BrilliantMay 16, 2008 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the most briliant novels in the last few years. A tragic story interspersed with lots of humor, frizzy copy and nimble dialogs. A must-read.
I loved this book!May 1, 2008 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I mostly read modern novels. I like writers who really care about the language and write beautiful stuff without getting so in love with their words that you can't understand them. I like guys like Chuck Palahniuk, Peter Clenott Hunting the King, and Martin Amis and Richard Price, George Martin A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3), Milan Kundera and Derek Armstrong, especially for The Last Troubadour: Song of Montsegur and MADicine. Now I have a new favorite writer to love. Lynn Hoffman weaves a magic spell. You start this book and you're completely lost in from the beginning to the end. During the action scenes I didn't take a breath until they were over. She is a very special writer and I look forward to her next book.
Oprah!! Clint!April 30, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
bang BANG is a really hot little story about how women might use sex to change the world. As the victim of a street crime, Paula Sherman organizes a bunch of women to fight against the guns on the streets of Philadelphia. You'll have to read the book to get her tactics, but the whole thing is hilarious while it asks a very serious question. The other thing that I liked about this story was the dead-pan spoof of the media. In the beginning, Paula is worked over by the local media. Later on, she works over the national media (Oprah. Clint.) big time. bang BANG is action-packed and funny and the writing's great--- entertaining, intelligent, and definitely worth a read.
This is a "Why didn't I think of that?" book.April 29, 2008 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Everybody talks about guns, the right and the wrong about having them, but nobody does anything about it. (So to speak.) Nobody except this author. His ingenious novel tells how one woman deals with guns. And the way she deals with it carries you through the pages with the greatest of ease. I can imagine novelists saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" Five shots. I mean 5 stars.
Smart, Whimsical, and RacyApril 29, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Lynn Hoffman's latest work bang BANG is an addicting example of how the author is hitting his literary stride. It takes an issue thats been controversial for quite some time (gun control/lack there of)and examines it in a passionate way without being preachy. The heroine (Paula) in the story is a waitress at a Philadelphia restaurant who witnesses her friend getting shot in a random act of street violence. After an expected depression, the event propels Paula on a renegade of anti-gun crusading starting with shooting out windshields of cars bearing pro-gun stickers (which is so beautifully Philadelphia) and leading up to taking on a powerful right-wing senator. This all helps in Paula finding herself, something she thought would never happen. The use of Cardoso, a neighbor and regular diner at Paula's restaurant, helps develop the story by offering an "in house narrative" of Paula quest. His journal entries offer nice juxtaposition and contribute to the book's "in your face, whether you like it or not" pace. Hoffman's sprinkling of restaurant whimsy and the romanticism of Philadelphia provide a deserving glimpse into his soul. I look forward to seeing Hoffman develop as a Novelist and I'm intrigued to see what stops he pulls out next.
