Under the Devil's Thumb
Author: David Gessner
List Price: $17.95
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ISBN: 0816519242
Publisher: University of Arizona Press (May, 1999)
Sales Rank: 574,260
Average Customer Rating: 4.17 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 2 out of 5
Ramble on....
It sounded good. And I could relate to parts of it, as a recent transplant to Denver and having just experienced the deaths of close relatives. But the pomposity was too much. Some interesting stuff, but a lot of disorganized rambling. It feels like Gessner is just trying too hard to write the book he wants to be so proud of. The word "narcissistic" pops up a lot in the book. Totally appropriately. Does the guy mention beer in every single essay in the book? Yes, David, you're cool - you carried beer along on your hike.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Confessions of a Tree Hugger
Though I enjoyed much of this book immensely, calling it a book would be a bit generous. Though its major theme of the importance of a person establishing connectedness to a place rings true, the disparate chapters and their topics do not lead to a book that is greater than the sum of its parts. It stands better as a series of essays. Some chapters are full of the overwrought musings of an overly sentimental tree hugger, others are just too downright giddy and reek of so much gosh gee willikers amazement as to be pure drivel. There is also a narcissistic tone to the book that detracts from many of the aithors very moving and genuine observations. However, other sections ring so true that they should be lifted straight out of the book and put on a travel brochure. Mr. Gessner is at his best when waxing eloquently about the past (his own or anyone else's) or when he is on his bike ( a kindred spirit with this reviewer), but when he drifts into reflections on the zen of the moment it seems just too drippingly forced for this rreviewers taste.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Gessner: a contemporary literary genius
From start to finish, I was deeply moved by Gessner's insightful and creative prose. This is perhaps the greatest book I've ever read. Thank you, Mr. Gessner, for making an invaluable contribution to contemporary American literature.
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