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Red, White and Blue
From Compromising Positions to Lily White, Susan Isaacs has written seven critically acclaimed novels, all unforgettable New York Times bestsellers that have enthralled and touched her numerous fans. Now, she delivers her most powerful story yet, the gripping saga of two ordinary strangers whose hearts and lives will be joined in a most extraordinary way. . . .
A straight shooter in every sense, FBI agent Charlie Blair has the numbing job of a bureaucrat and the soul of a cowboy. Dying a slow death from lack of purpose, he jumps at the chance to leave behind Dairy Queen vanilla cones and the History Channel to infiltrate a paramilitary group in Wyoming. Charlie's not the only one hot on the trail, however. Lauren Miller, a bright, ambitious New York journalist, has arrived in Jackson Hole and is bent on finding these extremists for a career-making scoop. On the surface, this whiter than whitebread mountain man and the independent, urbane East-coast writer seem worlds apart. But they share more than they can ever imagine--including a great-great-grandmother and a mutual desire for justice that will spark not only a powerful passion for the truth . . . but an irresistible passion for each other too.
A straight shooter in every sense, FBI agent Charlie Blair has the numbing job of a bureaucrat and the soul of a cowboy. Dying a slow death from lack of purpose, he jumps at the chance to leave behind Dairy Queen vanilla cones and the History Channel to infiltrate a paramilitary group in Wyoming. Charlie's not the only one hot on the trail, however. Lauren Miller, a bright, ambitious New York journalist, has arrived in Jackson Hole and is bent on finding these extremists for a career-making scoop. On the surface, this whiter than whitebread mountain man and the independent, urbane East-coast writer seem worlds apart. But they share more than they can ever imagine--including a great-great-grandmother and a mutual desire for justice that will spark not only a powerful passion for the truth . . . but an irresistible passion for each other too.
580 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
13 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Susan Isaacs
48 books504 followersI was born in a thatched cottage in the Cotswolds. Oh, you want the truth. Fine. I was born in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College. After leaving school, I saw one of those ads: BE A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER! Take our aptitude test. Since I had nothing else in mind, I took the test-and flunked. The guy at the employment agency looked at my resume and mumbled, “You wrote for your college paper? Uh, we have an opening at Seventeen magazine.” That’s how I became a writer.
I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like “How to Write a Letter to a Boy” somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor in the SDNY.
We were married and a little more than a year later, we had Andrew (now a corporate lawyer). Three years later, Elizabeth (now a philosopher and writer) was born. I’d left Seventeen to be home with my kids but continued to to do speeches and the occasional magazine piece. During what free time I had, I read more mysteries than was healthy. Possibly I became deranged, but I thought, I can do this.
And that’s how Compromising Positions, a whodunit with a housewife-detectives set on Long Island came about. Talk about good luck: it was chosen the Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, auctioned for paperback, sold to the movies, translated into thirty languages, and became a bestseller. I was a little overwhelmed by the success. However, it’s hard to rise to a state of perpetual cool and go to slick downtown parties when you’re living in the suburbs with a husband, two kids, two dogs, and a mini-van, I simply wrote another book… and then another and another.
About half my works are mysteries, two fall into the category of espionage, and the rest are…well, regular novels. In the horn-tooting department, nearly all my novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
My kids grew up. My husband became a defense lawyer specializing in white collar matters: I call him my house counsel since I’m always consulting him on criminal procedure, the justice system, and law enforcement jargon. Anyway, after forty-five years of writing all sorts of novels—standalones—I decided to write a mystery series. I conceived Corie Geller with a rich enough background to avoid what I’d always been leery of—that doing a series would mean writing the same book over and over, changing only the settings.
I also produced one work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. I wrote a slew of articles, essays, and op-ed pieces as well. Newsday sent me to write about the 2000 presidential campaign, which was one of the greatest thrills of my life-going to both conventions, riding beside John McCain on the Straight Talk Express, interviewing George W. Bush. I also reviewed books for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Newsday. (My website has far more information about my projects than most people would want to know, but have a look.)
