From Publishers Weekly
A great novel could surely be written about the risks taken by photojournalists pursuing their craft during wartime, but Hazo has not written it. His prose style is a perfect example of portentousness masquerading as profundity. His descriptions and analyses of Lebanon--where much of the novel takes place--are superficial, and the plot is negligible. Bede Baxter is an American photographer missing in Lebanon, presumed dead. He becomes the subject of a memorial documentary by Louise, who promptly falls in love with him, only to have him resurface unexpectedly--providing the novel with a few grains of emotional grist. Bede's first wife, Mercedes, has been conveniently killed in Lebanon, while Louise's ex--a sportswear salesman--pops up every so often to give the story a twist. The stage is set for Bede and Louise's courtship, in which they display as much passion as a couple of tripods. Spliced into the story at irregular intervals is an inexplicable account of a trombone-toting terrorist lurking in an airport. Dreary stretches of tape-recorded narrative, murky criticisms of U.S. foreign policy and soulful chit-chat about art don't build narrative momentum.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
As producer Louise works on a commemorative program about world renowned photojournalist Bede Baxter, presumed dead in Lebanon, she falls in love with him. In the midst of her work Bax returns. He has difficulty returning her feelings because of his guilt about the death of his wife on an earlier trip to Lebanon. As the story unfolds, an attempted terrorist attack in an airport is told over and over in intermittent chapters, each time from a different point of view and in greater detail until the major characters become a part of it. The event is played out almost in slow-motion, or in photographic still after photographic still. A lovely short novel with spare prose, this is emotionally riveting and satisfying, though sometimes cliched.
- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Free Lib., Seaside, Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Free Lib., Seaside, Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
