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Summary
Summary
In his celebrated novel, Forrest Gump, Groom created a great American hero (Rima Firrone, Ocala Star-Banner), a lovable man for all ages. Now in a rollicking sequel, Forrest guides readers through the age of instant gratification known as the 1980s, featuring adventures which include a dubious recipe for New Coke, another crack at pro football, and an encounter with Oliver North.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The continuing adventures of You-Know-Who. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
An infrequently funny sequel to 1986's wildly successful (via movie) Forrest Gump. This time out, the idiot-savant/moral paragon bumbles through the history of the 1980s. Most of this contemporary Candide's pals are also back from the previous novel: The love of Gump's life, Jenny, has passed into a benevolent ghostdom, legless Lieutenant Dan has fallen on hard times; and the father of Vietnam buddy Bubba has seen Gump's shrimping operation crumble. New to the cast is Forrest's genius son, little Forrest, a sometimes sullen adolescent who drifts into the narrative from time to time to hatch brilliant moneymaking schemes. Gump briefly returns to football, saving the New Orleans Saints from a dead-end season, devises the formula for New Coke, then winds up on a hog farm in West Virginia, where little Forrest shows up with a plan for using pig feces to generate electric power. Gump screws this up, however, and is chased by an angry mob that he eludes by hopping a train, where he again meets up with Lieutenant Dan. The reunited pair take up a homeless life in Washington, until Oliver North recruits Gump to join the Iran-contra fiasco. After Gump takes the fall for North, a dissolute Wall Streeter (Ivan Boesky-like) appears and makes Gump the patsy in an insider-trading scare. From there, it's off to Berlin, where Gump starts the riot that brings down the Wall before he ends up in the middle of the Gulf War, capturing Saddam Hussein. Then it's back to Louisiana, where he and little Forrest revolutionize the oyster business. Finally, Gump crosses paths with Bill Clinton, busy peddling Arkansas real estate. Stupid is as stupid does. Guess which Oscar-winning actor Gump runs into at Elaine's? Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
You can't really blame Winston Groom. After making the Hollywood novice's mistake of agreeing to a share of the net, not the gross, it's only natural that he would feel a little shortchanged where the movie version of his novel Forrest Grump is concerned. So what better way to improve his own personal bottom line than to put good ole Forrest back to work: a sequel, that's the ticket, with all the royalties going to Groom; do not pass Hollywood on the way to the bank, and later, when the studios come calling, think GROSS. And what about the book itself? Don't expect to find anything but candy in this box of chocolates. Isn't that good ole Forrest explaining to Ronald Reagan how he and Ollie North are going to sell guns for hostages? And isn't that Forrest causing a riot that brings down the Berlin Wall? And how about Forrest on the Upper East Side doing a little insider training with his pals "Ivan Bozosky" and "Mike Mulligan" ? And isn't that our boy in Baghdad, taking Saddam Hussein hostage during the Gulf War? Enough already. Too many chocolates may be good for Winston Groom's bank account, but the effect on my stomach is a bit . . . well, gross. (Reviewed August 1995)0671521705Bill Ott
Library Journal Review
An award-winning movie made from an originally disappointing novel (Forrest Gump, LJ 3/1/86) cries out for a sequel: so here it is. Groom gives us the last decade of Gump's life, including the 1995 Academy AwardsR ceremony with the movie sweeping the OscarsR and Gump getting a special award as "The Most Lovable Certified Idiot in America." Along the way he becomes involved in Iran-Contra, insider trading, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Desert Storm. Tapping into another trend, Groom gives Gump an angel to guide him; Jenny, the love of his life and mother of Little Forrest, lived on in the first Gump novel but died in the movie, so Groom kills her by page 15 and brings her back at opportune times. Little Forrest is along for some of this ride, usually with ideas for successful ventures, including the oyster company of the title. (Once again, shellfish from Louisiana save Gump's financial hide.) As a book, this is a media event, so expect demand, with a movie to follow-and maybe even an oyster cookbook. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/95.]-Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Va. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