In the mid-1980s, I wrote the screenplay for Paramount’s Compromising Positions which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. I also wrote and co-produced Touchstone’s Hello Again which starred Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, and Judith Ivey. (My fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II became the 20th Century Fox movie starring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith and Liam Neeson. I would have written the script, except I wasn’t asked.)
Here’s the professional stuff. I’m a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award, the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center Award, and the John Steinbeck Award. I just retired (after over a decade) as chairman of the board of the literary organization, Poets & Writers. I also served as president of Mystery Writers of America. I belong to the National Book Critics Circle, the Creative Coalition, PEN, the Ameri
I liked my job, but I found doing advice to the lovelorn and articles like “How to Write a Letter to a Boy” somewhat short of fulfilling. So, first as a volunteer, then for actual money, I wrote political speeches in my spare time. I did less of that when I met a wonderful guy, Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor in the SDNY.
We were married and a little more than a year later, we had Andrew (now a corporate lawyer). Three years later, Elizabeth (now a philosopher and writer) was born. I’d left Seventeen to be home with my kids but continued to to do speeches and the occasional magazine piece. During what free time I had, I read more mysteries than was healthy. Possibly I became deranged, but I thought, I can do this.
And that’s how Compromising Positions, a whodunit with a housewife-detectives set on Long Island came about. Talk about good luck: it was chosen the Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, auctioned for paperback, sold to the movies, translated into thirty languages, and became a bestseller. I was a little overwhelmed by the success. However, it’s hard to rise to a state of perpetual cool and go to slick downtown parties when you’re living in the suburbs with a husband, two kids, two dogs, and a mini-van, I simply wrote another book… and then another and another.
About half my works are mysteries, two fall into the category of espionage, and the rest are…well, regular novels. In the horn-tooting department, nearly all my novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
My kids grew up. My husband became a defense lawyer specializing in white collar matters: I call him my house counsel since I’m always consulting him on criminal procedure, the justice system, and law enforcement jargon. Anyway, after forty-five years of writing all sorts of novels—standalones—I decided to write a mystery series. I conceived Corie Geller with a rich enough background to avoid what I’d always been leery of—that doing a series would mean writing the same book over and over, changing only the settings.
I also produced one work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women are Really Doing on Page and Screen. I wrote a slew of articles, essays, and op-ed pieces as well. Newsday sent me to write about the 2000 presidential campaign, which was one of the greatest thrills of my life-going to both conventions, riding beside John McCain on the Straight Talk Express, interviewing George W. Bush. I also reviewed books for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Newsday. (My website has far more information about my projects than most people would want to know, but have a look.)
In the mid-1980s, I wrote the screenplay for Paramount’s Compromising Positions which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. I also wrote and co-produced Touchstone’s Hello Again which starred Shelley Long, Gabriel Byrne, and Judith Ivey. (My fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II became the 20th Century Fox movie starring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith and Liam Neeson. I would have written the script, except I wasn’t asked.)
Here’s the professional stuff. I’m a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award, the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center Award, and the John Steinbeck Award. I just retired (after over a decade) as chairman of the board of the literary organization, Poets & Writers. I also served as president of Mystery Writers of America. I belong to the National Book Critics Circle, the Creative Coalition, PEN, the Ameri
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
July 22, 2010
After really, really liking LILY WHITE, I rushed to the library to find another novel by Susan Isaacs. I enjoyed the first third of RED, WHITE AND BLUE, which consisted of tracking the historical backgrounds of the two main characters. After that I lost interest totally. Didn't relate to the two main characters, a reporter and an FBI agent, (their ancestors were much more interesting), and was not interesting in the anti-Semitic group they were investigating. I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't even finish it. when I got to the last few chapters I jumped to the end to see whether or not they got married and then returned the book to the library.
