Bombshell

by Liza Wieland

Liza Wieland's new novel poses the what if such a criminal, whose personal losses and obsessions have terrorized America, had a daughter - a beautiful blonde dancer in Las Vegas? What if she had a stepbrother who knew the truth? Wieland's novel suggests that the legacy of The Bomb detonated on July 16, 1945, is this mad professor's string of bombings, fifty years later. Through the personal stories of these three characters, Wieland shows that it's never clear where privacy ends and public life begins. And that we must take part in the lives around us, take blame, take care.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Precarious read; I was pressed to read it and I majored in Philosophy. Therein you may guess lies one of the hurdles Wieland places before the reading audience. Many heavy monologues from Charlie and The Professor. The only sympathetic characters are encountered dead-thanks for nothing. On the other hand, it's likely to be an explosive discussion at bookclub, what with mothers, fathers, and daughters involved. Oh, a step-brother, too. I always wanted one of those.

Uncomfortable plots are good to finish quickly and so it was with"Bombshell." I was not disappointed to get to the end and look forward to reading more of Liza Wieland's work.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

strange story - fictional view of a Unabomber-like character and his relationship with daughter and stepson. Never explained why he felt the need to kill people with bombs other than a dislike of technology. Either the author didn’t explain it adequately or I wasn’t smart enough to cypher the hidden themes. The alcoholic dancing daughter was the link between bomber and stepson whose wife was killed by one of the mail bombs. It was never made clear if the bomber was trying to kill her because of who she was or where she worked - Harvard science dept. The whole story was a bunch of loose fragments. Story is told from 3 different points of view. Well reviewed. Not to my liking.