All Things Considered - A Great Book | The Man in the Blizzard: A Novel

book: The Man in the Blizzard: A Novel | Bart Schneider

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	• The Man in the Blizzard: A Novel Bart Schneider Three Rivers Press, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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Content and theme is not for everyone

The Man In the Blizzard is an indictment of the G.W. Bush Administration, disguised as a crime novel. However, its overall effect is that of theater of the absurd and creates a good foundation for a graphic novel or Monty Python film.

The author portrays Intelligent Design supporters as Nazi child-molesting brainwashers, thieves, and assassins intending to eliminate all Jews. By "believers," the author means "Republicans."

The protagonist, PI Augie Boyer, has allowed himself to become a pathetic middle-ager dependent upon marijuana and testosterone gel, experiencing erections at all inconvenient times. His daughter is a rock star anti-antiabortionist and his wife is pregnant by another man. Meanwhile, his police detective mentor forces all those around him to memorize progressive poetry.

At the Republican National Convention, pro-lifers gather pregnant women outside to deliver infants on Labor Day to support the "Born Free" coalition. The first infant, an illegal alien's child, doesn't count and this is commentary on the supposed Republican enabling of Mexicans sneaking across the U.S. border to work and vote Republican with fake IDs. Meanwhile, rocker Rose Boyer leads a pro-choice rally and is nearly assassinated.

Augie ends the story as many older folks do, with a hip replacement. The only difference is that he was shot rather than injured in a bathtub fall and was made Hero For a Day.

The novel's language is often offensive in obscenity and accusations, but is likely to draw male readers aged 18 to 35. Older gents and some women will chuckle as well. The extreme far-left political force will embrace the book as a symbol of justice and carry it everywhere. Mel Brooks might like to film a farce of it, but the poetry and arts history in the story are very fine.

Proliferation of the F-word in the novel seems calculated as endearing slang from Augie, et al., but it fails. The word invented to create sounds of awkward or violent sex-like that portrayed in low budget pornographic films starring ugly people, is not endearing. Some may still find the word amusing, however.

Armchair Interviews says: For mature audiences.

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All Things Considered - A Great Book

All things considered, I found this to be a great book. It was entertaining, evocative and brought to life a quirky character much like Block's Rhodenbarr or Monk. If you like slightly flawed anti-hero "defective detectives", this book will delight you.

If you prefer shallow unrealistic caricatures such as the lead schmuck on "24" and can't get past political views unlike your own, then you might want to take a pass.

As resident of the area in described in the book, I found the author's descriptions very accurate (except for a possible typo confusing Hwy 10 with Hwy 100) and found his assessments dead-on.

It's always a treat to find a good new author to read and Mr. Schneider is definitely one of those rare finds.

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If Marlowe lived in Minnesota . . .
If Spade spouted poetry . . .
If the Big Lebowski were a small-time private eye . . .
Meet Augie Boyer, private detective

?Once upon a time, Sam Spade, Miles Roby, and Bill Maher all went to Bart Schneider?s laboratory. There was an accident?a spill, a flash of lightning?and only one character came out. Schneider named him Augie Boyer. You?ll love the big lug.?
?Sean Doolittle, author of The Cleanup

Private eye Augie Boyer is out of sorts. He?s been smoking too much Pontchartrain Pootie, his favorite varietal herb, and scarfing down an excess of fried food. He can?t stop thinking of his therapist wife, who left him for another therapist, and despite his new girlfriend?s best efforts, Augie?s testosterone levels have sunk lower than the winter temperatures of Minneapolis.

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, a beautiful, blond violinist with multiple personalities walks into Augie?s office. She draws him into a complex case that involves neo-Nazi violin collectors, mind-control specialists, and thousands of antiabortion activists who?ve come to the Twin Cities for a rally that will bring new meaning to Labor Day. But when Augie uncovers an assassination plot, he must scramble to prevent a deranged act of political violence that strikes dangerously close to home.

With wit, compassion, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, Bart Schneider creates a lovable yet flawed character and delivers a thrilling contemporary tale.

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