July 12, 2022
This started out really great and I was really enjoying it until Lauren Miller came along and she is such a stereotype that I began to lose interest. One of her big problems was whether or not she should put mascara on her bottom lashes! I guess this was supposed to be funny but I just thought she was an idiot. She thought she was an idiot too. She did manage to save Charlie's life by doing dumb things like Anna Pigeon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2014
Took me a while to like this book. I kept waiting to like the people in the story. In the beginning all but one of the men were insensitive, drunks, adulterous,wife beaters, and the women were longsuffering, ambitious, smart and perservering. I found that stereotyping unappealing. However, Isaacs was writing about one family. Guess her women didn't have very good taste in men.
The one really good man was killed in WWII.
Until the second part of the book. The last two characters were wonderful!
And boy.... is Isaacs funny. I'll give her another pass.
The one really good man was killed in WWII.
Until the second part of the book. The last two characters were wonderful!
And boy.... is Isaacs funny. I'll give her another pass.
September 30, 2018
novel investigating white supremacists
March 14, 2021
This multi-generational story published in 1998, was Susan Isaac’s eighth novel, having already written seven New York Times best sellers. It tells the story of two Americans, Charlie Blair of Wyoming an FBI agent investigating a militia group and Lauren Miller of New York, an investigative reporter for the Long Island Jewish Jewish News who is researching anti-Semitic hate crimes. They are two very different people drawn to one another by their focus on a White Supremacist Group known as Wrath and their passion for justice. When they meet, they feel an instant connection with one another, unaware they are distantly related.
The story reaches back years, to those who came to America before them, immigrants arriving in New York aboard a ship from Europe. Catching sight of the Statue of Liberty, Herschel Blaustein proposed marriage to Dora Schottland, who, already pregnant with another man’s child, accepted. She bore a son Jacob and a daughter Ruth and then the family split. It didn’t take long for Jacob to take off and head to Wyoming. He abandoned his Jewish heritage, changed his name to Jake Blair and took on the life of a western cowboy, marrying a half-Indian woman and living out on the frontier. Meanwhile, Ruthie stayed in New York, led a more traditional Jewish life, married a successful lawyer and maintained her Jewish faith. Her husband was killed in World War I.
In the next part of the book, the great-great grandchildren of Herschel and Dora meet in Jackson Hole, unaware they are distant cousins, but feeling an instant attraction to one another. Charlie Blair, an undercover agent, has risked his life to infiltrate a White Supremacist group known as Wrath, but is now in danger of being exposed. Wrath is also the group Lauren has come to Jackson Hole to report on, looking at the case of a recent bombing aimed against Jews. At the same time, she is trying to understand why these people are so obsessed with Jews and want to kill them. Most of them have never even met a Jew.
At this point the suspense and the pace picks up, as Isaac’s describes the frightening violent nature of armed white supremacist groups, Charlie’s safety is compromised and he is about to be exposed.
This a good story, well written with characters who are interesting and well described. It also paints a realistic and disturbing picture of white supremacist groups, the kind of people they attract, their beliefs about American identity and the violence they use to push their message. It poses a question that has always been a thread in the American fabric: Who is an American and who identifies who those people are.
A very good, entertaining and also informative read that presents issues we should all think about.
The story reaches back years, to those who came to America before them, immigrants arriving in New York aboard a ship from Europe. Catching sight of the Statue of Liberty, Herschel Blaustein proposed marriage to Dora Schottland, who, already pregnant with another man’s child, accepted. She bore a son Jacob and a daughter Ruth and then the family split. It didn’t take long for Jacob to take off and head to Wyoming. He abandoned his Jewish heritage, changed his name to Jake Blair and took on the life of a western cowboy, marrying a half-Indian woman and living out on the frontier. Meanwhile, Ruthie stayed in New York, led a more traditional Jewish life, married a successful lawyer and maintained her Jewish faith. Her husband was killed in World War I.
