Roger Banks-Pye

Advantages: Addictive
Disadvantages: none I am aware of

...Danielle Steel, is a descendent of the Lowenbrau Beer Barons. Her Mother is Portugese and her Father is German.Their common language is French, although the whole family can speak 8 Languages.Danielle's Father's family, the main banking and brewing clan, have always lived in Munich and the family home a moated castle in Bavaria, Kaltenburg.Her Mother's family were diplomats and her maternal Grandfather was a Portuguese diplomat assigned to the United States for quite a number of years. American- born, Danielle lived in Paris for most of her childhood. At the age of 20,she went to New York and started working for "Supergirls", a before it's time public relations firm run by women who organised parties for Wall Street Stock Brokers and designed P.R. campaigns for big commpanies. When the recession hit, the firm went out of business... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: unputdownable
Disadvantages: none

...are threads of another family, the Pyes and the reader is aware quite early in the book that some dark secret surrounds them. Kate has two brothers, Matt the younger of the two and to whom she is closest and clearly adores, and Luke and a younger sister, Bo, who is still a baby at the beginning of the book. Luke wins a place at Teachers College, a first for their small community and a great cause for celebration, which leads to their parents being killed in a car crash whilst visiting the nearest town to buy him a suitcase to take away with him. The orphaned family endure great hardships and Luke forgoes his college education to stay and attempt to keep the family together. Matt loves the lakes and the pondlife and takes Kate at every opportunity to share his enthusiasm with her and we learn early in the book that she has had a college... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: well-written, entertaining
Disadvantages: not as good as bonfire of the vanities, slightly silly ending

...This is another epic tale from Tom Wolfe. The book is again massive, and written in a similar style to Bonfire of the Vanities. It is a tale of Charlie Croker, a millionaire property developer whose universe is falling down around him, Roger White, a lawyer, his client, a coloured atheltic star with a bad attitude, Raymond Peepgass, a bank official with money problems and Conrad Hensley, an honest, hardworking man who ends up in prison by a series of unfortunate events. Note how none of the main chracters are women: just like in Bonfire of the Vanities, women are incidental, used to progress the plot by their impact on men rather than as important in their own right. The true anti-hero is Charlie, about whom the book is really centred. Just like Sherman in 'Bonfire' he is a bit of a megalomaniac: self-absorbed and out for himself... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful