Customer Reviews

A Conspiracy of Tall Men

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'm not looking for the next Henry James when I read fiction. I'm looking to be entertained with an intelligent story and insightful characters that I can sympathize with. I just read this again for the second time and still found it satisfying in its mix of progressive prose style, witty commentary on society and sheer entertainment value.

Don't stop short at comparing the plot and characters to an X-files episode. If you do you're missing the point. Read it again, now that the TV show is on its last legs, for the refreshing dose of paranoia that we all need once in awhile.

Not being a professor I do not pretend to critique Mr. Hawley's technical abilities as a writer, nor can I comment on overuse of material seen already in X-files as I quit that program after the first year. I can, however, endorse the mental images his writing conveys, especially when describing events in Florida, having been a long-time resident there myself. His book did exactly what I want any book to do - it entertained me, kept my interest and made me care about the characters. In my view, most writing is at least slightly an echo of the efforts of others. How could it not be? There has been so much writing it would be almost impossible not to allude to something someone else has written, but I think perhaps he may have avoided the Shakespear trap.

Regardless of any legitimate criticism another more advanced writer may have, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. At one point, I recall a newspaper article about Patrick Stewart being interested in making it a movie. While the book may not go down as deathless prose in the eyes of the scholars, I think it would make one heck of a movie and hope something comes of that.

I didn't really like it. It seemed amateurish and similar to a lot of other stuff that's out there. I guess that I also dont't like the industry's evaluation of what consitutes 'great literature'. Pretty soon, every adolescent will be writing his minum opus and every reviewer will be telling us how great and innovative it is even though its the same old shtick. I wonder why so many hacks are attracted to the literary profession?

I wish Mr. Hawley knew his characters better so when he wrote their dialogue, the reader would know who's speaking. Strange and awkward metaphors and similes. I had hoped for an intelligent thriller--I read an unintelligible one.

This book defies genre. It is at heart, a thriller in the manner of a Hitchcock man-against-dark-forces movie, but at the same time it is a satire of the 90s tendency to see conspiracies everywhere while at the same time a chilling & credible vision of one possible conspiracy. It is also a well-written book with a lot of funny observations about our culture & insights into human relationships.

To say this book is like a bad X-files episode is, I think, to miss the point - like criticizing Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" for being like a bad monster movie. As satire, it necessarily takes the elements of the conspiracy thriller and exaggerates them. What is so unique about this novel is that at the same time as it skewers this paranoid mentality, it sucks you into believing that the conspiracy played out in the book could/does really exist.

The book has a very postmodern feel, so if you like your fiction to be more traditional in writing style, this rapid-fire present-tense perspective-shifting style may turn you off. Given the subject of the book, I thought it worked.

This book is clearly a mixed bag. On the one hand, the writing is flat, dull and made for television at best. I hope the author understands that he has managed to push a product on the market but in terms of skill or artistry, he certainly hasn't written anything.

On the other hand, Hooly is to be commended for grasping a daring and controversial topic. Although his writing is a disappointment, Hully must be credited for writing the first book about gay conspiracy theory to successfully reach a mass market. Of course Hally's homosexual references are more implied than explicit, but they provide a significant enough undercurrent for the reader to grasp his meaning.

Veteran readers of gay conspiracy theory will quickly grasp the root of holley's plot. Linus, the professor of conspiracy theory is clearly an allusion to Linus, the asexual, orally fixated character in the popular comic strip Peanuts. Critical theorists have long acknowledged that Linus is to Charlie Brown what Gilligan is to skipper: his little buddy. Linus' wife Claudia is clearly a throwback the fourth Roman Emperor Claudius who was popularized in this century by the famous work of Robert Graves. Aside from his uncanny survival instincts and his stuttering, Claudius was reputed to have dressed in women's togas and referred to himself as "Claudia".

The real conspiracy in "Conspiracy" is not based on assassination, government dirty tricks or ruthless capitalist exploitation (only an idiot would write about the obvious), so much as closeted homosexuality. The death of Claudia is a metaphorical termination of her/his shameful secret. The conspiracy is one of silence over the love of two men for each other. It is one that brings Linus hidden passions to the surface.

A sophisticated yet poorly written book. But we all acknowledge Holl's courage and originality in turning to gay conspiracy theory.

Breath-taking, witty and very well written. And the love scenes between the college boy and the filipina maid left my book group and I smoldering in our seats. My friend Dorothy ignored our debate and stared out the window. When we finally asked her what she thought of the confrontation in the garlic field, she sighed and said, "where did that boy learn such steamy writing?" All I can say is "Noa Hully, you've got a fan club in Bakersfield!"

An interesting intro sucks you in, leads you page by page but in the end you realize you haven't traveled anywhere. And three days after finishing it, I still don't know what tall men had to do with the story.

Plus, the author tries to prove what a good writer he is over and over again. He is a good writer, he just needs to work on creating plots that start with a mystery to draw us in and finish with conclusions that actually conclude something.

In an age typified by "modern" writing, it's finally nice to pick up a book with a Noire cobled cover, a title so thin you could eat it with a straw, and find the next Lermontov, or a post-modern version of Underground Man. If Henry James, Elliot or Woolf were alive today and wanted to talk to a literary Quentin Terrantino, they'd invite Mr. Hawley over for a spot of tea and Q/A about what it's like to be alive during a linguistically vapid age, patting him on the back with congratulations at having made art. The book is fantastic! A hipster plot, with Rita Hayworth, Porche Carrera curving turns. It's Burroughsian in the way Burroughs never imagined he could be: straight, no caffein, never had a cigarette of any kind....and at the typewriter 24-7, busy hatching language and Brazilian plot devices. One could read it and read and.....and re-read it, never failing to be entertained over and over again........that's if the above were true. The first page tells the tale: the book's paper would be better served as price reduction notices at your local GAP.

This book was made for:

People who like to skirmish in conspiracies, but not make it their entire life. Occasionally find youself looking behind your shoulder for no apparent reason. Sit outside at night and watch the skies, but not for stars. Believe that Area 51 does harbor alien technology. Like the song "Subterranean Homesick Alien." Like to see the other sides of life, beside the clean streets and the big houses. If you like things fast and not meandering (meander only in the desert). Believe that the government is too powerful for its own good. And finally you would like to read this book if you're ready to become suspicious and nervous all the time (well most of the time).