by Irwin Shaw
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by Irwin Shaw
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by Irwin Shaw
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Editorial Reviews
Review
The Top of the Hill should be a terrible book. The plot is loose and flimsy: the meanderings of Mike Stone, a handsome and sexy 35-ish N.Y. businessman obsessed with doing dangerous things - sky-diving, skiing with somersaults, hang-gliding. The characterization is thin: Mike's compulsion is vaguely half-explained by his need to get back at his "almost demented," prim, possessive mother. And the action is a major disappointment: Shaw himself has apparently not done most of this daredevil stuff, so the descriptions thereof are sketchy and unconvincing. But The Top of the Hill is nevertheless far from terrible - neither serious work nor topnotch entertainment like Nightwork, perhaps, but engagingly readable, ultimately corny and sentimentally likable macho-fluff from a highly professional storyteller. So a lot of readers will follow along happily as now-impotent Mike, cast off by wife Tracy after he's had too many brushes with death, quits his job and heads for the hills of Vermont - back to the town where he was a ski instructor 14 years ago. And there (while meeting old pals and rivals, befriending a young black girl skier-singer, and reaching the end of the line with his selfish French piano-player chum), Mike has a life-changing experience: he meets and soon becomes devoted to terminally ill, Austrian-born hotel-owner Heggener, a man who is determined to live (just as Mike seems determined to die), a man who miraculously gathers renewed strength while skiing with Mike. Corny? Yes, indeed; and Mike's final change-of-heart - he no longer wants to risk his neck - is far from convincing. But Shaw has dreamed up enough shiny dialogue, glittery backgrounds, and humorous/melodramatic sideshows to smooth over the defective craftsmanship; you won't believe a word, you won't really care about Mike or anyone else here, but you'll probably read right along with consistent low-level pleasure. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Top of the Hill should be a terrible book. The plot is loose and flimsy: the meanderings of Mike Stone, a handsome and sexy 35-ish N.Y. businessman obsessed with doing dangerous things - sky-diving, skiing with somersaults, hang-gliding. The characterization is thin: Mike's compulsion is vaguely half-explained by his need to get back at his "almost demented," prim, possessive mother. And the action is a major disappointment: Shaw himself has apparently not done most of this daredevil stuff, so the descriptions thereof are sketchy and unconvincing. But The Top of the Hill is nevertheless far from terrible - neither serious work nor topnotch entertainment like Nightwork, perhaps, but engagingly readable, ultimately corny and sentimentally likable macho-fluff from a highly professional storyteller. So a lot of readers will follow along happily as now-impotent Mike, cast off by wife Tracy after he's had too many brushes with death, quits his job and heads for the hills of Vermont - back to the town where he was a ski instructor 14 years ago. And there (while meeting old pals and rivals, befriending a young black girl skier-singer, and reaching the end of the line with his selfish French piano-player chum), Mike has a life-changing experience: he meets and soon becomes devoted to terminally ill, Austrian-born hotel-owner Heggener, a man who is determined to live (just as Mike seems determined to die), a man who miraculously gathers renewed strength while skiing with Mike. Corny? Yes, indeed; and Mike's final change-of-heart - he no longer wants to risk his neck - is far from convincing. But Shaw has dreamed up enough shiny dialogue, glittery backgrounds, and humorous/melodramatic sideshows to smooth over the defective craftsmanship; you won't believe a word, you won't really care about Mike or anyone else here, but you'll probably read right along with consistent low-level pleasure. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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- Frommer's Portable Washington, D.C. by Elise Hartman Ford on page 159
- Creating Television: Conversations With the People Behind 50 Years of American TV (A Volume in LEA's Communication Series) by Robert Kubey on page 302
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