In the next part of the book, the great-great grandchildren of Herschel and Dora meet in Jackson Hole, unaware they are distant cousins, but feeling an instant attraction to one another. Charlie Blair, an undercover agent, has risked his life to infiltrate a White Supremacist group known as Wrath, but is now in danger of being exposed. Wrath is also the group Lauren has come to Jackson Hole to report on, looking at the case of a recent bombing aimed against Jews. At the same time, she is trying to understand why these people are so obsessed with Jews and want to kill them. Most of them have never even met a Jew.
At this point the suspense and the pace picks up, as Isaac’s describes the frightening violent nature of armed white supremacist groups, Charlie’s safety is compromised and he is about to be exposed.
This a good story, well written with characters who are interesting and well described. It also paints a realistic and disturbing picture of white supremacist groups, the kind of people they attract, their beliefs about American identity and the violence they use to push their message. It poses a question that has always been a thread in the American fabric: Who is an American and who identifies who those people are.
A very good, entertaining and also informative read that presents issues we should all think about.
December 24, 2020
I attended a book talk with the author, and on reading this, found that she was funnier in person than in her writing. Two characters, journalist Lauren Miller and FBI agent Charlie Blair are tracking down a terrorist/supremacist group in Wyoming. The plotline of how they are distantly related was of more interest to me than the political plot. I'm not wild about novels that try to 'make' me see a political point of view.
January 26, 2008
I truly loved all the rich characters in this book. I enjoyed the history of the main characters' ancestors and I am certain that all of us wish that we could know what our ancestors were like, what kinds of choices they made (and why), struggles they endured, and how their life choices led inevitably to each and every one of us.
March 21, 2023
What starts as a book about a New York reporter and a Wyoming-based FBI agent each investigating a right-wing nutjob's possible connection with a failed bombing of a Jewish-owned video store veers off for about 250 pages as the author gives a who-begat-who family history of the two who just happen to share great-great grandparents. This was kind of like Michener-lite or the John Jakes Kent Family Chronicles rolled into 250 pages. Once we got into the meat of the main story, though, I found that I enjoyed their ancestors' stories better. The insta-love crap is so tiresome. Their unprofessionalism in their respective jobs was maddening. What could have started as a cat-and-mouse relationship that turns into a slow-burn romance was a wasted opportunity, but then the book probably would have ended up being 100 pages longer. One sad thing about this book is that it could have been set in 2023 and not the mid-90s and all of the right-wing BS would have still been relevant. The one silver lining to reading this is realizing how much I want to revisit the Kent Family Chronicles now.
April 7, 2025
If I was rating this book on the first half it would probably be a four star but the second half started to plod and brought my rating down to three. I found this older book of Susan Isaacs to be quite different from her more recent ones. One difference was the length. We took this audio book with us on a car trip and only realized it was 13 hours long well into our drive. We didn’t finish it on our trip; I finished it by myself when we got home. My husband had no interest in sticking with it. As I said, if you are looking for a “typical” Susan Isaacs book this one probably wouldn’t be for you.
February 27, 2018
Despite a large and hard-to-follow cast of characters that take up over half of the book, Isaac holds your interest as she works her way through the genealogy of the two main characters. As the title implies, she’s exploring what it means to be an American versus just a citizen of the United States. The book is also a well-researched essay on hate groups and makes intriguing observations about them. And yes, this is a romance too, very well done and has you rooting for the couple, once the story gets to them. This book is a cut above the typical romance and I recommend it.
October 16, 2024
The lead-up to the meeting of Lauren and Charlie definitely took some time! But I ended up enjoying the story of their backgrounds... and the glimpse into an American family through the generations. And even though they experienced insta-lust/love, the length of the intro softened it.
But I've said it before and I'll say it again with Isaacs' writing - I have a hard time with the cheating. Yes, the book is 25+ years old and there was a different sensitivity at that time, but in this case Isaacs could've easily had Charlie ask for a divorce first before anything else happened.
But I've said it before and I'll say it again with Isaacs' writing - I have a hard time with the cheating. Yes, the book is 25+ years old and there was a different sensitivity at that time, but in this case Isaacs could've easily had Charlie ask for a divorce first before anything else happened.
