Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Serendipitous Find.,
This review is from: Zotz! (Hardcover)
Found this book at a local used book sale. It didn't have a jacket on its hardcover so I could only see its title, which I thought was very different and clever. Turns out that the story was humorous in a dark, satirical way. I liked it.
Setting is WWII America, and the main character is John Jones, a professor of ancient languages and cultures. Through the power of an unintended incantation, he receives life altering powers: the ability to paralyze a person w/ a certain word or by pointing a finger, and the ability to kill by doing both simultaneously. He realizes this power could be beneficial to ending the war, however he comes across roadblock after useless roadblock in Washington D.C. while trying to reach the President and tell him his ideas. There are also some good supporting characters that add to the book. Overall, I wish the story would have been longer. Or maybe a sequel. I really can't believe I'm the first one to leave a review. More people should read this book, they'd like it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best little book you've never read,
By J. Allison "Uncle Joe" (Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Zotz! (Hardcover)
I first heard of Zotz when I saw the awful film based on it made back in the '60s. There was something that made me curious about it and I began to search for it. It wasn't till just a little while ago I was able to acquire a copy. Considering it was written in the late 1940s I think it is quite good. I'm surprised someone hasn't tried to update it and make a new film based on it. It is the story of a man given a great power and his attempts to help his country during WWII with his power and it lampoons the government bureaucracy, politicians and general attitudes of the times. Some claim the book has something to do with the atomic bomb and the great power it gave to our country and our inability to use it wisely. I won't go there and someone else can intellectualize about this all they want. I will say that "Zotz" while a little dated is still a good read.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Better on screen,
By
This review is from: Zotz! (Hardcover)
I have wonderful memories of Tom Poston in the movie Zotz! I looked forward to this book to re-experience that on the page, but it dragged and just missed the mark for me. I guess I'm spoiled by the movies.
The story developed with an alluring hook of a magical notion from the ancient past. Once this was fleshed out, the story just hit the mud. All I remember is the tedium of this mundane character trying every avenue of government he could think of to get someone else to take it off his hands. Boring! Every child dreams of having that kind of power at their disposal. It ends up in the anti-climax of water drifting into the gulf after a thousand mile journey down the Mississippi - diffuse and anonymous.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
