Customer Reviews

Recessional

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

James A. Michener must be anticipating his own retirement in this book as he writes a compelling and interesting novel about a retirement facility in Florida. What to most might be a very boring subject, Michener once again enlivens his characters and makes them so interesting that the book is a real page-turner. In our contemporary society, the aged are packed away into retirement homes and forgotten. In Michener's view, the elderly live interesting lives, have meaning and purpose, and are thinking, feeling people. Particularly facinating is the attempt of four of the elderly men who attempt to build and fly an experimental aircraft!

Michener invites the reader to ponder the intricate problem of medical science extending human life, and when life ceases to be meaningful. In 2003, the media was buzzing with the attempt by a husband to end the life of his brain damaged wife in a nursing home. Michener has stong opinions on this subject and appears to be a prophet in dealing with a topic that only recently came to the american public's attention.

This is perhaps Michener's last great novel. I believe the reader will find it engaging and worthwhile. Although it is not as superb as "Texas", "Centennial", or "The Source", Michener will not disappoint you in "Recessional".

Jim Koenig

If you enjoy Michener's style at all, you'll find this a good read too. It is true, as others have noticed, that the author may be getting old. Where before, when my first impulse was "nobody talks that way" I could remind myself that English is not my native language and America not my home, in this book many dialogs are clearly contrived. Nevertheless, the thing that matters is how much Michener managed to put into them, and believe me, he still does.
A point noone else commented on: The whole book, from beginning to end, is a royal slagging off of the one profession I despise most. So if you happen to be a lawyer, it may be you will not enjoy the book as much as I did - but especially then I recommend you to read it and try to take it to heart.

While I have read a great number of his other books and enjoyed most of them thoroughly, this book touched me like no others. I have two grandmothers living in similar retirement communities to that in the story and this gave me some great insight and understanding to their lives in there. It felt like a true story based on their lives and those of their friends. I highly recogmend the book although it is certainly not like his other epics.

"Recessional" was my introduction into James Michener's writing. This novel is the work of a fine craftsman. Upon reading, you feel that there are no wasted characters or scenes; all are important and work towards making a beautiful canvas for you to enjoy.

In this story a young doctor, Dr. Andy Zorn, is driven from his practice in Chicago by a frivolous lawsuit against him and by his divorce. Mr. Taggert, the owner of a chain of retirement communities, hires Dr. Zorn to manage of his properties, The Palms in Tampa, which is not making a profit. It is at this location that Zorn must rebuild the community and his life.

Of the characters Zorn meets, you feel that you have met them before, but never took the time to know them. For instance, there is Mr. Bixby who seems like just another retiree. One day, someone notices that he is "the" Buzz Bixby of World Series fame many years ago. All the characters, and for the matter all retirees, have had a wealth of experiences which get overlooked when we do not try to understand.

Michener also discusses many issues (as an aside, this was written in the early nineties) such as Alzheimer's, AIDS, euthanasia, and living wills. There are other topics, but these seem to be the most poignant. Throughout these issues, you will never feel that Michener is preaching to you, but you will know how he feels.

I would recommend this book. It is an enjoyable read.

I really love this book - but it's not really anything like other things the author has written. It's just a good story about a topic that many of us are uncomfortable with - growing old. Give this book a try. You may be surpised. I know the I was.

I've read many of James Michener's books, but for some reason,
RECESSIONAL had never crossed my path . . . perhaps it had been
because of the subject manager; i.e., life in a Florida retirement
community.

Yet now that I find myself contemplating such a possibility, I
was fortunate to come across a book on tape version of this
tale when in my local library . . . though it was written in 1994, I
still found it very contemporary based on my visits to several
such locales.

RECESSIONAL follows the story of a doctor who becomes
the manager of the Palms . . . I quickly became interested
in his life, as well as in the lives of the memorable characters
he serves who have no intention of "going gracefully" . . . the
subplot, involving a woman whose life seems over when she
is in a terrible accident, was touching . . . that said, I won't tell you
any more for fear I'll ruin the joy you'll have in finding out for
yourself what happens.

The ending is just right, including this line: "We're all
passing--honorably--away" . . . it was delivered with eloquence
by Len Cariou, who did a marvelous job with the entire narration.

I was assigned to read this book for one of my college courses and I really ended up liking it. It's my understanding that Michener himself actually lived at the retirement center he based the book on and that many of the characters were based very closely on residents there. My teacher describes it as more of an ethnography than a novel, which made it that much more interesting to me.

"Recessional" was alot like the salad bar served nightly at "The Palms" - lots of choices with very little quality. I got the distinct impression that the story line of this shallow novel was only a vehicle for Michener's pontifications on subjects as diverse as Aids, Race Relations and Aging. There was very little character development, so it was difficult to care about any one in particular. But the biggest problem I had was the inattention to detail; detail which has made earlier Michener novels so captivating and entertaining. There are few Michener books I haven't read, so it it hard for me to suggest, but perhaps it is time for Mr. Michener to pack up his typewriter and enjoy the company of his peers in a "Palms"

This "used" book came on time and was in perfect condition.
It was original and had never been opened. A great bargain!

This book deals with many aspects of the kind of life that faces the older generation. Mr. Michener has written not only a wonderful story with sometimes ordinary, sometimes eccentric characters, but has touched upon some of the problems that are endured because of age. It decries the use of the term "nursing home" for any and all retirement communities. It denounces the attitude that because a person having reached a certain age and/or with some physical disabilities, must also be mentally deficient and unable to make intelligent decisions. It tells of the love and devotion of a man whose wife is suffering with the final stages of Alzheimers disease. It touches on the questions of living wills and on pro-life groups that use unscrupulous methods for interfering with legally written and expressed wishes of those facing the final stages of life. It also tells of the loving care and deep concern that the staff of the retirement community in which the story unfolds feels and expresses toward all the residents. This book, although written in the early nineteen nineties, is in my opinion, one that should be read by everyone, whether in the age bracket known as the older generation, or has a parent or relative of advanced age, or simply comes in daily contact with those who don't think of themselves as being old and should not be considered just old folks. Alma Winter, Author-ONCE UPON A TIME TALES.