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duparker's review against another edition
4.0
A good addition to the World Made By Hand series. I like that the story takes place soon after the last installment, and really not that long after the first book. The view it affords the reader of the town as it evolves over the third season is interesting and a lot of fun.
The story itself is solid, it has some humor and some underlying aspects to it, but overall is not bogged down by too much history or bringing the reader up to date. I liked the story within a story aspect as well. Telling the history of the country and the activities that have taking place in other areas of North America is fun. There is a reference to being in the frontier, and in some ways it is very much a Clint Eastwood movie atmosphere.
The story itself is solid, it has some humor and some underlying aspects to it, but overall is not bogged down by too much history or bringing the reader up to date. I liked the story within a story aspect as well. Telling the history of the country and the activities that have taking place in other areas of North America is fun. There is a reference to being in the frontier, and in some ways it is very much a Clint Eastwood movie atmosphere.
evnhll's review against another edition
2.0
Couldn't get into it. Feels like he wrote Daniel's story and subsequently built a flimsy book around it.
kevinhendricks's review
3.0
It's the third novel in his A World Made By Hand series, which is a great take on the post-apocalytpic future. I like his style and like the world, but the plot isn't quite there. It follows a bunch of mostly disconnected stories that overlap occasionally and none of them come to a very satisfying conclusion. It feels kind of lackluster. It's worth reading if you like the series, but it's not a great chapter.
Second reading:
In the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown, I turned to some post-apocalyptic fiction, which is admittedly a weird choice. I thought I hadn't read this one, but I guess I had. I think I liked it better the second time around, though it does seem to come to a fairly sudden conclusion. It has a nice, relaxed style, with mostly short chapters (makes for easy reading during this time).
Second reading:
In the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown, I turned to some post-apocalyptic fiction, which is admittedly a weird choice. I thought I hadn't read this one, but I guess I had. I think I liked it better the second time around, though it does seem to come to a fairly sudden conclusion. It has a nice, relaxed style, with mostly short chapters (makes for easy reading during this time).
sjlee's review
3.0
I debated between 3 and 4 stars. I liked this a little less than the Witch of Hebron so opted for 3.
It was a pleasure to re-enter the world of Union Grove and the World Made by Hand universe. For the first time in the series Kunstler pulls back the curtain and shows what is going on in the wider world of the old United States and returns to the topic of criminal justice.
The story takes place over Christmastime and New Year's. Winter has settled in to upstate New York making it a joyful season but also a time of hardship for the less fortunate. The story is quite dark, perhaps the darkest of the series so far. After the opening of a tavern we meet a young mother who after battling meningitis is suffering psychological side effects. She commits a pair of horrendous crimes and much of the book is dedicated how to deal with the criminally insane in an era without mental hospitals and proper methods of treatment.
Upon reflection I would say that this book deals with the people who fail to fit in. A number of these lost souls come to tragic ends, but others manage to find a place for themselves in a world that does not have the social safety net we have come to rely upon. I suppose this is the cause of the darker tone of the book. In our current society we hardly do enough for those who are mentally ill, or confused, or addicts, or simply lost, take away what little we do do and hope dwindles greatly.
The other major element of the story is the return of Daniel Earle, Robert Earle's son from his travels across America. His extended passages shed light on what has become of western New York, the Great Lakes, the United States government and the American South. The depiction of the American South is perhaps an unfair caricature but it certainly sheds light on a part of American life that is dying and the lengths some might go to preserve it. Still, it feels heavy-handed.
While dour it was a good read and I look forward to completing the quadrilogy.
It was a pleasure to re-enter the world of Union Grove and the World Made by Hand universe. For the first time in the series Kunstler pulls back the curtain and shows what is going on in the wider world of the old United States and returns to the topic of criminal justice.
The story takes place over Christmastime and New Year's. Winter has settled in to upstate New York making it a joyful season but also a time of hardship for the less fortunate. The story is quite dark, perhaps the darkest of the series so far. After the opening of a tavern we meet a young mother who after battling meningitis is suffering psychological side effects. She commits a pair of horrendous crimes and much of the book is dedicated how to deal with the criminally insane in an era without mental hospitals and proper methods of treatment.
Upon reflection I would say that this book deals with the people who fail to fit in. A number of these lost souls come to tragic ends, but others manage to find a place for themselves in a world that does not have the social safety net we have come to rely upon. I suppose this is the cause of the darker tone of the book. In our current society we hardly do enough for those who are mentally ill, or confused, or addicts, or simply lost, take away what little we do do and hope dwindles greatly.
The other major element of the story is the return of Daniel Earle, Robert Earle's son from his travels across America. His extended passages shed light on what has become of western New York, the Great Lakes, the United States government and the American South. The depiction of the American South is perhaps an unfair caricature but it certainly sheds light on a part of American life that is dying and the lengths some might go to preserve it. Still, it feels heavy-handed.
While dour it was a good read and I look forward to completing the quadrilogy.
jenniferbbookdragon's review
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, as it opened up this continuing story beyond the town of Union Grove, NY and the surrounding area and reveals what has been going on in other parts of what was the United States. I missed this book when it came out and read book 4 first, and now book 4 makes more sense. The characters continue to become more developed and minor characters come to the forefront. An excellent read!
noneemac's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
jgn's review
5.0
This is a fun read. I've given it five stars, and it is important that you understand that rating in the context of what the author is trying to do: This is an entertainment, a fable, a cautionary tale, a ripping yarn. It the novel was positioned as high literature, I'd give it a different rating. There are a couple of negatives but on the whole if you care about what life will be like when the fossil fuels are gone: read this and its predecessors in its series.
