Customer Reviews

Linehand

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This effort has been due for a long time. The author has written a wonderful story, and has given the reader a glimpse into the little known world of high voltage linemen. I particularly enjoyed the characters in the book and felt they were interesting, but real. I could picture each of them while the author allowed me to view them through my own eyes. I really enjoy a fun and captivating story that also helps me to visit the world of these linemen. I'll be waiting for another from this author. The illustrations are also outstanding.

I do not read a lot of books, but I would if I could find more like this one. It kept my attention and I could not set it aside until I read the last page. I even read it the second time and it was even better. Never read any book over like that.

Clay Brown has created (or described) a group of people that I feel I've met myself, and wound them into a spellbinding story that will live with me forever.

The hero, Glade Elliott, shares the spotlight with the old lineman, Mecham, and many of those he meets along the way. I especially liked the wisdom of Cecil Spaudette and I think I know Duke Driscoll personally. I can sure relate to him.

Glade is the kind of a person I could really like, but he's not able to deal with women. Then, who is?

I will wait impatiently for the next book.

I enjoyed this book and story more than any I can remember. The hero is an example of what people can and should be. I learned a lot about powerline construction as I enjoyed this engrossing tale of mid-century America

This novel will undoubtedly become a classic in the line of work of linemen averywhere and will introduce the world to their lives and characters.

Young Glade Elliott starts the journey as he meets the man that will set a new life path for him. Mecham, a strong character in any setting, adopts the recent high school graduate and gives him the basics for learning how to be a lineman. Glade then departs for the gypsey-like life of the tramp lineman. Work experiences mix with life and love along the way.

Glade grows steadily throughout the book, from the first page to the last, and the reader shares his frustrations and elations as he learns the hard way about the hazards and dangers of working power lines.

Again, it is a truly great story about a great band of men.

My fiance is a lineman, and I am always in the company of him and his lineman buddies. Usually they talk and I am completely lost in their lineman jargon. I found this book online, ordered it, and read it right away. Not only did I enjoy the story, I really did learn a lot. The author does a good job of explaining all the terms that aren't common knowledge, and it was really fun to read because we live in the Northwest, and that's where this story takes place. It's exciting to know exactly what road or what town the story is talking about, and it's really fun to finally understand what all these GUYS are talking about! I'm not saying it made me an expert or anything, but I do understand a lot better, and my fiance is proud of me for trying to learn more about his career!

Clay Brown does a wonderful job at both bringing the characters to life as well as giving the reader a sense of being there. Watching this young man transition from a place where many of us have come from, young, no real direction or goals, then finding our way through a chance encounter with someone or someplace and a career is born. If you have worked in the utility business, this story will be very familiar and bring back many memories of people places and things you've done and been through. If you've never worked in this business, you will enjoy a great story and learn much about those wires and the men and women who build and maintain them and gain an instant connection to the lives described in this story.

My husband (who is an electrical lineman) and I read this book together, and by the time we were halfway through we were just fighting to finish. We gave the book one star: for subject matter-this really is a bottomless and wonderful subject and setting for good storytelling, even if there was none in this book-and because no stars is not really an option anyway.

The writing is belabored and pointless, and the tone patronizing. There is not one shred of believable dialogue, we found, even when trying to give the benefit of the doubt. Glade's actions and conversations with all of the characters is hard to swallow, and does little to further help the reader understand the characters. In fact, as the reader cannot see any motivating forces for any of the characters, they become less and less real as the story drags on, if such a thing were possible.
As far as the linework aspect, we had the benefit of reading it from my husband's "in the trade" view, as well as my "explain it to me" one. From both standpoints it was tedious, over-written, and condescending. It fails to either inspire interest in those who know not of this work, or to be of any interest to those who do.

The main character, Glade, is completely unbelievable. The reader is expected to see a young, respectful, strong, inexperienced man, who never does anything dishonest, disloyal, unthinking, or selfish--in short, he's written to be too perfect a person to exist, and it's impossible for the reader to relate to him on a personal level. We are asked to believe that he's basically God's gift to linework, well-mannered and respectful, ridiculously unaware of all but the obvious, sure of himself, yet he buckles like a belt and is completely incapable of saying a word on his own behalf when a controlling woman takes over. The other characters would be better described as caricatures--bad ones. There are so many stereotypes and clichés present that one almost becomes glad of the poor editing because it gives one something else to be annoyed with.

The book description promises "adventure and agony, love and despair...he finds true friendship and adventure..." This book fully fails to deliver on all counts. And it's truly a pity, because the subject matter is fraught with wonderful and countless opportunities for storytelling of an entire life, work, and world that is unknown to many.