October 2, 2025
This book is copyrighted in 1998, yet it gave me some insight into what is going on in US today! It was a little hard to get started because she ties the two main people to a common Great-great-Grandmother. The first few chapters trace that grandmother line till you reach Loren and Charlie. I found that hard to follow but when they meet in Wyoming invest gating a hate crime it moves easier for me. It helped me understand MAGA better when I followed it from 1998.
July 5, 2019
amazing that this book was written 20 years ago. It is a long wonderful meditation on what it means to be and American, how we got here, and where we might be going. The questions it raises have only become more pressing and important as time has gone on and we have arrived at our present political moment. A really good novel can make you really think.
December 21, 2021
This book has an FBI agent and a newspaper reporter and a white supremacist bombing in Wyoming - all the elements of a mystery, but it's very different. The first half of the book delves into the four generations of each of the two main characters. In short, you have a mystery and an historical saga. It was pretty interesting.
May 28, 2021
Midwestern boy and Long Island Jewish girl meet in Montana while investigating/infiltrating an anti Semitic skinhead type group. Love follows, as well as background 2-3 generations back, leading to the same immigrant Jewish couple.
August 23, 2019
Never got my attention. Gave up after 100 pages.
October 30, 2019
Great first half; completely goofy second half
July 26, 2020
Meh! Dull.
January 5, 2022
Red, White & Blue Isaacs, Susan 3 Hist.F Hist.WWII follows 2 Jewish immigrants struggle to make life in America, fight against anti Semitic hate & fall in love 2017 7/25/2017 7/21/2017
July 6, 2022
I read this book back in the early 2000s, I think. I enjoyed it - Isaacs created a compelling story with fascinating characters.
August 21, 2023
only thing I didn't like was that the author used the history of the family on the second chapter and not in the beginning. Otherwise, the book was good, but a lot of anti Semitism, was in it.
January 8, 2024
I enjoyed this story but it was sometimes difficult to keep up with the many characters described. Ultimately, justice prevailed.
July 5, 2024
This felt like two separate books - one historical fiction and the other crime/ drama (like Patterson or Woods). Kind of disconcerting.
October 9, 2023
This novel tells the story of FBI agent Charlie Blair and NY journalist Lauren Miller, who has descended from the same great-great grandmother. Charlie returns to his home of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, undercover to infiltrate and take down a hate group. Lauren, on the other hand, has come to Jackson Hole for a newspaper article for the impact of Jews by said group. When their paths cross, it is more than just their shared heritage that occurs between them.
My main issue with this book is that it is all over the place. About 50% of the book (if not more) just discusses their family heritage with less focus on the terrorism and the relationship between the characters. And then all of a sudden, they are together and the stories over. The author tried to do too much with this novel and over-wrote the whole thing, in my opinion.
My main issue with this book is that it is all over the place. About 50% of the book (if not more) just discusses their family heritage with less focus on the terrorism and the relationship between the characters. And then all of a sudden, they are together and the stories over. The author tried to do too much with this novel and over-wrote the whole thing, in my opinion.
March 12, 2017
I liked this book. I think it could provide insight into the thinking of the followers of the guy who got the most electoral college votes in 2016 (Trump). Neo-Nazis, racists and misogynists would not "get" this book.
