Product Description
With this brilliant novel about the surprises of destiny and the origins of fame, the critically acclaimed author of Golden Days (“Extraordinary . . . a very, very important book”-Los Angeles Times Book Review) and Making History (“Radiant . . . exciting and imaginative”-Cleveland Plain Dealer) firmly establishes her place as one of the preeminent chroniclers of our times.
The Handyman is the story of Bob Hampton, an aspiring young painter who … More >>
#1 by Anonymous on April 2, 2010 - 11:04 am
Don’t buy this book, this is the most boring book I’ve ever picked up!
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Philip Kavan on April 2, 2010 - 12:46 pm
Reading this, I felt my mind congealing into a turd. (No digestion necessary!) A TV dinner for the mind–”meat” of unnatural shape and texture (I guess it’s meat; I mean, it kinda looks like meat), token vegetables, and laden with sodium-rich artifical flavorings.
I literally threw this manuscript across the room, effectively ending my stint as a literary scout. It is crap on so many levels–the “plot,” the amatuerish and utterly trite crypto-Christo symbology. Jesus! Imagine my surprise–nay, horror–a year or so later, to see this trash win some critical acclaim. Complete madness.
Comte was onto something with his “mental hygiene” hangup. I’d have my eyes seared with hot pokers before reading something like this again.
Oh. And how wonderful to see the author on the MFA/ writing workshop circuit. Behold the future!
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by Roger Reader on April 2, 2010 - 3:12 pm
What could be better than lounging on the beach on a hot summer day, completely absorbed in a trashy novel like The Handyman? This is the one to stuff in your beach bag. Carolyn See is the queen of the tossaway tale, light and breezy, perfect for passing the time until the sun goes down and the fun starts up. Who cares if the characters are caricatures? Or if the plot never thickens, but merely curdles? Bob Hampton, the implausible cardboard cut-out protagonist of The Handyman, would surely enjoy filling his empty hours reading this book, as any self-infatuated person would. On the whole, this is as good as any Harlequin novel, but much more erudite and artsy. (Well, Bob is an Artist-In-Training, right?) Have at it, and enjoy!
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by Tess5656@aol.com on April 2, 2010 - 6:10 pm
I had been waiting to read this book for some time, after a glowing review in the “Los Angeles Times” book review section. I found this book very shallow, such a waste of time! After reading a truly great novel like “White Oleander” then picking up “The Handyman”, I felt as if the book was making me brain-dead. I trudged through, however, hoping to find something of substance somewhere…what were the reviewers talking about??!! I enjoyed See’s “Dreaming – hard luck and good times in America”, but will NOT buy another book of hers – it’s all library from here on out. Her track record is too unpredictable.
Rating: 1 / 5
#5 by Anonymous on April 2, 2010 - 8:31 pm
I very much enjoyed this book….until the ending. I laughed, I cried and couldn’t put it down….until the ending. I liked it a lot, but the ending just didn’t work for me. There was something missing. If you haven’t read the book and don’t want to know the end, then stop reading this now. Why, if Bob was so enamored with this woman, did he sleep with her step-daughter twice (get caught) and ignore the mother for two months? It didn’t seem like he gave her a second thought. All of a sudden he comes back, professes his passion for her through a mural and she’s ready to run away with him? It didn’t work.
Rating: 3 / 5