Ms. Isaacs, PLEASE go back to your former style!
Rating: 
Summary: FBI v the rednecks!
Review: Charlie Blair is a very bored FBI agent who is separated from his wife and is contemplating leaving the Service until he is assigned the job of infiltrating a paramilitary group in his old home town. Lauren Miller is a bright young reporter from a Jewish newspaper in New York, who is determined to make her mark by scooping a really big story.The two meet while Charlie is undercover, posing as a mechanic and a new recruit to the "Free America Cadre", a group which fire bombed a video store owned by a Jew and also a house,owned by movie director with a Jewish sounding name. The first section of the story delves into the backgrounds of Charlie and Lauren who are both descendants of Jewish immigrants and who are, unknowingly,distant cousins.Lauren is strangely drawn to this supposed racist, terrorist mechanic while loathing his connection to the group and an interesting story begins to form while they both, in their own ways, try to uncover the criminal activities within the group, to destroy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Having read and thoroughly enjoyed all of Ms Isaac's previous works, I eagerly looked forward to this new one. Having just finished it, I can hardly believe it was written by Ms Isaacs, who's "Lily White" was a true joy, as were her other wonderful works. The difference between "R,W, and B" and all the other novels is startling. "R,W, and B" starts out good, going back in time and telling stories of long ago. This was the best part of the book, the most interesting, and the most Isaac-like. The second half, the Wyoming-FBI-terrorism part, must have been written by a ghost writer. There was no mystery, no depth of character, no surprises. It was almost embarassing to read, it was so awful. It was not possible to care about the two main characters, who were just too perfect. The shoot-out scene on the deserted road was nauseating while at the same time so implausable. I look forward to Ms Isaac's next book, because it can only be an improvement.
Rating:
Summary: A Beach Read - not one of her better works
Review: I adore this author. Unfortunately, this novel did not measure up to the high standard that she has set for herself. With that in mind, I still recommend this book. The author skips from generation to generation just as the characters become interesting and you want to learn more about them. She didn't really take the time to look at how the generations could have been introduced in a better manner. I found that to be rather fustrating. Also, she goes on page after page attempting to explain the thinking behind these seperatist groups. It was boring and not in the least bit insightful. If Isaacs wanted to write a novel about seperatists, than that's what she should have done and left the romance and previous generations out of it.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I am a fan of Susan Isaacs & have read all of her previous books, & loved them all, especially 'after all these years' & 'magic hour'. Unfortunately, this book was a big disappointment for me, although the first part was quite good. What I didn't like is the part where Charly & Lauren get together- so much time had been spent on past generations information, that the main characters were very superficially drawn. I still look forward to S. Isaac's next book, & I hope it's better.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointing to a regular Issac's fan
Review: I am a person of few passions, and one of the few is for the witty, sharp, smart writing of Susan Issacs. Red, White and Blue is a solid read that would probably be acceptable to those used to the level of quality offered by many other contemporary writers. However, as a longtime admirer of her work, I am aware that this book was sub-par for Ms. Issacs. Along with failing to make the main characters sympathetic on any fundamental level (truly shocking to someone for whom Judith Singer, Jane Cobleigh, Linda Voss, and Lee White have lingered for months at a time in the mind's eye) Ms. Issac's plotline suffers a major fuel shortage in the last third of the book. In addition, I was stung by a slap at one of my other passions, the marvelously suspenseful, well written, witty X-Files. I would strongly recommend anyone who started Ms. Issacs body of work with this novel move on to any one of her rip- roaringly funny mystery novels or the epics Almost Paradise and Shining Through.
Rating:
Summary: Current, though a little contrived
Review: I enjoyed reading about smart people set against the marginalized Wrath fanatics. The generational stories seemed a little contrived, (was it really necessary to have all sons on one side of the tree and all daughters on the other?) but the book flowed well in spite of that. This was my first Isaacs novel, and I will definitely read more.
|