July 18, 2014
Δυο βιβλία σε ένα. Διάβασα την ανωτερω περίληψη. Λέω οκ αστυνομικό με το κλασικό ραντεβού αλα Αυτός, αυτή και τα μυστήρια. Περιμενα κακους, ξυλο, ανατιναξεις και το ζευγαρι των Χαρτ και Χαρτ να βρισκει την ακρη. Και ξεκιναω την αναγνωση. Στον προλογο φαινεται ολοκαθαρα η γυναικουλιστικη αντιληψη της συγγραφεως για το FBI και τη CIA. Ενεστώτας χρόνος, ειρωνική διάθεση απέναντι στους ηρωες του βιβλιου της, ενα κειμενο στο fast forward, κατι που εμενα με εκνευρισε. Και γυρναμε πισω το χρονο, στο 1899, σε ενα πλοιο με μεταναστες απο την Κρακοβια. Ξετυλιγεται ετσι το κουβαρι μιας οικογενειακης ιστοριας που μας φτανει τρεις γενιες μετα στο σημερινο ζευγαρι. Διαβαζουμε πως γνωριστηκαν οι προπαπουδες του ζευγαριου, πως εζησαν στην Αμερικη, τα ονειρα και οι απογοητευσεις τους (ο Τσαρλι αι η Λορεν ειναι τριτα ξαδελφια). Διαβαζουμε για ολα τα μελη της οικογενειας που κανουν οι Πωλονο-εβραιοι μεταναστες μεχρι να φτασουμε στο σημερα. Κι αναρωτιεσαι, τον Νονο διαβαζω, τη Γενεση η το αστυνομικο βιβλιο της ανωτερω περιληψης;
Καποια στιγμη φτανουμε στο σημερα, βλεπουμε τους Τσαρλ και Λορεν και αρχιζει η περιπετεια. Που ειναι το 1/3 του βιβλιου. Που ειναι φτωχη σε ανατροπες, σε νοηματα και σε αγωνια. Καποιος παει στο Γουαιομινγκ για να διαλαλισει την αντισημιτικη του σταση κι εχει δυο τσιρακια. Ποιος εβαλε βομβες ομως και γιατι;Ανιαρο, χασμουρητο και αντε γεια. Κουραστικα τα τοπια και τα μερη, ανιαρα τα ερωτικα στιγμιοτυπα (η Τζακι Κολινς σκαλες ανωτερη) και το παρμυθι τελειωνει με την ομολογια των κακων. Εγω να ρωτησω κατι; Γιατι επρεπε να διαβασουμε ολο το στορι της οικογενειας τους αφου δεν συνδεεται με κανεναν τροπο με τη σημερινη εποχη; Οι χαρακτηρες τους, αποτοκο μιας παναρχαιης κληρονομιας; Μπα. Το ενστικτο και η χημεια; Μα υπαρχουν τοσοι τροποι να το δειξεις, πρεπει να γραψεις μια Παλαια Διαθηκη; Λοιπον για να μην τσατιστω αλλο, το μονο ωραιο ειναι το τελος του κειμενου, οχι της ιστοριας (που ειναι το κλασικο χαπι εντ, θα ξερασω βατραχια τωρα) που η συγγραφεας υποστηριζει οτι: ενας γνησιος Αμερικανος ονειρευεται κι αυτο ειναι αμερικανικο χαρισμα, αν κλεινεις τα ματια και απομονωνεσαι και βρισκεις μονιμα εχθρους απεναντι σου δεν εχεις το διακιωμα να αφαιρεις ζωες για να ικανοποιησεις τη μισαλλοδοξια σου και τη μιζερια σου, αλλιως εισαι αμερικανος υπηκοος κι οχι αμερικανος πολιτης, Αμερικανος. Αν βγαλουμε την εθνικοτητα απο την προταση ειναι μια πολυ ωραια προτροπη για να σταματησουν οι αιωνιες ρατσιστικες κοντρες μεταξυ "ανωτερων" και "κατωτερων".
Κατα τα αλλα ουτε πλοκαμια ειδα, ουτε οργανωση τεραστια, ουτε λαο, ουτε τιποτα. Ανευρο και ατολμο. Κριμα...Ο τιτλος αναφερεται στα χρωματα της αμερικανικης σημαιας (κατι τετοια διαβαζουν οι αμερικανοι και καταντησαν ετσι, τεσπα).
Στα ελληνικά από τις εκδόσεις Bell το 1999.
