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Bird's-Eye View
J.F. Friedman Book Review

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Plot Summary of Bird's-Eye View
"

Warner, August 2001, 24.95, 417 pp.
ISBN 0446528234

    Thirty-four years old Fritz Tulley is a tenured professor at a prestigious Texas university. The teachers and students at the college consider the daredevil a bit of a golden boy not just because of his youthful academia success, but because he is a maverick risk taker. His future is rosy until he meets and falls in love with Marnie, whose husband uses his clout with the university to get Fritz fired.

    Fritz returns home to his family's isolated Maryland estate, but resides in a ramshackle cottage doing drugs and screwing himself into oblivion. His one passion is bird watching in the swamp adjacent to his shack. He's busy taking pictures of the birds when he sees a plane land nearby with three men exiting before one is shot. He later finds out the victim is a Russian stationed in Washington DC and the corner of the land where he was shot belongs to James Roach, an Undersecretary of State with a very shady reputation. Although Fritz does not report the shootings to the police he has done some investigating on his own, which places him and those he cares about in danger.

    Even though BIRDS EYE VIEW is a very serious thriller, J.F. Friedman has a breezy light-hearted style of writing. Thus, when something actual happens to one of the characters, the audience feels shock and disorientation. Although Fritz is no saint he is a decent person caught between a rock and a hard place. Even so, he is trying to do the right thing by bringing a criminal to justice. He is the kind of character that readers want in a series.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Bird's-Eye View
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - preventing/finding assassin
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - government investigator
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - FBI/CIA
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Mid-Atlantic states

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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