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Book Review of Lapham Rising (P.S.)

Lapham Rising (P.S.)
westieluv avatar reviewed on


I just finished reading this book and have to say it was one of the worst things I've ever read. I actually didn't read it all, skimmed several sections--it was that boring & annoying! I bought it 'cos the front cover has a Westie on it. Yes, I'm a sucker. The only halfway decent lines in the book were those from Hector, the talking Westie. On Pg 1 they r startled awake & the guy rolls over on the dog, who bites his ear; the man swears and Hector, the Westie says "Taketh not the Lord's name in vain", then returns to sleep. The man then says: Nothing on earth is snootier than a West Highland white terrier, specially a pious one. The Westie in question happens to be a born-again evangelical.", then later "He entered the world a Scottish Presbyterian, as I assume all Westies do. But then he found a 'more personal God' in what I have come to think of as the Church of the Holy Terrier. If he was difficult to live with before, he has been impossible since." Anyway, the book is about a weird loner in the Hamptons and his vendetta against the huge house being built next to his home/island. I found it boring and pretentious. The author is an award-winning journalist, essayist & tv commentator and has written 11 books. This is his first novel. IMHO, it is hopefully also his last. It doesn't really matter to me tho', as this is definitely the last novel of his that I will read.