Καποια στιγμη φτανουμε στο σημερα, βλεπουμε τους Τσαρλ και Λορεν και αρχιζει η περιπετεια. Που ειναι το 1/3 του βιβλιου. Που ειναι φτωχη σε ανατροπες, σε νοηματα και σε αγωνια. Καποιος παει στο Γουαιομινγκ για να διαλαλισει την αντισημιτικη του σταση κι εχει δυο τσιρακια. Ποιος εβαλε βομβες ομως και γιατι;Ανιαρο, χασμουρητο και αντε γεια. Κουραστικα τα τοπια και τα μερη, ανιαρα τα ερωτικα στιγμιοτυπα (η Τζακι Κολινς σκαλες ανωτερη) και το παρμυθι τελειωνει με την ομολογια των κακων. Εγω να ρωτησω κατι; Γιατι επρεπε να διαβασουμε ολο το στορι της οικογενειας τους αφου δεν συνδεεται με κανεναν τροπο με τη σημερινη εποχη; Οι χαρακτηρες τους, αποτοκο μιας παναρχαιης κληρονομιας; Μπα. Το ενστικτο και η χημεια; Μα υπαρχουν τοσοι τροποι να το δειξεις, πρεπει να γραψεις μια Παλαια Διαθηκη; Λοιπον για να μην τσατιστω αλλο, το μονο ωραιο ειναι το τελος του κειμενου, οχι της ιστοριας (που ειναι το κλασικο χαπι εντ, θα ξερασω βατραχια τωρα) που η συγγραφεας υποστηριζει οτι: ενας γνησιος Αμερικανος ονειρευεται κι αυτο ειναι αμερικανικο χαρισμα, αν κλεινεις τα ματια και απομονωνεσαι και βρισκεις μονιμα εχθρους απεναντι σου δεν εχεις το διακιωμα να αφαιρεις ζωες για να ικανοποιησεις τη μισαλλοδοξια σου και τη μιζερια σου, αλλιως εισαι αμερικανος υπηκοος κι οχι αμερικανος πολιτης, Αμερικανος. Αν βγαλουμε την εθνικοτητα απο την προταση ειναι μια πολυ ωραια προτροπη για να σταματησουν οι αιωνιες ρατσιστικες κοντρες μεταξυ "ανωτερων" και "κατωτερων".
Κατα τα αλλα ουτε πλοκαμια ειδα, ουτε οργανωση τεραστια, ουτε λαο, ουτε τιποτα. Ανευρο και ατολμο. Κριμα...Ο τιτλος αναφερεται στα χρωματα της αμερικανικης σημαιας (κατι τετοια διαβαζουν οι αμερικανοι και καταντησαν ετσι, τεσπα).
Στα ελληνικά από τις εκδόσεις Bell το 1999.
May 13, 2010
Having enjoyed Susan Isaacs's Any Place I Hang My Hat, I decided to reread another of her more recent books, Red, White, and Blue, to try to figure out what I didn't like about it.
It begins with FBI agent Charlie Blair and reporter Lauren Miller, who are both on the track of a group of hate crime perpetrators known as Wrath, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. However, before Isaacs delves into this, she spends two hundred pages describing the family histories of her hero and heroine (who, as it turns out, share a set of great-great-grandparents). This is certainly absorbing, as Isaacs has a gift for creating quirky, likable characters, but when she finally got up to the present day and shifted back to Charlie and Lauren, it was jarring, and I found it hard to get back into their story.
Also, I found Isaacs's message heavy-handed at times. Here's a paragraph from about thirty pages into the book: "Last, but definitely not least, as we leave this century, isn't it time to inquire: What is an American anyway? It's a critical question to think about now, what with all the virulently anti-government rhetoric abroad in the land. We ought to ask: Now that we've gotten here, what holds us together? What do all of us, with our different American experiences, have in common? Is there an American character?" And et cetera, et cetera. I appreciate the message she's trying to get across, and it's central to the plot of the book, but I really think that she could have trusted her readers to pick it up without having to interrupt the narrative like this.
