Marian
I'm not a beach read kind of girl, and this is definitely that kind of book. I felt like Conroy tried to pack every idea he had ever had into one book and it was all over the place. It addressed race issues, class issues, homosexuality, had a homocidal maniac, orphans and upper class all mixed together. Very disappointed. I only kept reading because I hate to leave a book unfinished.
Really this should be zero stars. DNF. The constant references to phallic energy and all of the mansplaining put me over the edge.
I had high hopes for this book since I liked her previous novel, The Historian, but I couldn't get into it. There was too much background on the supposed main character in the beginning that just dragged on and on... By the end when I knew who he was I just felt sorry for him and thought that the author mistreated the serious issue of mental illness and its treatment. I really hated the ending when the main character simply checks himself out and seems to be fine. Maybe she couldn't find a way out of what she had written, but it seemed really weak. With that said, if anyone wants to read it themselves and wants my copy, let me know.
This was a really quick read. Very engaging. Didn't like the ending, but I couldn't see any other way to end it either.
A tough read, but well worth it. Everything I thought I knew about Columbine was not true.
There were some good ideas here (twists that I really didn't see coming), but the writing was terrible. Really not worth my time.
I LOVE Nick Hornby, but this was a struggle. I'm not into football and I thought I could get more out of this book that just recaps of matches, but I was wrong.
There is so much secrecy surrounding this book that I was expecting to be disappointed. Although there were some parts that were slow, I think this was a book I will think about for some time and come back to. Without ruining it for others (which is what the author begs you not to do), I would just say that I would recommend this – I need someone to discuss it with.
I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was perfect at making me feel like I was in the story. Beautifully told.
I usually love anything by Louise Erdrich, but I struggled with this one. It was like three separate stories that wouldn't come together (a dystopian novel about the harm we are doing to the earth; a second about the way we treat women's bodies; and third a story about the poor way Native American's have been treated and how they will possibly not only survive but thrive because of what we have done to the environment). Strangely, even though I didn't really care for it I wanted to know more at the end. Too much was left unsaid. And characters just disappeared without a second glance, which didn't seem to affect anyone greatly. It is appropriate for our time and I could see where she was going with a lot of her ideas, but I didn't think that it held together.
Was really disappointed since I had high hopes for this book. Having grown up in Kansas just a few years prior to the author, I could relate to and see a lot of what she was getting at. But I felt this could have been shortened by 50% and also would have worked better as a series of essays. The timelines were hard to follow since she jumped all over the place in every single chapter. A lot of repetition. And the format of talking to her unborn child was not for me.
Read for the first time in many years. Still as powerful and disturbing as I remember.
Slow start and I really did not like the main character. His lack of depth and self pity for a white privileged male (albeit gay) who is traveling the world was very off putting. I cannot believe that this won the Pulitzer Prize. The writing style was unique, but that was the only interesting thing.
I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. Learned so much about Ethiopia and medicine, but loved every minute. Great read.
I was so disappointed in this book since I loved The Martian. His female character was completely unbelievable and I was galled by the credit he gave to all of the women in the acknowledgements for helping develop the character. He really didn't get it. And the plot line was straight out of Star Wars with just a bunch of technical info thrown in. Don't bother with this one.
Started out well as a nice story about a librarian following her dream to open her own book shop (on wheels), but the last third had too much romance and drama.
I don't get the hype surrounding this book. It was an enjoyable read and certainly very quick, but what is the great appeal? Why is everyone giving it 5 stars? Did I miss something?
The character studies at the beginning really had me hooked, but the ending was too ridiculous. Totally lost me.