Word: novelized
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Compromising couples, look no further. The Great Date Movie of Summer 98 has arrived; the screen adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel Out of Sight has it all. Guys will like the jewel heist. Girls will like the romance. And anyone not staring down the dating divide will just like the movie, period...
After reading Daniel Lyons debut novel, Dog Days, one cannot help but be dazed and confused. Although the 224-page book certainly reads very quickly and has its humorous moments, the basic premise upon which it is founded makes little to no sense. The novel could have been a much better first effort had it not relied so heavily upon ethnic, particularly Irish and Italian, stereotypes, homophobic jokes, scatological humor and ridiculous portrayals of Mafia types in Boston's North End. Had Lyons focused more on developing real characters and a stimulating plot, Dog Days might actually be a worthwhile...
...only is the plot of Dog Days a total cliche--it ends sappily ever after when Reilly, the yuppie boy, realizes love can somehow outweigh money--the characters are stereotyped to the point of offending. Throughout the novel, all the Italians living in Reilly's North End neighborhood are either connected with the Mafia or are vulgar and stupid thugs, while the Boston Irish are crude drunks (including Reilly's mother!). The women are beautiful yet emotionally damaged by problematic relationships with their fathers. Even Reilly's supposed best friend and roommate cannot escape the ethnic pigeonholing, as he hails...
...cutter characters, Dog Days is not without some positive aspects. Lyons possesses a breezy and enjoyable style, although it is not particularly complex or challenging. Again, maybe the one-sidedness of the characters stems more from the lack of any sort of complication in the plot or of the novel as a whole. Lyons has not made much of an effort to broaden or expand his characters--each is as constant and predictable as the weather in a coolly air-conditioned room...
...more minor yet disturbing point about the novel is the scattering of scatological jokes and references to Coco the dog's bowel movements. In one revolting scene, Coco suffers heat stroke and Reilly must administer a cold-water enema to the dog not once but three times. We are given the details in their full glory, not only about the enemas but of Coco's explosive bowel movements as well. Consider Reilly's deep thoughts about how he must cure Coco's home-sickness: "There are worse things, I suppose, than having to give a dog an ice water enema...