Jack Remick

Trisha deTours is a book editor for women's erotic fiction at Pinnacle Books. Her personal life often reflects the books she edits as Trisha hunts for men on the beach and discards them after sex. When scientist, Daiva Izokaitis moves into Trisha's complex, Trisha finds a new friend and discovers that she has written a manuscript. The manuscript doesn't exactly fit in with with Pinnacle's normal works, but might be exactly what they are looking for. As Trisha dives into Daiva's book, Citadel described as a post-lesbian, scientific look at our future, Trisha becomes immersed in the characters and story so much that she begins to mix reality and fiction to become one of the characters herself. As Citadel blends more into real life, Trisha and Daiva are helping to create the future of Citadel.

Citadel is a very different and surprising work. Using the technique of a book within a book, we see the editing process as well as the effect that a book can have on the reader. When Trisha began to read Daiva's manuscript, I think I was just as confused and intrigued as Trisha. The manuscript is difficult to read at first, however, like Trisha, I could see parts of myself and other women I know in the characters. The writing is very in your face, not hiding any of the issues that women in every culture may deal with on a daily basis. There is also a good amount of science involved in the novel as Daiva works with genetics and bases her book on current research such as creating life without the Y chromosome. With this addition of science, a lot of important questions arise such as: What is human? What is desire? Can we ever live together peacefully? For me, the most interesting part of the story is that Citadel begins to become reality as more people read Daiva's book. Overall, a unique and important story that will connect with many readers.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (meer)

Not long ago I heard a story on NPR about the effects of e-readers on the world of reading. People are reading more, particularly young people. The commentator suggested the increase could be due to anonymity: when you're on an electronic device, people might not know you're reading. Could be the kid on the bus next to you isn't just listening to rap or playing a game. He might be reading Great Expectations without fear of being labeled a nerd - or whatever it is kids call each other these days.

I was about to buy a copy of Jack Remick's Gabriela and the Widow in paperback because I'm old school, because I don't have an e-reader, because I like the feel of paper in my hands. But NPR made me question my bias against e-books, so I downloaded Kindle on my small Acer laptop, bought my first e-book and began to read.

I didn't like slipping into bed with a cold hard laptop. I couldn't float on the magic and mystery of Remick's lyrical prose. I was dog paddling with arrow buttons, unable to scan ahead or flip back to reread with the ease of turning a page. Still, the power of Remick's words kept me at it, pulled me to a computer screen long after my teaching and writing day was over. That screen became a portal and the story took me to the far side of my own life's mirror, a life I once lived and allowed to slip from memory.

“When you go through your reflection you become who you are.”

The Widow reminds us that we must never forget our past, for it is what makes us who we are and who we become.

“You must speak from inside the tears and you must smell the pain on your skin or you will never be whole again.”

Remick writes the tools of the craft into his story: a list of events and a stack of notecards, each labeled with date, place and object. Gabriela and the Widow use these tools to construct the List of the Widow's life and in doing so Gabriela experiences new ways of being, alternatives to the violent patterns that have marked of her young life. Throw nothing of yourself away, the Widow teaches. Save your fingernail clippings, your hair trimmings, your life stories. A lesson on living. A lesson on writing. I see Gabriela with her notecards and her long list as I work the notecards on the storyboard of my current novel.
Gabriela and the Widow is a lyrical treasure that paints a magical mysterious world of two women, so close they inhabit each other's dreams and relive each other's experiences. In doing so the Widow leaves a bit of herself behind when she passes and Gabriela enters womanhood regaining a life tragically interrupted in childhood as an innocent victim of the atrocities of war.

This is a beautiful, horrific, captivating read full of the lights and colors, the smells and music of southern Mexico and central California. The story held me to the screen and that says a lot. I have no doubt some of you will point out that reading off a computer is not the same as using an e-reader. You may even insist that I give Kindle a chance, certain I'll love it once I get used to it. Maybe so, but I'm not ready to make the jump to an e-reader just yet. I still want a signed paperback copy of Jack Remick's Gabriela and the Widow for my library.
www.arleenwilliams.com… (meer)

On the surface, Jack Remick's Falcon is a quick, boy saves girl love story full of action and adventure, but dig a bit deeper and it becomes every mother's nightmare. The life trajectory of a young Haitian girl forced to grow up too fast never learning the difference between love and abuse takes a radical turn when a young mechanic falls so deep he can't walk away. Yet despite the Cinderella ending, this reader was gripped by underlying menace that makes it hard to sleep at night. As always, Remick's use of language is brilliant.… (meer)