Waking the Dead

This is a book of jaw-dropping power. It has the goose-bumps of a ghost story, and the page-turning plot of a mystery, but the real story is the way Spencer writes. He has a way with the English language that is almost like no other. I was simply amazed at the fluid prose, the careful construction. The love story swept me up and kept me enthralled. Spencer can write of obsessive love like no other author, but unlike his Endless Love, where the love had a creepy, stalker quality, this is the sweet and romantic love of a man who cannot give up on a woman just because she is dead. Find a copy of this book and read it, you will love it.

Excellent novel about the love affair of a politically-destined Harvard grad Fielding, his girlfriend Sarah that is pulled towards the service of the Catholic Church, and the heartache that is created when the two are pulled in opposite directions. The two are separated only to be brought back together too late in life when they have gone in completely different directions. Its also a great movie.

This has all the earmarks of a prize-winning Great American Novel, right up there with Richard Ford's 'Independence Day,' Russell Banks's "Affliction" and Mary McGarry Morris's "Vanished." I loved this book. I, too, relish certain scenes. A lovemaking scene in particular stands out. His descriptions are among the best in this area that I have ever read: muscular, nearly sculptural. The scene in the restaurant when Fielding announces that he believes he is having a nervous breakdown: I found myself very moved - to tears. In fact, I cried several times during the reading of this book, which incorporates so many elements of life: the poitical and the personal, on so many levels!The reason I mentioned that it should win a Pulitzer is because it tackles a particularly important moment in American history: the dividing line between social conscience at its compassionate best and crazy worst and materialism at its heady best and greedy worst. I loved that it ended with Fielding reading the word "help" in one of the letters from a member of his constituency. You know that there is plenty of good work for him to do, just as his true love, Sarah, was doing hers. Great style, great heart. Congratulations to the author on creating a classic I'm certain will live on as literature. As for the movie - did it ever come out? I'll have to check my video store.

I picked this book up randomly at the book store. What made me buy it was the New York Times Book Review's statement, "Occationally a scene comes across as so elegantly rounded and complete I admit to gasping from sheer pleasure." This kind of reaction from a person who reads books for a living pursuaded me to give it a try. I was not disappointed. Spencer's writing style is so smooth that I found myself aching inside for Fielding Pierce. I'm not going to tell you what happens because that is part of the beauty of the book. You are better off not knowing the details. Just buy the book, sit back, and prepare to be engrossed by woderfully developed characters that transcend the novel. You actually end up seeing them as real people, who you accept with all their faults and gifts. Scott Spencer earned himself a new fan with this novel.

This story is about the tension between a life of carefully orchestrated public accomplishments and a concurrent and unexpected emotional breakdown. The hero, Fielding Pierce, is collapsing internally but is propelled forward by a political career that seems indestructible, even when his conduct careens wildly between pursuing his ambitions and succumbing to his personal demons. Anyone familiar with Chicago politics will love the supporting characters involved in the campaign at the center of the story; the love story has a hard time competing for the reader's attention. The hero's family is also wonderful, and Scott Spencer achieves perfect pitch with family dialog. Sarah, the lost lover, is the only character who is at all one-dimensional, which makes it all the easier for the hero to recreate her as he wishes. The movie is a disappointment, but I think that is because it could not quite capture the subtleties of the counterpoint between the hero's public life and private life. Maybe this is a problem when a book is written too well -- without Scott Spencer's lovely prose, thorough characterizations, and perfect descriptions, the movie script just bogs down and doesn't quite know what to do with itself.