Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The Great Race by Gary Blackwood

The Great Race is a distinct book about a miraculous journey, in 1908, from New York City to Paris by automobile. Not only is this a miraculous feat by itself, but also the automobile was very unreliable, as well as very mysterious to the general public. This would be a test of courage and mettle, one that isn't for the uncourageous. The media and the public just loved this event, and as the racers started off, the streets of New York City packed. Many police escorts were needed in order to keep the onlookers away, as even the passengers and drivers were harassed. These would be long months for the entrants, and only one team will emerge victorious.

Overall, I enjoyed The Great Race, despite its few flaws. First off, the author made the setting a mellow part of the book. I felt as if the author flat out "told" me the setting instead of showing it to me in a colorful way. Despite this however, I think the author succeeded in conveying the thought that weather was the single most important obstruction in the way of the drivers. The book gave a feeling that almost everything was going wrong for some drivers. The author succeeded in displaying the main characters with their own personalities. I think the characteristics possessed by the main characters of the novel seemed very real and human-like. The narrator's voice was more matter-of-fact, making the book both interesting and dull in different ways. The book had a fairly slow start, but picked up fairly fast as the story progressed.

The author effectively informed me of this historical event in an interesting, as well as innovative, way. The vocabulary was easily understood, not cryptic. A vital strength of the book was that when all was going well, disaster struck. This sparked my interest and kept me reading the book. However, before the race started, there seemed to be a monotonous drag. Regardless, this was a good book. It had a simple, but interesting, plot that carried through the entire book. This book taught me in depth about this intriguing race. I would definitely recommend this book to people who would like to know about historical events, in addition to people who like mild adventure.

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Baltimore, Maryland USA

posted by Flamingnet Book Blog @ 8:26 PM