Longhorn Reviews

By: Shepard, Sam

Last Fall, Sam Shepard made a visit to the Fine Arts Library. The evening before he arrived, I thought I should read his Pulitzer Prize winning play, Buried Child. In addition, Beth Kerr, Theatre/Dance Librarian told me if you can only read one thing before Shepard arrives, read Buried Child. This play is about a dysfunctional family, set on a farm in the Midwest. Shepard does an excellent job describing the strained relations amongst the three generations of family members. The family secret, the mystery of the “Buried Child” is revealed in the third act of the play. Now I recommend it to patrons who look at the Shepard materials on display and want to read something by him.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

By: McCarthy, Cormac

There is nothing funny about Cormac McCarthy’s latest novel. It is a compelling, provocative story about a man and his boy trying to survive in a post-apocalyptical environment. It is so real and so frightening, it seems that McCarthy displays prescient tendencies. Has he been there and back? Can he see the future? Is it this bleak? Reading this novel is a spiritual experience. I am deeply indebted to Reggie Akers, Fine Arts Library circulation supervisor, for recommending it to me. My vision of the future has been transformed.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

By: Richard Russo

I am really recommending any of Richard Russo’s works. All of them are great and you can follow a rise in the quality of his writing as you read newer and newer works. The basic premise seems to be the same in each of his novels (at least the 4 of his 5 which I have read): they’re all set in a small town in the American Northeast and full of wacky characters — some in dire situations, some suffering for caring about those in dire situations, and some suffering at the hands of those in dire situations. Either way, the characters are what are great about Russo’s writing. He makes you believe that these unreal folk are real and he makes you suffer along with them, while at the same time you often want to give them a smack-in-the-head wake-up call. This title won Russo the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for 2002. Basically, it is a chilling commentary on Columbine, but the plot, as in his other works, is almost incidental to how the characters react to what is occurring. Russo is always funny and often at the same time heart-wrenching. His books are quick reads and all wonderfully realized.

Reviewer: Beth Kerr