Reviews for Cases in administrative policies and contemporary issues

The average rating for Cases in administrative policies and contemporary issues based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-03 00:00:00 Scott Berge A Girl walked into the bar. What a great opening line. Right away it had me asking questions. This is the fourth Patchett novel I have read and one of her earliest. While not as good as Bel Canto or State of Wonder it is still a very enjoyable read. John Nickel lives in Memphis and is an ex jazz drummer and current bar manager. The girl that walks into his bar is Fay Taft and through her we meet her brother Carl. John over identifies with these two troubled teenagers who have recently and very suddenly lost their father. Perhaps this is because John’s on again, off again, girlfriend Marion has relocated to Miami, thereby separating him from his own young son. Over time John’s involvement with Fay and Carl takes him down a twisted, dangerous path and he begins to obsess over the imagined life and death of their Father. This story meets it’s conclusion in a very open ended way so if you are one of those people that want all their questions answered and all the ends tied up, this one will likely frustrate you. As for me I found it to be quite a stunning achievement.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-11-09 00:00:00 Paulo Coutinho I have had this one on my TBR list for so long. Keep checking it out from the library and sending it back, unread. I grabbed the audio, started listening....and when the narrator announced 'a book by Anne PRATCHETT' I had that uh oh moment. John Nickel is a black man in the South (Memphis), who is an ex drummer playing Jazz music, and works in a bar as a night manager. He has a son that he wants to be with. His 'girlfriend' Marianne has his baby, but he's more into the bar, the music, partying...and taking her for granted. After the birth of the boy, he changes and want to marry her, but she wants no part of it. After some time, she moves to Miami and he struggles to keep his son in his life and wants more. John has changed over time. Then, one day a very young (too young to be working in a bar) white girl, Faye, walks into the bar to get a job as a waitress. John gives her a job and is drawn into her world. Her brother is constantly at the bar, he's a mess, dealing drugs, and John is drawn into his world. The lost their father, Taft, recently and John becomes 'obsessed' with detailing Taft's life. And I mean building elaborate details of his life. He feels something for these two and just wants to help them. John is drawn to Faye and she believes she has fallen in love with him. You just know this is going to end in a tragedy. It was almost two different books here - one I found interesting (John's life) and one I found bizarre (John telling Taft's life). Had the story just focused more on John's life, it would have been much better. I had a feeling early on where this one was headed, but the ending....just odd. Despite the narrator not pronouncing the authors name properly, it was a pretty good narration. I've mentioned numerous times how I love to read Ann Patchett books and this one is no exception. It's one of her earlier books. Unfortunately, I think I liked this one the least. But I did like it. And now, on to my next book by this author.