CO'Neil

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CO'Neil

CO'Neil’s book reviews

On the morning of her departure for the annual summer in Europe, the lady who looks down on the rest of high society's Four Hundred is forced to put some people in their places and herself suffers a temporary financial inconvenience.

From this point on, things go from bad to worse, to worse, to worse....

Pretty funny.
09/11/2011
Scene: A Dickensian Lower East Side pawnshop. The ancient crone who owns it is waiting for her grandson, who has just been released that day from Sing-Sing. Also waiting are two of his gang, and the 18-year-old daughter of one of them, who boards with the grandmother. Expectancy runs high, as the grandson is the acknowledged leader of the gang and the girl has now decided that she's old enough to join them in their criminal enterprises. A bohemian painter who has his studio in the house is also intrigued by not only the idea, but the very low-life nature of these characters. The grandson arrives and

Has now seen the error of his ways and determined to go straight! Shock and disgust ensue. The gang will now go it without him preying upon the "swell" members of wealthy society with, incidentally, the aid of corrupt cops. This does not sit well with the grandson, who has suddenly fallen in love with the girl.

As usual: will the good guys win? Plenty of gangster-type slang jarringly used in an overall somewhat effete authorial style.

Evidently made into a silent film with (ecch) Lionel Barrymore.
09/03/2011
If you liked The Young Visiters, you'll love this.

A self-styled "master criminal" from the U.S. loses his heart to the high-born sister of the ne'er-do-well who saves his life in WWI combat, which leads to Balkan intrigue in a medieval castle with the political future of Europe at stake.

Okay, but written in the style of Daisy Ashford, age 9.
08/12/2011
A fast-moving adventure spanning the globe from the South Seas to Muskegon to Paris to Edinburgh to San Francisco to Midway. Touches of Lord Jim and Lord of the Flies.

When all is said and done, the authors come out and say how and why it was written.

Unusual, yet definitely has familiar elements.
08/04/2011
An autobiographical look at the author's parents' life in Ireland, both pre- and post-potato famine, continuing through his very early childhood up through the last time he saw them alive as an adult.
07/26/2011
Pointless.

Don't waste your time as the kind proofreaders and other providers did.
07/18/2011
Things are not as they seem...

Crimes, criminals, ill-gotten gains -- but what is really going on?

Very entertaining.
07/13/2011
I think this is a Juvenile. American air forces are subject to quite comprehensive spying activity on the part of the enemy, and that's just for starters.
06/30/2011