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06 October 2012

'The Dirty Streets of Heaven' by Tad Williams

Exciting, full of action and humor ... and trouble

I've come to that point in my life; everything I read reminds me of something else.  This is not a bad thing when it reminds me of something good.  Bobby Dollar reminds me of Harry Dresden.  Both these characters have the amazing ability to spot trouble and immediately make it worse.  This quality they share has nothing to do with super powerful beings in books; it is a quality inherent in being males, which is probably why it is so easy to suspend my disbelief.  Please bear with me on this...

I have a relative who tried to fix the plumbing in the kitchen by sawing through a pipe. His idea was that he would cut out the leaky portion and try to glue the two smooth portions together.  His wife went to have a quiet coffee in the living room, secure in the knowledge that she was going out for dinner, probably for a few nights.  He knew ahead of time that his approach was not likely to work.  He felt that action, any action, was better than paying a plumber first.  Another male of my acquaintance often tries to put furniture together or install software without reading the instructions (incomplete information).  He insists that logic will get him through and his favorite complaint is "this doesn't make sense!"

So you see where I am headed with this?  Take a powerful being (but not the biggest fish in the pond) and give him a super problem, missing souls instead of a leaky pipe, and set him lose in the kitchen or city of your choice.  The whole approach is so consistently masculine and, yes, endearing.  I flinch every time Bobby decides to put his foot in it.  The most desirable partner for such a man is obviously a she-devil, as are all wives one way or another from a man's point of view.

The story was exciting, full of action and humor.  The universe Tad creates stays consistent which is important with so much action and unknowns.  I kept reading all day... I was laughed at by a friend when she terrified me in my car (waiting for kid X to come out of sport Y).  I did not put the book down until I was done.  Alright Tad, I am persuaded to hunt some of your other books down until I get to hear more of this fun angel.

Tad Williams
ISBN: 9781444738551

3 comments :

  1. Anonymous08:29

    hi miriam,
    how you doing? another good entry to your blog. cpl things resonated with me as you can imagine. more times than i can count or remember, i have tried to fix something on my own. many times i have succeeded. but i usually stop short of needing emergency professional help when i fail. my fall back for a difficult problem is procrastination. i had a non working electrical outlet for almost a year before i figured it out lol.
    i will look for this book and author.
    hope you didn't scream too loud when you got startled in the car.
    catch you again soon,
    bob

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  2. What I want to know is why men think this is acceptable behavior? None of the men who have read this have been offended. They get this strange smile and, like you, reminisce of disasters past... Women roll their eyes. Men are weird and their answer often is, like Bobby Dollar or Harry Dresden or you, relief at figuring it out in the end.

    Cheers,

    Miriam

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  3. Anonymous06:20

    well my dear, it is related to men's aversion to asking directions. especially when there is a woman within 50 miles, we want to prove our self reliance, skill at everything manly (slight chauvanism), and general machismo. ask our mutual person about directions. not taking offense is normal too. when a man undertakes a more than routine task, they expect a woman's raised eyebrows. also, it takes a lot for me to be offended by the thoughtful comments from an intelligent and beautiful woman.
    later,
    bob

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