★ Reviews for Conn,

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Book reviews for "Conn,_Stewart" sorted by average review score:

Stolen Light

Published in Paperback by Bloodaxe Books Ltd (31 January, 2000)

Authors: Stewart Conn and Conn Stewart

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A Wonderful Poet...

Stewart Conn is absolutely amazing. His imagery leaves the reader with a lingering feeling of connection with everything that is presented. Conn presents us with a clear picture of life in Scotland, and gives us a mental tour of the places he has been and the experiences he has had. His poems are incredible! I highly reccommend this book and other books by him.

The Circus Fire: A True Story

Published in Hardcover by Doubleday (20 June, 2000)

Author: Stewart O'Nan

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One of the Saddest Things I Ever Read

My feelings about this book are admittedly mixed. On the one hand, I thought it was a tautly written and naturally compelling story-- one whose facts were so gripping that O'Nan had a lot of his work done for him already. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I cried so much when reading a book. The thought of adults trampling over women and children and leaving them huddled on the floor to burn to death is horrific. The ordeal experienced by both victors and survivors is so painstakingly recounted that those who are faint of heart will hardly be able to bear the pain. And, as if that's not enough, there are some truly grisly descriptions of what the bodies recovered from inside the tent looked like. At this point in the book, I wondered if O'Nan was really as "humane" as other reviewers have made him out to be, although I confess that I kept reading.

There are some details in this book that redeem its exploitativeness somewhat. The stories of the heroes-- both those who lost their lives in the fire and the police officers and detectives who kept case files open for years afterwards-- lend depth and hope to "The Circus Fire." But to imagine all of those children who lost their parents, or parents who lost their children, left me sleepless for nights after reading this book. I don't know if something so disturbing warrants a full 5 stars, so I'm going to give this four stars and one warning bell (for the reader whose sensibilities are as delicate as mine).

Riveting Story

The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan is as riveting a narrative as is suggested by the blurbs and the other reviews. In some ways, the story is almost author proof as it comes with a easily recoginizable set of personalities and a moment that changes everyone lives. Fiction writers should have it so easy and that, in a way, is one of Stewart O'Nan's strengths. He turns his fiction writing skills towards writing a piece of history and creates this thrilling narrative. The bulk of the book is centred on that tragic day and we are led through the events with the help of some of the survivors and not a few of the victims. The book also shows the readers the aftereffects of such a tragedy on the lives of the survivors and the circus itself. This part of the story is presented in a manner that is as important and dramatic as the details of the actual fire. An exciting read.

A tale of heroism and heartbreak

The author of "Snow Angels", one of my favorite novels, has written a non-fiction account of the Hartford circus fire of 1944. This is a gruesome story in many instances, describing in great detail what happened when the fire began under the big top, and the ensuing panic and death. There are stories of parents sacrificing themselves to save their children, and of the heroic efforts of the circus people and average citizens to rescue the victims. The book has a plethora of photos, which makes the story that more compelling, because of the images they convey. The prose is taut, but several times the author uses the word "ahold", which grated on my sensibilities. The attempts, throughout the years, to ascertain the identity of Little Miss 1565 was extremely poignant. This episode is one of the little-known events of our history, and is well worth reading about, for these people deserve to have their story told to a new generation.

Thoughts of Murdo

Published in Paperback by Birlinn Ltd (2001)

Authors: Iain Crichton Smith, Iain Crichon Smith, Stewart Conn, and Iain Crichton Smith

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Chairman Murdo's little boring book

Where to start with Murdo? Murdo is a great comical idea, but a wasted one. For example, we encounter the Free Church detective Sam Spaid, but then we find that Smith squanders him on two obscure and unfunny chapters. Great chance, but maybe he was afraid of annoying the church. Then Murdo has his "Highland prophecies"... again, could have been good, but none of them are funny apart from "There will be great grief in the Glen when the Visa card is lost" (or whatever it was). I can't help thinking that this wouldn't have got past as a first time novel...

In short - Murdo's a string of good ideas that could have gone somewhere, but didn't. I laughed twice during the whole book!

Recommended instead - Consider the Lilies (a serious novel, but unlike this, at least a classic).