Capote Reviewed on EstellasRevenge.blogspot.com

…the book was even more thrilling, thoughtful, and heartbreaking than I ever expected….  
While I was very impressed with the way Powers wove his story back and forth through Nelle’s and Myrtle’s points of view, the tone of the book is just great and probably my favorite part. Powers’ “voice” in the writing reminded me a great deal of both In Cold Blood and To Kill a Mockingbird. As I think back over those two books, it’s the subtle beauty and tragedy that I remember so. There’s an easy feel to Powers’ writing, and there are moments of pure, simple tragedy that jumped off the page and left me breathless. And, yes, the sure sign of a good book: it made me tear up a bit at the end. Just like In Cold Blood and To Kill a Mockingbird, I cried and I wanted to turn back to the very first page and start all over again. I’ve said it before, those two inclinations are the highest honors I can pay to any book.
10/20/08 — news, press, review

Capote Reviewed in Bloomsbury Review

“Powers summons the unquiet spirit of the past come to claim its due. Powers plunges below the service of the pathetic caricature Capote has become to explore…the question of how much is enough when it comes to telling other people’s lives…Powers guides us, Virgil-like, into the underworld of haunted houses, haunted books, and haunted psyches…This book is both hair-raising and clever…Powers examines his own obsession with the lives of these two writers as only another writer can…He’s done a fine job. This is one right creepy little novel…He’s done readers a favor by reminding us of the tremendous power of Capote and Lee, who produced some of the finest writing in American literature…If you’re involved in a serious book club (or a literature seminar), Powers’ novel would be the only place to begin a an incredible examination of the works and lives of Truman Capote and Harper Lee.”

 

09/09/08 — press, review

Capote Reviewed in Midwest Book Reviews

This fictionalized account of their relationship and the story of two Southern backwoods residents who each became one of the biggest writers of their time - and stopped speaking to each other - makes for an engrossing, fantastic blend of strong characterization and gripping plot. Any who would categorize this as simply quasi-biography, fiction or ghost story will find its power and enchantment simply undeniable: an outstanding recommendation for general lending collections strong in fictionalized facts.

02/02/08 — press, review

Capote Reviewed on Infodad.com

“Powers’ approach is a fascinating one…Capote in Kansas will be a fine ghost story of the read-by-the-fire-on-a-cold-night type. Powers casts the book as a novel, not a memoir, and this is precisely what gives it its power.”—Infodad.com

01/31/08 — press, review

Capote Reviewed in The Advocate (the OTHER one!)

“Powers manipulates the novel into a fascinating combination of fact and fiction to deliver a powerful portrait of two of America’s literary icons…[A] riveting and haunting examination of two extraordinary lives.” The Advocate, Pegram, TN  

— press, review

Bob Smith’s “Selfish and Perverse”

If you don’t want to do a spit-take at 20,000 feet - don’t read this book. If you do, buy it now — because you’re in store for two of the funniest lines I’ve ever read. I spit my honey-roasted peanuts and vodka tonic into my neighbor’s lap reading this hilarious book by Bob Smith.

10/09/07 — Test, review