Goose Music

by Richard Horan

Book Overview

Returning home for his father's funeral to find himself written out of the will and his brother Charlie murdered, Leslie begins an investigation into his brother's life and death that leads him... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586420178
• ISBN13: 9781586420178
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Steerforth Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Nothing short of brilliant

Horan has once again crafted a poignant, insightful, masterful work. GOOSE MUSIC is an amazingly intellectual and beautiful account of family values, pre-destination, and, of course, the overwhelming battle between good and evil. GOOSE MUSIC is heartily recommended for any reader looking for an entertaining, inspiring work guaranteed to make you look at your surroundings a little differently.

Excellnt book that really hooks the reader

Let me first say that I hate the circus. I'm not a big fan of Native American culture nor any kind of mythology. I've been to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and (being a life-long city boy), didn't really like it. So the fact that I gave a book about these vary subjects five stars should say something about the author's talent. It was very difficult to put this book down. Horan wrote from the outset that, "things are not what they seem," preparing the reader for a surprise ending. This really engaged me as I looked for various hints and clues. The great majority of the book is written in the form of a letter from Leslie Siconski to his sister and brother-in-law concerning the final few years of their recluse brother, Charlie. As Charlie's life and untimely death are slowly reavealed, this reader could not help think of it as a prelude to some greater story. Charlie's life tells of several conflicts which the reader assumes will be resolved by Leslie, even as he approaches the end of this 264 page work.If I were to offer a couple items that I disliked about the book, one would be the vocabulary. I consider myself to have an excellent vocabulary (at least that's what Reader's Digest tells me in their vocabulary quizes). However, Horan's vocabulary dwarfs mine considerably. There were more than a few times I had to grab my trusty dictionary to figure out what he was trying to tell me. Also, many of the chapters end in a poem written by the late Charlie Siconski. While I understand the poem exists to give the reader insight into Charlie's mind and add to his "spirituality," I'm not a poetry fan and was slightly frustrated when a good chapter ended with a poem. However, this is more a fault of the reader than the author. Horan has written an excellent book and I highly recommend it to you.

Goose Music Has Something for Everyone

Since Richard Horan grew up in this area, he and Goose Music have been getting quite alot of press this spring/summer. All of it has been quite favorable, I might add. I was curious to read a rather scathing review on this web site from a book club in Baraboo. Since I am also a member of a book club, we decided to read Goose Music for ourselves, especially since it has been prominently displayed at our local bookstore. Out of eleven of us, nine read it in one day, unable to put it down. We collectively agreed that it was extremely well written and showed not only the intelligence of the author, but also his gift of humorous character description, laugh-out-loud dialectical rhetoric and imaginative(bizarre!)dream sequences. I would like to read it again, more slowly this time, and search for hints or clues that would indicate that there was more to this story than meets the eye (I don't want to give the ending away!). We gave it a 4 and a half.

A New Talent to Watch For: Richard Horan

After reading a rave review in Publisher's Weekly of Richard Horan's new novel Goose Music, I had to get my hands on it. I couldn't put this entertaining and intelligent book down! The mysterious world of the circus coupled with (of all things!) Native American folklore....throw in a murder and a cast of farcical characters.....and you've got a story that grabs you and doesn't let go until the last darn page. I'm looking forward to reading more works by this refreshing and talented author who has a gift for storytelling and dialectical prose.