PositivePittsburgh Post-GazetteThe author has a fine ear for crisp dialogue, good flashbacks and characterization ... The author breathes a large gust of life into the narrative with Peggy Green, a funny, outspoken woman who becomes Andrew’s colleague and confidante ... The joy of reading this novel comes in rooting for the two main characters and cheering when they overcome their fears sufficiently to start their lives over.
John Fried
RavePittsburgh Post-Gazette...funny, fumbling adolescence and a vibrant romp of a novel ... The Martin Chronicles evokes that triple-dog-dare-you pursuit of adventure that fuels gleeful adolescent experimentation with kissing, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. The novel captures vividly the stinging rejections that teenagers experience ... Mr. Fried aims straight at adolescence and hits a bull’s-eye regularly ... The Martin Chronicles is made more memorable by spare dialogue and evocative scenes.
Hampton Sides
PositivePittsburgh Post GazetteOn a Sunday night in June 1973, a deadly fire at the Up Stairs Lounge claimed 32 lives. Officially, the fire remains an unsolved crime, but detailed reporting shows that the blaze was more than likely set by Roger Nunez, an intoxicated patron and vengeful hustler who had been thrown out of the bar for starting a fight. Mr. Nunez committed suicide in 1974. In a well-paced narrative published this year, author Robert W. Fieseler shows readers how the tragedy galvanized activists in New Orleans.
Chris Cleave
MixedThe Pittsburgh Post-GazetteIt’s hard to imagine any new World War II novel counting for much, especially for readers, including myself, who were mesmerized by All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, also set during World War II...Ultimately, this is a story about people who try to hold on to their humanity and maintain a shred of normalcy even as they witness unspeakable gore and lose their limbs or people they love. The least satisfying aspect of this novel is its characters because most of the time they seem like admirable archetypes rather than actual human beings. But their wit, which preserved their sanity, is enviable.
