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4 out of 4 stars
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Wow, such a tasteful book! Just can’t get over it. Such reactions came out when I finished reading A Robert Levin Reader by Robert Levin. It is an excellent piece of interesting, unusual, and non-stop entertainment. The book holds short gleeful fiction stories, chiseled commentary, and deep discussions about Jazz. The author also serves a lot of behind the scene stories painted brilliantly using rich classy words.
The brilliant description skills of the author brought the characters alive. He has various perspectives for a usual situation and is quite witty in writing. He begins with 12 short fictions which serve rich humor and continue with commentary including various topics such as belief in God, politics, stupidity, addiction, etc. Finally, he proceeds towards the Jazz music displaying his profound vintage knowledge. The journey was so amazing that I chuckled, grinned, felt anxious, and laughed at times while reading the book.
The opening story, “When Pacino’s Hot, I am Hot,” is an ultimate hilarious fiction that got me hooked instantly to the book. I liked this the most. According to the story, the author looks alike to some celebrities, and when girls saw him, sometimes they by mistake considered him that celebrity. He too pretends to be one and gets lucky to spend some time with them. This creates a lot of funny and interesting moments. The writing style and spontaneous use of vocabulary make the reader a permanent fan of the author.
There is nothing to dislike about the book. The author is a versatile, spontaneous writer, who is capable of capturing the reader’s attention and getting him glued till the end. My favorite line from the book is, “To feel guilt and shame is built into our essence-it’s a natural consequence of being mortal.” This line was the author's reflex when he received a typical response for describing a fat lady in his story, Peggie, which the reader found to be harsh.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. The author has written an excellent book that consists of an invincible, jaw-dropping series of chapters designed to amuse the reader throughout the book.
It is an exceptionally well edited book. The use of rich and classy vocabulary adds essence to it. It's an engaging read which will appeal to almost all without any reservations.
I found the Rock and New Jazz debate highly interesting. The author presents his vintage knowledge and expresses the debate strongly. He believes “The treasure that Jazz is in all its expressions.”
In one of his interviews, he said “As you get older a lot of the illusions you’ve lived with become transparent and they evaporate. You’re left with reality.” This is a thoughtful line. Overall, it’s a flaunting book from a smart and brilliant author, so open the book and get ready to embrace the splendid write-up.
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A Robert Levin Reader
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