It begins with FBI agent Charlie Blair and reporter Lauren Miller, who are both on the track of a group of hate crime perpetrators known as Wrath, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. However, before Isaacs delves into this, she spends two hundred pages describing the family histories of her hero and heroine (who, as it turns out, share a set of great-great-grandparents). This is certainly absorbing, as Isaacs has a gift for creating quirky, likable characters, but when she finally got up to the present day and shifted back to Charlie and Lauren, it was jarring, and I found it hard to get back into their story.
Also, I found Isaacs's message heavy-handed at times. Here's a paragraph from about thirty pages into the book: "Last, but definitely not least, as we leave this century, isn't it time to inquire: What is an American anyway? It's a critical question to think about now, what with all the virulently anti-government rhetoric abroad in the land. We ought to ask: Now that we've gotten here, what holds us together? What do all of us, with our different American experiences, have in common? Is there an American character?" And et cetera, et cetera. I appreciate the message she's trying to get across, and it's central to the plot of the book, but I really think that she could have trusted her readers to pick it up without having to interrupt the narrative like this.
April 23, 2015
Red, White and Blue
Wanted to read this book with the intent to learn new things. Wyoming is one place we've yet to visit but the subject matter also interested me.
Kinda hard to separate the older generation from the present. Starts out with an explosion in Wyoming and a group claim they did it. A reporter, Jewish from NYC has traveled there to find out the answers.
The group had targeted Jews and she wants to find out why. She does contact them to write the story that will be picked up by many other newspapers for publicity.
There is an agency that is also investigating but there is another explosion and again the group claim they did it.
Listening to this via audio tape made it very confusing for me with all the alternating chapters between the two that are finding clues and at some points not working together to solve the mystery.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Wanted to read this book with the intent to learn new things. Wyoming is one place we've yet to visit but the subject matter also interested me.
Kinda hard to separate the older generation from the present. Starts out with an explosion in Wyoming and a group claim they did it. A reporter, Jewish from NYC has traveled there to find out the answers.
The group had targeted Jews and she wants to find out why. She does contact them to write the story that will be picked up by many other newspapers for publicity.
There is an agency that is also investigating but there is another explosion and again the group claim they did it.
Listening to this via audio tape made it very confusing for me with all the alternating chapters between the two that are finding clues and at some points not working together to solve the mystery.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
October 5, 2011
This is a book of two halves. The first half is about the lives and loves of three generations of one family. Isaacs' skill is taking 20 pages to describe a life and making it feel real and true. She is a better writer when dealing with ideas of family, home and the domestic sphere. This part of the book was interesting and engaging.
The second half of the book follows two descendants of different arms of the family as they travel to the American West to stop a terrorist who is threatening the American Way Of Life. It follows a pretty predicable path - what does it mean to be American when most of us are from somewhere else? Why do haters hate? It was a bit boring, really. I'd recommend reading the first half of the book and then skipping to the last chapter. Then you get the all the good bits and all the storylines get neatly tied out without having to read the boring bits.
The second half of the book follows two descendants of different arms of the family as they travel to the American West to stop a terrorist who is threatening the American Way Of Life. It follows a pretty predicable path - what does it mean to be American when most of us are from somewhere else? Why do haters hate? It was a bit boring, really. I'd recommend reading the first half of the book and then skipping to the last chapter. Then you get the all the good bits and all the storylines get neatly tied out without having to read the boring bits.
July 28, 2010
Very interesting, esp. first half. Posing question of what makes an American. Charlie Blair is sent undercover as an FBI agent near his Wyoming hometown when a bomb is found,, though it doesn't go off. Lauren, who is his cousin via their great-great...great-grandparents, is sent to cover the story. Of course, they meet, fall in love. Outrageous, that she blows his cover and thinks she's so clever, or that they fall for each other with one glance on the street. And, yucky, to make the point repeatedly that they are related.
But the first part is a historical saga of all the forebears--good detail and characterization, though all of Charlie's potential ancestors seem exactly alike. And each story is too short. The modern drama--not so interesting.
But the first part is a historical saga of all the forebears--good detail and characterization, though all of Charlie's potential ancestors seem exactly alike. And each story is too short. The modern drama--not so interesting.
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