Birds of Passage
by Joe Giordano
As reviewed by The Zodiac Review publisher Daniel VanTassel
on Amazon Books:
Joe Giordano's new book, Birds of Passage, is a new and vastly improved Gangs of New York and Godfather II, with a little West Side Story blended in for tension-filled affairs of the heart and conflicts of cultures. I make those references to film because the book is remarkably visual and audible. You will swear you've seen it.
The book is a raw and beautiful saga that will transport you across oceans, cultures and generations. Readers' senses are put on high alert early in the story as they begin to viscerally experience the hardships of Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20th Century.
Author Giordano masterfully interweaves a poignant love story among a number of subplots, each of which provides another vantage point from which to witness desperate people driven to do what they have to do to survive the brutal reality of Manhattan's lower-east side.
Giordano's scholarly research is evident throughout as he gives us a vivid look at the sights and sounds of 1900s New York, Tammany Hall, and Neapolitan and southern Italy. And the author is not limited to speaking in the vernacular of the street. His prose—especially as the book builds toward the end—lends a pleasing, literary quality to the whole experience. We are left spent emotionally but thoroughly satisfied.
(End of review as published on Amazon Books)
Additional review comments:
Readers who enjoy sweeping historical sagas with strong cultural texture will find this a deeply satisfying novel. Writers may note the careful balance between historical research and storytelling, with detail serving the narrative rather than overwhelming it.
Concluding appraisal: This superior, well-written book belongs in the group of important American Immigrant Novels.
(book first published: 2015)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Drone Strike
by Joe Giordano
As reviewed by The Zodiac Review publisher Daniel VanTassel
on Amazon Books.)
Joe Giordano's latest book, Drone Strike, is his best to date as measured on a scale of importance. We are privileged in this book to see a balanced view of the world…and life…through the eyes of age-old enemies, East and West.
We should all know the story by now. But I fear we don't. By "we," I mean we of all ages, all cultures, East and West, who have been fed misrepresentations for what, now…two thousand years? Three? Five?
It's so very important that we all learn from seeing the world through the eyes of others. Giordano's plot and prose give us just that, shining a light on refugees from war-torn countries and on those we've been taught are our natural enemies.
Drone Strike illuminates the humanity in us all.
I recommend the book wholeheartedly. I'd like to see it on the required reading list for schools and colleges. It's also a darn good thriller. Couldn't put it down.
(End of review as published)
Additional review comments:
Readers who enjoy historical/ literary/thriller fiction that educate us as their stories unfold will find this novel especially worth reading. Writers may note Giordano's clever way of delivering universal truths.
Concluding appraisal: This is a fine book for providing us with timeless truths for any era, and is now especially relevant and helpful.
(book first published: 2019)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK REVIEWS
~ Our reviews of literary and genre fiction, with an eye toward what engages readers
and what writers can learn from them ~
The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins
Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train stands out in the crowded field of psychological thrillers through the sheer force of its voice and perspective. The story is told through shifting points of view, and none of them feel entirely reliable.
What gives the book its pull is the main character’s instability. Her memory, her judgment, even her sense of self are all in question, and that uncertainty seeps into every page. You’re never quite sure whether you’re uncovering the truth—or watching it slip further away.
The structure does some heavy lifting here, and not every thread lands with equal force. But the central idea—a witness who can’t fully trust her own recollection—carries the novel through its slower stretches.
Readers who enjoy psychologically driven suspense with unreliable narrators will find this a compelling and uneasy read. Writers may note how shifting points of view can deepen tension rather than dilute it.
Concluding appraisal: Not always comfortable, but consistently engaging.
(First published: 2015 · Film adaptation: 2016)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