This is the third book in a series kicked off with World Made By Hand and the Witch of Hebron.
In the first novel the power is gone, and the small town of Union Grove, New York, contends with other local communities: A quasi-feudal plantation; an anarchist group of bikers who oversee the dump; and a religious crew on the run (not unlike the early Mormons). The Witch of Hebron is sort of a side-story involving a boy and a woman who provides different kinds of comfort to a variety of seekers.
This novel takes up the main story from World Made By Hand. A heinous murder happens, and the town and its environs must decide how to deal with it. The question is: Does the area still have the legal structures to exact justice and mercy in a civilized fashion? Meanwhile, a young man who at the end of World Made by Hand had lit out for the country to see what had happened elsewhere in the former USA, comes back with tales to tell. As the first novel was about the competition between societal structures in the small, this novel explores the emerging governmental competitions between what remains of the federal government, and some competing new countries in what was the Southern United States.
The novel is packed with appreciation for old ways and contempt for the productions of modern culture, most of which have decayed faster than their older counterparts (for instance, buildings made in the 1850s are intact, while buildings made in the 1960s have slumping roofs).
If you're curious about this, I'd advise starting with the first one, World Made by Hand. But this novel can be read standalone.
My concerns: Kunstler has some strong female characters but they are bundles of stereotypes. Meanwhile, as in the first novel especially, there are some supernatural elements that seem to be just thrown in. I think in part with the use of the supernatural, Kunstler is trying to remind us that this is just a story. That's the charitable view. But, really, I found the behaviors of Brother Jobe to be a stretch. The last thing: Kunstler paints the emerging Southern state in broad strokes: They are hypocritical religious fascists who love country music and car racing, and hate black people, Jews, and homosexuals. There's little subtlety here. But by keeping it simple and cartoonish, there is some great narrative propulsion and efficiency.
This is the third book in a series kicked off with World Made By Hand and the Witch of Hebron.
In the first novel the power is gone, and the small town of Union Grove, New York, contends with other local communities: A quasi-feudal plantation; an anarchist group of bikers who oversee the dump; and a religious crew on the run (not unlike the early Mormons). The Witch of Hebron is sort of a side-story involving a boy and a woman who provides different kinds of comfort to a variety of seekers.
This novel takes up the main story from World Made By Hand. A heinous murder happens, and the town and its environs must decide how to deal with it. The question is: Does the area still have the legal structures to exact justice and mercy in a civilized fashion? Meanwhile, a young man who at the end of World Made by Hand had lit out for the country to see what had happened elsewhere in the former USA, comes back with tales to tell. As the first novel was about the competition between societal structures in the small, this novel explores the emerging governmental competitions between what remains of the federal government, and some competing new countries in what was the Southern United States.
The novel is packed with appreciation for old ways and contempt for the productions of modern culture, most of which have decayed faster than their older counterparts (for instance, buildings made in the 1850s are intact, while buildings made in the 1960s have slumping roofs).
If you're curious about this, I'd advise starting with the first one, World Made by Hand. But this novel can be read standalone.
My concerns: Kunstler has some strong female characters but they are bundles of stereotypes. Meanwhile, as in the first novel especially, there are some supernatural elements that seem to be just thrown in. I think in part with the use of the supernatural, Kunstler is trying to remind us that this is just a story. That's the charitable view. But, really, I found the behaviors of Brother Jobe to be a stretch. The last thing: Kunstler paints the emerging Southern state in broad strokes: They are hypocritical religious fascists who love country music and car racing, and hate black people, Jews, and homosexuals. There's little subtlety here. But by keeping it simple and cartoonish, there is some great narrative propulsion and efficiency.
asgard793's review
3.0
Kunstler's story of a post-oil, politically shattered, small-town America is common yet unique premise. The small-town setting allows for an intimate focus on the social ecosystem of interdependent relationships. The story is set during the holidays and focuses on a half-dozen citizens including a wife guilty of murdering her husband and son, and a young man returning from his explorations of America. Character arcs are flat, and chapters present themselves as snapshots characters of lives over a short period of time. There seems to be a common thread of guilt and redemption, but there's no endpoint or grand narrative. This structure is not overly disappointing, but I fail to detect the author's intentions beyond a longing and wishful return for small-town, agrarian America. In addition, female characters outside of an obvious, cartoonishly evil female theocrat revert to having roles held by women in the nineteenth century. I doubt this would happen; it's not the default order of things, and counter to recent history thus diminishing the book's realist tone. I can guess this author's politics, but the premise and setting made me take the bait. Overall, Kunstler strives for post-apocalyptic realism that is little more than a thin disguise for nostalgia.
ndsr's review
3.0
By this point in the series, you know what you are getting. Slice-of-life storytelling over a very short timeframe that doesn't allow for much in the way of character development but can quickly rearrange character relationships and reveal information to the reader. Virtually effortless reading and enjoyable, despite the fact that one particular subplot strains even very generous credulity.
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