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Shades of Luz |  | Author: John Gorman
Publisher: All Things That Matter Press
Buy New: $16.99
as of 11/24/2009 10:18 CST details
New (1) Used (1) from $16.99
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 250019
Media: Paperback
Pages: 184
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 098409847X
EAN: 9780984098477
ASIN: 098409847X
Publication Date: August 31, 2009
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Shades of Luz is a modern day Don Quixote, a picaresque rich in characters searching for love and meaning in an otherwise manic-paced world. Grad School dropout Benny Fluke goes from stuffed animal peddler to thumb-wrestling champ. He is a monkey trainer, philosopher, wine snob, and a strip club connoisseur. Above and beyond all that he is a romantic at heart and is desperate to win the love of Luz the hot-blooded, ambitious beauty who keeps boomeranging into his life. Something from Luz's past inextricably bonds them together and Benny will not stop until she is his. Their delightful repartee is crisp, witty, and sumptuously engaging.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Gorman Finds Just The Right Mix In This Whimsical Lovestory! November 18, 2009
NY Book Cafe (Staten Island, NY)
Title: Shades of Luz
Author: John Gorman
ISBN: 978-0-9840984-7-7
Publisher: All Things That Matter Press
Shades of Luz is a whimsical love story with a touch of comedy. Gorman's quirky little novel is certainly entertaining for those with a sense a humor. Packed with suprises, Gorman displays his skill as a writer with this refreshing, yet somewhat unusual coming of age story. I would say Gorman's writing is compatible with Ben Winters and his quirky novels, Pride, Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.
This story centers around Benny, a graduate school dropout. Without his graduate degree, times are tough. While he is selling stuffed animals on the street, he comes to meet Luz. Benny falls for Luz and falls hard. Luz, although periodically in and out of Benny's life, attempts to persuade him to go back to school and finish his thesis. Then there is Mungo. Through a strange series of circumstances, these two become a big part of each other's life, as Benny is forced to work for Mungo, who is an underworld bookie. We are then thrown into the bizarre world of thumb-wrestling, however, with Gorman's descriptiveness, one would think it was an MMA competition. Nevertheless, through it all, Benny's heart is set on Luz. Benny and Luz are subsequently reunited at his family's house, as the two of them share a memorable holiday dinner that neither of them will soon forget.
Gorman manages to keep this story going. Although many of the themes in this novel are a bit peculiar, and at times, a little eccentric, he does a fine job in keeping the interest of the reader. The characters are certainly rich while Benny is on his quest to get his girl. For a quick humorous fiction fix, Shades of Luz delivers!
[...]
A Brave Work of Genius November 10, 2009
Martha Bautista (Peru)
Garcia Marquez and Borges have always been my favorite writers and now I am adding John Gorman along as another. There's a magical way about his writing that reminds me of Garcia Marquez. John's vocabulary is unbelievable. He is also very philosophical. That's why he reminds me of Borges. John doesn't seem like the typical American writer. I loved this book so much I didn't want it to end. It really made me cry, but it made me happy too.
I would recommend this book to anybody who wanted to read great literature. I bought copies for my two closest cousins.
Awesome Read November 9, 2009
Anthony Oprisiu (Forest Hills, NY)
Shades of Luz is full of surprises. It's action-packed, funny and sometimes even a little weird, but in a good way. Benny Fluke is the kind of guy I want to be. He marches to the beat of his own drummer. I especially love the thumb-wrestling part. It reminds me of my junior high school days, but Gorman's descriptions rock. He makes thumb-wrestling seem like a blend of Ultimate Fighting and WWF Wrestling - Old School style. Glass Joe and Bald Bull are perfect names. I really loved this book, but I want to see it as a movie.
Tobey Maguire would make the perfect Benny. Penelope has to be Luz. Two thumbs up my friend.
Watch This Writer October 20, 2009
J. L. Knox (San Antonio, TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Shades of Luz pulled me in with vivid, outlandish scenes and an engaging narrative voice. Full of passages that are equal parts innocent and strange, vivid and experimental, I found myself intrigued from the get and absorbed until the end. As a writer, I was left wondering, just how did an emerging author pull this off? As a reader, I was left wondering, when's Gorman's next book coming?
Pleasantly Unsettled September 23, 2009
Debra Tenney (Honolulu)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Brute vulnerability emerges through the voice of Benny Fluke, a young street vendor exploited by an underground stock market operation that mistreats monkeys and geniuses alike. Beneath the surface of Benny's comme ci, comme ca disposition is a man yearning to break from his swirling patterns of dependence in order to venture into the dangerous adult world of survival. Gorman seamlessly weaves several unexpected plot threads together, creating a tapestry of unscrupulous industry and inimitable romance. A novel of exploitation, remorse, and hunger; it leaves its reader pleasantly unsettled.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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