Often funny. Often bizarre. Always deep. Peer Gynt first appears to me as this self-centered youth who cares only for himself and the satisfaction of his impulses and whims at any cost. He is the quick non-thinker, who leaves a life of relative conventionality to roam as a dissolute wanderer. He is indeed all of these things, but all the while his "self" is not "centered". At the end of his adventures as a libertine, the grey-bearded Peer Gynt is at a cross-roads, and he asks the character of the Button Moulder this question: "What, after all, is this being one's self?" The Button Moulder replies that being one's self means slaying one's Self, and furthermore "observing the Master's intentions in all things." Peer Gynt contemplates this... restraint and delayed gratification have never been manageable themes with him. In my opinion, this whole idea of the search for the "self" is what Peer Gynt is all about. At the very final crossroads he is redeemed by the undeserved forgiveness and love of Solvieg, the woman he has once abandoned... this scene being a beautiful picture of the grace and love of God that is available to the Peer Gynt in every reader.

Ibsen originally wrote Peer Gynt as a poem, and therefore we lose the Norwegian rhyme and metre in any English translation. To compensate if at all possible, I suggest reading the play while listening to the incidental music of Edvard Grieg, specifically composed to accompany the live performance of Peer Gynt. (Note: My review is based on the translation by Peter Watts).

He writes like a comedian, waving his fist at your face, all while enthronging you to read on!

A genuinely wonderful comedy, not a bit dated, & a wiser way into Ibsen than any of the later & generally rated greater problem plays. Peer is immensely charming, if reckless & stupid from time to time. He learns, some, with special assistance from Mom & a perhaps incredibly grand sweetheart. Christopher Fry's translation (Oxford) seems particularly nice.

Sam Truitt is a rarity in today's Washington. He is an idealist, who wants only to the right thing as the newest member of the Supreme Court. In spite of his good intentions, Sam selects Lisa Fremont, a sexy young lady, to be one of his law clerks because he cannot resist her sexual magnetism.

Lisa Fremont has a history that, if known, would probably disqualify her from working at the court. She was a teenage stripper in San Francisco, whose life was changed when Max Wanaker, president of Atlantica Airlines, took her off the streets and sent her tuition free to Stanford.

Max needs a favor from his star pupil. His airlines is in the midst of a multimillion dollar law suit that is going to come before the justices of the Supreme Court. The judges are evenly divided with Sam being the lone undecided and therefore swing vote. Lisa is to get into his bed and head (both of them) to insure that Max is paid in full.

9 SCORPIONS is an exciting legal th! ! riller that brings one of the justices of the Supreme Court into full focus. The book is at its best when it does that, and when it presents the inner sanctum and procedures of the court. Though fans of legal thrillers will want to read this fast-paced novel, the book becomes another run of the mill thriller when Sam and Lisa become the last action heroes and go on location to right a wrong. Paul Levine shows he has talent and hopefully will return to the highest court, but this time stay with the bench and provide readers with insight into all 9 SCORPIONS, who sit in its chambers.

Harriet Klausner

I've grown tired of legal thrillers because they all resemble each other: the honest lawyer versus the corrupt system. But "9 Scorpions" is different. It's set at the Supreme Court, and the author makes that historic place come alive. Not only is the book an exciting page-turner, I learned more about the Court than I did in college or law school, and it's fascinating.

Justice Sam Truitt is honest and decent but has a weakness for women. Hmmm, could that ever happen in Washington? Lisa Fremont is a brilliant young law clerk with a secret in her past. Lisa is planted on the Court to sway Truitt's vote, and he must learn that the true meaning of justice isn't always found in the law books.

The writing is better than Grisham and so is the story!

A Paul Levine novel without Jake Lassiter? With seven novels on bookstore shelves featuring the linebacker-turned-lawyer, author Paul Levine shows readers his exceptional skills at weaving an intricate plot, sprinkling it with a wonderful sense of humor, blending in a touch of wit and showering it with scenery. In his newest novel, "9 Scorpions" he has excelled at all of that, this time without Jake. As the book opens on a perfect starlit South Florida night, Atlantica Airlines flight 640 crashes into the Everglades, killing everyone aboard and sparking a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the airline. Three years later, with the suit about the reach the United States Supreme Court, Max Wanaker, CEO of Atlantica, has devised a plan to save his airline from financial ruin, using his protege and former mistress, Lisa Freemont, newly appointed law clerk to the Supreme Court with a dark past. Max first met Lisa when she was an underage stripper. He put her through school and now he wants her to repay the favor by seducing junior Supreme Court Justice Sam Truitt and convince him to vote in favor of the airline. The plan sounds simple enough. After all, does anyone really think that all judges and lawyers are honest? But, there are much more powerful forces to reckon with than Max. An unsavory character named Theodore Shakanian, aka Shank, is the muscle man sent by Max's financial backers, to whom he owes a fortune, to make sure things go as planned. To further complicate matters, Lisa was in love with Tony Kingston, the pilot of flight 640. She has maintained her friendship with Tony's son, Greg, and together they set out to prove it was shoddy maintenance and sloppy cost-cutting measures by Max's company that cost the crew and passengers of flight 640 their lives. In the meantime, she falls in love with Truitt. You're probably wondering about the title "9 Scorpions." Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes described the U.S. Supreme Court as "nine scorpions in a bottle." As a former practicing attorney in Miami, Levine knows the court system from the inside, complete with its internal battles. The nation's highest court is no different. Levine masterfully plots this story, weaves characters who are believable and peppers it with scenery that will be familiar to anyone who knows the South Florida area. Those who know Paul Levine, are sure that even though Jake is not featured in this book, he was probably next to the author as he wrote! As a fan of Jake Lassiter and of Paul Levine, I can honestly say that "9 Scorpions" is one of Levine's best works, even if it doesn't feature Jake!