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beatrixcesana's review against another edition
2.0
Una storia che si svolge come un gomitolo di lana: un intreccio di eventi si srotola fluido per creare un racconto in cui non mancano i colpi di scena. Il tutto è immerso nell’atmosfera suggestiva di un innevato paesino del New Hampshire. La penna di Clifford è diretta e pulita, e riesce per questo a dipingere con semplicità e realismo un mondo grezzo, rustico e autentico tra le pagine. Oltre a presentarsi come un intrigante noir, al lettore più attento il romanzo suggerisce riflessioni su dipendenza da droghe, mascolinità tossica, e corruzione. Se potete, conservatelo per l’inverno. Vivrete al meglio il suo fascino.
dave37's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the premise and found a lot of characters interesting, but I would have preferred a lot more information about them. At barely 200 pages it read more like a TV or movie script than a novel. Nothing wrong with it, just not very satisfying to me.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2015 staff favorite recommended by Connie, who says this is an "absorbing mystery about small New Hampshire town and the complicated relationship between two brothers. One is a junkie who stumbles upon a dangerous secret and the other brother is trying to save him from more than one thug who want him dead.''
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Slamentation%20clifford__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Slamentation%20clifford__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
vdarcangelo's review against another edition
5.0
http://ensuingchapters.com/2015/10/29/recommended-reads-halloween-highlights/
While I enjoy the occasional police procedural or detective tale, I find it difficult to relate to those worlds. As a writer I see the appeal of having a strong, resourceful protagonist whom you can throw into high-drama situations knowing they can believably fight their way out of it.
But as a reader, I’ve always been drawn to the blue-collar characters who stumble in over their heads.
Enter Jay Porter. He’s a menial laborer living paycheck to paycheck, burdened by stress, bills and an estranged lover and their small child. Porter lives in a remote, oppressive town, cut-off from civilization by the New England winter.
Clifford so ably captures this world that it made me uncomfortable. From the opening scene, I felt edgy, depressed. I carried the full weight of Porter’s burden as my own.
That’s some damn fine writing.
That uneasy feeling in the belly swells when Porter is called down to the police station to pick-up his drug-addled brother, who is spouting off conspiracy theories involving town elites. It is further evidence of his brother’s decline, he believes, until his brother’s business partner turns up dead.
As he wades deeper into the fog, Porter unearths a dark secret that puts the life of himself and his brother in danger. With limited funds or capable weapons, and zero well-placed connections, Porter must rely on a loyal friend and an old rival.
Lamentation is my kind of novel. There are no experts, no sharpshooters, no aces in sleeves. There is no posse to rescue the hero. Just a quartet of hard-luck locals with long odds up against the wealthy, powerful and corrupt.
Porter is not the most likable character, or self-aware, but you’ll be rooting for him throughout. I’m already excited for the sequel, December Boys, due out next summer.
While I enjoy the occasional police procedural or detective tale, I find it difficult to relate to those worlds. As a writer I see the appeal of having a strong, resourceful protagonist whom you can throw into high-drama situations knowing they can believably fight their way out of it.
But as a reader, I’ve always been drawn to the blue-collar characters who stumble in over their heads.
Enter Jay Porter. He’s a menial laborer living paycheck to paycheck, burdened by stress, bills and an estranged lover and their small child. Porter lives in a remote, oppressive town, cut-off from civilization by the New England winter.
Clifford so ably captures this world that it made me uncomfortable. From the opening scene, I felt edgy, depressed. I carried the full weight of Porter’s burden as my own.
That’s some damn fine writing.
That uneasy feeling in the belly swells when Porter is called down to the police station to pick-up his drug-addled brother, who is spouting off conspiracy theories involving town elites. It is further evidence of his brother’s decline, he believes, until his brother’s business partner turns up dead.
As he wades deeper into the fog, Porter unearths a dark secret that puts the life of himself and his brother in danger. With limited funds or capable weapons, and zero well-placed connections, Porter must rely on a loyal friend and an old rival.
Lamentation is my kind of novel. There are no experts, no sharpshooters, no aces in sleeves. There is no posse to rescue the hero. Just a quartet of hard-luck locals with long odds up against the wealthy, powerful and corrupt.
Porter is not the most likable character, or self-aware, but you’ll be rooting for him throughout. I’m already excited for the sequel, December Boys, due out next summer.
tunesmithnw's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised how well this book drew me in. Once I started reading it, I had a difficult time putting it down.
eleellis's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this novel more than I did, but it was still good. It's not a long novel, under 200 pages.
The book is about two brothers where one has typically been in and out of trouble his entire life and of the younger brother that is trying to get by and is barely doing so.
In some ways, the novel is about the working class versus the upper class and how those of the working class seem to always be turned to pulp by the struggles of every day life.
Most believe the worst about the older brothers and when those with power are searching for him, many believe what happens to him is probably what he deserves.
Upbringing and what happens to people as youth and how it later impacts one's life is a theme of the book, with, to me, the resolution of these lessons being the weakest part of the novel.
Still, it is not a bad novel to spend time reading.
The book is about two brothers where one has typically been in and out of trouble his entire life and of the younger brother that is trying to get by and is barely doing so.
In some ways, the novel is about the working class versus the upper class and how those of the working class seem to always be turned to pulp by the struggles of every day life.
Most believe the worst about the older brothers and when those with power are searching for him, many believe what happens to him is probably what he deserves.
Upbringing and what happens to people as youth and how it later impacts one's life is a theme of the book, with, to me, the resolution of these lessons being the weakest part of the novel.
