Brig Berthold
Know what you're getting, going in.
This is not mainstream literature. It's brain candy and that's okay! It's pulpy and it moves and the characters (plus their interactions) are not supposed to be hyper-realistic.
Edith Wharton lead me on, then pulled my ending away from me. Then, when I thought all was lost, she lead me down the hopeful path again. Again, in vain. Only later do I discover that, what I esteemed to be the perfect ending, might have been made all-the-more fabulous.
Brilliantly Written. Very Easy. DO NOT SKIP THE INTRODUCTION! Which was incredibly difficult to get through, so buck up.
Loved it. Love these characters. Love this series. Loved the ending leading to more.
Much of the criticism and praise for this book seem well-placed. Caught in Ali's shadow? Absolutely. Worthy of his own recognition and a place among boxing legend? Not a doubt. My issue was the writing/editing. Who decided we needed to know that Joe rode a 1500cc motorcycle from Beufort to Charleston to hop a plane? This level of immaterial detail clouded the entire narrative and was distracting. It caused me to wonder whether Joe wrote it himself (his name on the by line), at which point I forgive him for not being a writer, or it was a ghostwriter (plausible, of course) who is barely passible, or the editing was amateurish. Either way, as much of this delivery was awful as were the interesting stories and details that made Joe's life worthy of a book.
Rarely have I been privileged enough to take such a journey as this. This book has it all... literally. It would be nearly impossible to be disappointed by this book.
I have so many thoughts I ought not attempt any further review. Let me simply add, this is one of the most comprehensively written books I've read. Another epic of its caliber that comes to mind is The Company by Robert Littell.
There are a bunch of reasons to recommend this book.
First, the moment when Austen breaks the proverbial fourth wall and rails against those who decry the merits of reading novels was so satisfying. Despite being a traditional faux pas for the narrator's voice to come through at all, Jane Austen does so with impunity and—at least in my eyes—should be applauded for it.
Additionally, this book was the closest thing we'll probably ever get to what a Jane Austen mystery/thriller. Seeing her use her formidable language capabilities in such whimsical and uncommon a way was beyond fun. She was flippant in showing off and I loved it.
Henry Tilney is one of the Austen's best heroes, by far, and it's a crime we didn't get more time with him. I don't believe he's one of the most romantic. He loses out in every way. But he's the most fun and filled with such bridled personality, it's a shame we don't develop our appreciation for him further.
I'm sorry to say the ending was a bit rough in terms of pacing but, because it's Jane, she gets a free pass. I'm going to chalk that up to my being distracted by the circumstances of life, rather than freely admitting she did anything wrong.
There, you have it. My bias revealed. Don't judge me. You're not my cole mine supervisor.
The first half is in Gehrig's own words/voice, pulled from ghostwriter articles published at the time and some they only just discovered. The second half is more straight biography with a hefty emphasis on the ‘27 Murderer's Row club and how he fit in, contrasted with them.
You'd think that format would prove redundant but it never felt that way. Alan Gaff did a great job brining us a concise and sharp biographical account. He brings personalities to life, particularly Babe Ruth, spending enough time explaining Ruth to emphasize just how different Gehrig was.
The first half is narrated by Angelo Diloreto and Kyle Tait helms the second-half. People who know, realize that Kyle Tait is one of the best baseball audiobook narrators in the business.
How do you review this book? The writing was inspiring. The depth of thought and analysis of culture was almost devastating. His cynicism was refreshing and beguiling. I loved it but I acknowledge how dangerous this book could be. Not danger in the “harmful” sense but danger in the “shatter the illusion” sense. I had no expectations. Now, I'm reeling. I'm afraid to give it five stars but I want to. I'm not sure I could adequately back it up. This was odd, important, and I'm glad I had this experience.
Whoa... this was a great. The premise gave voice to the very interesting philosophical questions at the heart of the short story. According to Blake Crouch, it's only one of a series, written across genres, wherein the same questions are posed by wildly different authors. Super cool idea.
My 5 year old enjoyed most of it. And I know it's not FOR me but I do have to listen to it, as well. Some parts were laugh-out-loud funny but most of it made me feel like the creators didn't value their audience's intelligence too highly. I don't love that for my kid. Just my opinion.
