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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
Implausible, occasionally offensive, but a fast enough read that I kept going. I got it free from Amazon's first reads program, but I'd like my couple of hours back.
Gave it 2 stars instead of one because there are moments when a better book peeks out from behind it.
Gave it 2 stars instead of one because there are moments when a better book peeks out from behind it.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Very interesting premise to start, then lots and lots of very wordy introspection of two overly self aware protagonists, yet then somehow very fascinating by the end. Very self aware protagonists: nothing much left to wonder about or imagine by the end of the book. But after sort of just sticking with it here and there for a while, found it harder to put down towards the end.
To be transparent, I did not complete this book. I thought the premise was interesting but after struggling to maintain interest on every page I abandoned the novel about 35% of the way through. Sometimes one has to evaluate whether the investment of time is worth it in this short life we have. The story line was pretty good, the characters were ok and I actually thought that the story of the villain in this novel was by far much more interesting than the main character. Unfortunately it seemed like the writer was trying to hard to "be deep and insightful", instead he just ended up coming off and repetitive and too wordy without the substance or imagery.
DNF. Loved the first chapter, but story went nowhere. Much to slow to be called a thriller.
The author has obviously fallen in love with his sentences, crafting each in a manner that one will either love or hate. I enjoyed the precise crafting, but others may find it overblown and pretentious.
The premise is clever, and delightful when one realizes that a thief is going to get what's coming to him. And then the thief refuses to give up, turning what could have been a simple tit-for-tat exercise into a psychological game that becomes much more dangerous.
The psychological shifts are created as carefully as the point-of-view shifts from good to evil, Nazi to Jew, Nick to Peke, in a very clever manner. The notion of what it means to survive a holocaust, to lose everything that matters to someone, or what it means to connect as immigrants to the US is carefully examined.
The premise is clever, and delightful when one realizes that a thief is going to get what's coming to him. And then the thief refuses to give up, turning what could have been a simple tit-for-tat exercise into a psychological game that becomes much more dangerous.
The psychological shifts are created as carefully as the point-of-view shifts from good to evil, Nazi to Jew, Nick to Peke, in a very clever manner. The notion of what it means to survive a holocaust, to lose everything that matters to someone, or what it means to connect as immigrants to the US is carefully examined.
I got this as a free Amazon Prime monthly ebook, and just loved it. Well written in a sort of Hemingwayesque style. The story revolves around a Holocaust survivor whose household belongings are stolen by scam movers. Simple enough, but then it plunges the thief and the protagonist into an existential journey of memory.
I liked the way the story was told alternately from the characters' inner voices in 3rd person/present tense. The tension builds and I found myself turning page after page to find out what happens. Lots of emotion in matter of fact simple sentence fragments. And normally, I hate novels with lots of questions, instead of real writing, but these questions were well done and I felt they contributed much to the story.
I liked the way the story was told alternately from the characters' inner voices in 3rd person/present tense. The tension builds and I found myself turning page after page to find out what happens. Lots of emotion in matter of fact simple sentence fragments. And normally, I hate novels with lots of questions, instead of real writing, but these questions were well done and I felt they contributed much to the story.
What seemed like an interesting idea ended up bogged down by the writing style. The author loves fractured sentences. Yes, three word sentences are great to break up a paragraph, but too many paragraphs of three word sentences is disconcerting.
Also, calling this a thriller is wrong. Too many chapters ramble on about intent. The author tries too hard to "enter" into various character's thoughts which often brings the "movement" to a screeching thud.
In truth, with proper editing, this might have been a good novella.
I read this is optioned for a movie. Yep, strip out the nonsense and it will be a straight to streaming flick. I don't know, will is be more moving that the novel? Hmm.
Move along, folks... more like move away from reading this book.
Also, calling this a thriller is wrong. Too many chapters ramble on about intent. The author tries too hard to "enter" into various character's thoughts which often brings the "movement" to a screeching thud.
In truth, with proper editing, this might have been a good novella.
I read this is optioned for a movie. Yep, strip out the nonsense and it will be a straight to streaming flick. I don't know, will is be more moving that the novel? Hmm.
Move along, folks... more like move away from reading this book.
Interesting plot and resolution, and when there's action, it's good - but oh my gawd, how much introspection can we stand? On and on and ON about how his past affects how he views his possessions and why he doesn't tell his wife things. And on and ON. We GET it already.