Still, it is not a bad novel to spend time reading.
bookgal1980's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome writing! Full of figurative language and references to popular culture only some of us really get, love, and appreciate. I will be reading more of Joe Clifford's books.
paperbackwriter's review against another edition
2.0
Well, that was a fun, if somewhat juvenile, read. Hallmark Channel noir, we'll call it. You have to hand it to the author, the plot is terrific—if somewhat over-the-top. I figured out early on that reading slowly to savor wasn't the right tactic; 'cause, boy, does this writer love his metaphors and similes. So, slipping into my scan/read for fun mode, I made short work of the book and enjoyed the romp. Can't say I'd recommend it to a friend, but the book is cotton candy for a fun read.
txbookmama's review against another edition
4.0
In truth, I really want to give this 4.5 stars.
This tightly-plotted thriller / mystery is beautifully written and evocative. It perfectly captures the feel of a blue collar small town in New England, and the two brothers who are irrefutably entwined, despite all efforts to break apart from one another. I'm not sure if Mr. Clifford is just that gifted, or if he and his editor spend a lot of time paring down the prose, but the end result is a carefully written story that pulls you in and doesn't let go until the end. Not a word is wasted in this tale that will have you staying up late to see what happens next.
Minus half a star for the ending being a teeny bit rushed.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This tightly-plotted thriller / mystery is beautifully written and evocative. It perfectly captures the feel of a blue collar small town in New England, and the two brothers who are irrefutably entwined, despite all efforts to break apart from one another. I'm not sure if Mr. Clifford is just that gifted, or if he and his editor spend a lot of time paring down the prose, but the end result is a carefully written story that pulls you in and doesn't let go until the end. Not a word is wasted in this tale that will have you staying up late to see what happens next.
Minus half a star for the ending being a teeny bit rushed.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
fictionophile's review against another edition
3.0
“Lamentation” is a snow covered mountain overlooking the Northern New Hampshire town of Ashton. What could be prettier? But Ashton has some serious flaws. Just like royal icing hiding cracks in a cake, the snow hides those flaws – until a murder precipitates events that make them all too obvious.
When I chose the novel I assumed that the protagonist was ‘lamenting’ something and was surprised when I realized that I was only partly correct. Prosperity in Ashton ended before our protagonist, Jay Porter, was born. A town past its heyday, struggling to survive like many small towns everywhere.
Jay’s childhood was cut short with the death of his parents in a car accident when he was eight. He and his brother Charlie have struggled ever since. Charlie is older than Jay, but Jay seems to be the more responsible sibling due to the fact that Charlie battles with drug addiction. Jay, on the other hand, is somewhat gainfully employed with an estate clearing business. Hard manual work which seems menial for Jay – a bright, thirty year-old man who has never realized his potential.
Jay’s relationship has ended painfully. His girlfriend left one day with their two year old son when she could no longer endure the demands that Charlie made on Jay’s life and the way that Jay always sells himself short. Jay is devastated by her leaving. He still adores Jenny and their son and his divided loyalties torture his daily life. Now he lives alone with a cat that he has never bothered to name, believing that by not naming him he won’t become too attached.
When Charlie is involved in a murder investigation, Jay once again comes to his aid. Only this time he has become involved in something that could affect all of their lives.
“Lamentation” is a fast-paced thriller with themes of lies, avarice and corruption set in a small town where one influential family will do anything to maintain their power. A family who consider anyone who impedes their goals to be expendable. An enjoyable read that could have benefited from a wee bit more editing (eg. “if shudders weren’t dangling by their hinges”). Obviously this should have read ‘shutters’ – and perhaps this was caught in the final printing.
I commend the author, Joe Clifford, for turning his life around. He was a homeless junkie for several years. His experiences during that time helped him paint an intimate, disturbing and realistic character for Charlie in the novel.
Fictionophile rating: 3-and-half-star-review-rating
Thanks to Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of the novel in exchange for this review.
This review was originally published on my blog: Fictionophile
When I chose the novel I assumed that the protagonist was ‘lamenting’ something and was surprised when I realized that I was only partly correct. Prosperity in Ashton ended before our protagonist, Jay Porter, was born. A town past its heyday, struggling to survive like many small towns everywhere.
Jay’s childhood was cut short with the death of his parents in a car accident when he was eight. He and his brother Charlie have struggled ever since. Charlie is older than Jay, but Jay seems to be the more responsible sibling due to the fact that Charlie battles with drug addiction. Jay, on the other hand, is somewhat gainfully employed with an estate clearing business. Hard manual work which seems menial for Jay – a bright, thirty year-old man who has never realized his potential.
Jay’s relationship has ended painfully. His girlfriend left one day with their two year old son when she could no longer endure the demands that Charlie made on Jay’s life and the way that Jay always sells himself short. Jay is devastated by her leaving. He still adores Jenny and their son and his divided loyalties torture his daily life. Now he lives alone with a cat that he has never bothered to name, believing that by not naming him he won’t become too attached.
When Charlie is involved in a murder investigation, Jay once again comes to his aid. Only this time he has become involved in something that could affect all of their lives.
“Lamentation” is a fast-paced thriller with themes of lies, avarice and corruption set in a small town where one influential family will do anything to maintain their power. A family who consider anyone who impedes their goals to be expendable. An enjoyable read that could have benefited from a wee bit more editing (eg. “if shudders weren’t dangling by their hinges”). Obviously this should have read ‘shutters’ – and perhaps this was caught in the final printing.
I commend the author, Joe Clifford, for turning his life around. He was a homeless junkie for several years. His experiences during that time helped him paint an intimate, disturbing and realistic character for Charlie in the novel.
Fictionophile rating: 3-and-half-star-review-rating
Thanks to Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of the novel in exchange for this review.
This review was originally published on my blog: Fictionophile