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Barrier Island
John D. MacDonald Book Review

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Plot Summary of Barrier Island
"Most of John D. MacDonald's novels are set in and around the state of Florida, but for Barrier Island, he moves around the coast to an area off the coastal waters of Mississippi. However, the theme of the story is similar to a lot of his other books: how man's greed is increasingly destroying the natural beauty of the world. In Barrier Island, a shady land developer named Loomis has concocted a scheme to bilk the government out of a lot of money by selling lots on a barrier island which he knows can never be developed. His plan might have worked if not for the actions of a real-estate developer named Rowley who grows suspicious of the deal and sets out to thwart Loomis' evil plans. "
Bill Brumlow, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Barrier Island
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - white collar fraud or theft
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - small businessman
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - thief/con artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Deep South
Small town? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 2
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - actual description of sex
Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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John D. MacDonald Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
BethG  

SCHOLARS:
Jennifer Sexton  Deepa  


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