About the Book:

While refurbishing an old ranch building in San Angelo, Texas, the author Preston Darby and his long time friend Ken Casper find the mummified human remains hidden between the walls of the structure. An autopsy reveals the memoirs of John Wilkes Booth secreted in the abdominal cavity. The memoirs disclose the scheme between Booth and his collaborators to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln. But the story also reveals that their plans were discovered by a greater conspiracy of high-ranking Union officials whose plan was much more insidious…to assassinate the President. Reluctantly and in order to save himself, Booth agreed to be the one to pull the trigger, but foils the groups plan to silence him after the deed by escaping. The conspirators incorrectly identify a body as Booth, and promptly hang his accomplices before the true masterminds’ identities can be revealed. Thus, begins the tale of Booth’s years traveling the world, encountering a host of notable characters, and living a secret lie.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This book provided an entertaining historical fiction tale, with a panorama view of American history, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, all the way up through 1903. There are many historical figures that make appearances in the book such as Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and the Earp brothers, the Prestons, General George Armstrong Custer, Samuel Clemens, and several others. The premise of the book is that following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his killer — John Wilkes Booth — actually survived his flight from the nations capitol, and managed to live the remainder of his life in hiding. The assassination itself, which actually plays a very minor role in this novel, was the product of many high up’s in the cabinet of Lincoln — and that Booth was merely doing what had to be done, to save his own life, since he was part of the conspiracy to kidnap Lincoln, and got caught.

The story is very well done. Entertaining, and fun to follow, the characters provide an interesting view of nearly 60 years worth of American West history. As Booth goes into hiding he makes his living as a hired gun, and gambler — that ends up meeting the most interesting people. The story is fun — but not a lot of depth.

What I didn’t like about the book is that it creates the whole Lincoln conspiracy — and then fails to explain who was actually behind the assassination, or who was involved. It is a book that seemed to leave me with more questions about the half finished story lines — more than one — that were started, and then never really finished. And I found the ending to be — while intriguing — also, somewhat of a let down. But it does provide an interesting look into some of the historical events that helped shape this nation, but they were only brief glimpses, as seen through Booth himself. It was as if the author started multiple different story lines, and then never really pulled any of them together. And realizing this used a cop out ending of an unfinished, unauthenticated diary.

Tags: Death Penalty, Detective, Historical Fiction, Murder, Mystery, Suspense

Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense/Thriller

About the Book:

It is 1998, the year in which America is whipped into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town, an aging classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist. The charge is a lie, but the real truth about Silk would astonish his most virulent accuser.

Coleman Silk has a secret, one which has been kept for fifty years from his wife, his four children, his colleagues, and his friends, including the writer Nathan Zuckerman. It is Zuckerman who stumbles upon Silk’s secret and sets out to reconstruct the unknown biography of this eminent, upright man, esteemed as an educator for nearly all his life, and to understand how this ingeniously contrived life came unraveled. And to understand also how Silk’s astonishing private history is, in the words of The Wall Street Journal, “magnificently” interwoven with “the larger public history of modern America.”

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is one wild ride of a book.  I first picked it up because the premise sounded so implausible.  And I found myself hooked, almost from the beginning.  Not only is the story one of unusual setting, and construction — but the characters are so real, they are almost painful to read about.

Not only that, but there are so many issues addressed in this book, that it is hard to know where to begin.  Racism, sexual addiction, personal self destruction, controversy, and personal escapism — just to name the basics.  There are also many sub-plots that it is impossible to get everything out of this book in one read.

What I found particularly interesting is Mr. Roth’s ability to force the reader into seeing the world from an alternate point of view.  This is a topic that is hard to explain without an example.  The main character in this book, Coleman Silk, ultimately finds himself the victim of a specious allegation of racial prejudice against two of his students.  Because his character is so well developed you, as the reader really come to identify with the total injustice of the whole situation, and how it launches Coleman into a self-destructive cycle, at the age of 71.  But it isn’t until it is revealed that Colemen is a black man, that has spent his whole adult life hiding his black heritage, and background, that the reader comes to understand the magnitude of the injustice inflicted upon Coleman.  It is only when the allegations are made that the reader is forced into the juxtaposition of the white perspective, and the black perspective — and how those perspectives differ.

At first I had my doubts about a writer being able to successfully achieve this complex of a plot structure, and still keep from loosing the reader along the journey.  However, Mr. Roth has successfully achieved this goal — and even surpassed it.  This is one book that is filled with these types of ironies — and it forces the reader to think about what they are reading.

While this is not what I would consider an easy read — as there is so much to process, and take in.  I do consider this an excellent representation of a very talented author that has the ability to move beyond his own perspective and helps his readers see the world for other points of view.

Tags: America, Civil Rights, Love, Morality, Racism

Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction