Tom WintonRezensionen

I love the mentality behind this story. Do you ever really truly get over your first love? And what would you do if you had a chance to be with them again?

The main character bugged me big time. I was happy with his decision in the end, but during the rest of the book I found myself more and more annoyed with him.

suspense, Florida-keys, land-robbers, grieving, anger
A furniture salesman is fed up with his job and comes home to find that his wife has been screwing her boss. Feeling destroyed, he spends a few months working with an old friend and then makes his way to the Florida Keys to try to rebuild his life. He finds a great place to start from and a wonderful woman who is as attracted as he is, but he screws that up. In a short time he gets involved with longtime residents to try to thwart some legal land grabbers and then the violence begins. It is certainly a different look at life in the keys and the bottom feeders exploiting them.
Dave Clark does a fine job as narrator.

It was difficult to rate this book, because it dealt with material that didn't really apply to me or that interested me. It would if I were looking for an inspirational book written by someone about how their talent as a writer was born - or if I were an Ernest Hemingway buff, but I'm neither, which is why I gave this rating 4 stars, rather than 5. Still, it was written well, and I'll be interested in seeing other work written by Tom.

A widower with a never-ending love for his deceased wife is given a sign and packs it all up, ditches New York, and lands in a small town in New England. He knows he will never love again. Until he is able to get past his guilt, he cannot see that he has found a second true love. This novella is a sweet, sweet, from the heart love story. When you need your heart warmed, read it tonight. My thanks to the author and Goodreads for a complimentary copy.

This fictional autobiography is the story of a boy becoming a man. When a beautiful teenage girl saves D.C. he has no idea how this chance meeting will have an effect on the rest of his life. The author has created wonderful characters who are so real that it is easy to forget this is fiction. There were times I wanted to hug D.C. and there were times I wanted to slap him.
Dean is faced with many choices along the road to maturity. When it comes to the ultimate decision will he make the right choice.
This was a great read and I honestly enjoyed it.

The book starts out well and continues to be good reading until the author comes out of his coma and attempts to convince everyone that he actually spent four days with Ernest Hemingway. I loved reading about the interaction between the author and Hemingway but I did not enjoy reading about his attempts to have his book published. That part was boring...deadly boring.

Beyond Nostalgia will keep you up reading all night.
The first half is a wonderful romance, period language, a late sixties Catcher in the Rye feel except that Dean and Theresa are both lovable. I kept thinking to myself 'it's going to go wrong now, no, not yet, yes, it's going to go wrong now'. That suspense combined with the great style employed makes for a fantastic piece of work.
Then bang, down to earth in the second half of the book. First we take Manhattan - Dean has become a social rebel, sentenced to twenty years of boredom. The irony of the para-suicide failure due to inadequate gas is a smile during a bleak time in his life. Then Dean is a struggling author, makes a breakthrough and hits the big time. This works towards the long telegraphed reuniting of Theresa and Dean. Strangely he doesn't judge her for her capitalism (sure, love is blind). And that's not the end of the story as he can / will find her again (I was that soldier!). I have a sneaking suspicion that Dean will dump his socialist principles with his new found wealth and have a bit on the side with Theresa.
So, in conclusion, the first half reads like an award-winning romance combined with a realistic development of the harsh realities of life. What a ride!