Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

Curtis Sittenfeld First story:  Woman has conversation with shuttle driver. He's a Trump guy; she's a professor.  Unlikely couple.  But, she loses her driver's license.  Calls him. Is it in your van?  He calls back and arranges to meet her.  She assumes he has her license.  She's drunk from a meeting; they drink more.  Sex in her room. She finds out he doesn't have her license and kicks him out.  Finds wallet.Regret? She's not sure.

Book students read often but that I never got around too. Can see why it was a great favorite with boys.  Lots of good action sequences; believable cruelty scenes among the boys; strained, closed relationship with adults. All those with "the end of the world" and an impending war lurking in the background.

Paul Muni . . . held up really well. Not easy being an ex-con. Expose also of chain gang method of punishment, a method used recently by "Sheriff Joe" down in Maricopa, AZ.  Sheriff Joe is the sadistic sheriff pardoned by Trump.

Enjoyable if not memorable.  Poor American-Chinese girl goes to Singapore to meet family of beau . .  . she doesn't know he is from a billionaire family.  His mother rejects her.  Tears, drama, our American girl's mother has a disreputable past.  American girl (who is a professor of economics) gets courage, stands up to the Singapore dragon potential mother in law.  Walks out.  Happy ending as beau gets on plane and proposes again, apparently with mom's blessing

Terrific ending. Tully (older boxer) headed nowhere. Ernie (younger version of Tully) fights alone in Utah then hitchhikes back to Stockton. Gets a ride from two women, one of whom says: "Why would anyone want to go to Stockton."  Captures the mood of small dreams of Tully and Ernie. They don't dream of being world champions, just of fighting enough and winning enough to get some money in their pocket and maybe in the bank, to be able to see out past a few days. Not likely to happen. Trainer is the same way. He wants some boxers who will pay his bills and give him a little breathing room.  I'll look for other books by Gardner.

Nearing the end.  Dugoni's political theme is that US corporations and government were complicit in the Saddam regime.  I'm not generally fond of thrillers that take liberties with history, but it's pretty hard to disagree with that premise.  Very exciting stuff.  Cover-up to protect guilty corporation includes murdering US soldiers and (perhaps . . . nah, not really) our hero Sloane.

Iraq war.  Soldier dies in Iraq--widow believes it is due to negligence of US in not providing the best body armor.  Dugoni--a lawyer--describes how difficult it is to sue the government in such cases.  Asking for benefits is the accepted procedure.  Book also cuts back to the actual battle in Iraq where the man died.  Other wrench in the story--the "suicide" of a soldier who fought with the man.