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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it but suspect Obama won’t.
It's a little weird to be classifying a book quite obviously based on Obama's first presidential election read as historical fiction but here we are, more than a decade from that time of optimism, hope and change. Who knew that we would end up here today, when the message about believing in our better angels no longer quite rings true.
But enough about the depressing political climate of today and unto the book. One of the things that I wanted to do this year was to read more literary fiction and when I came across Vinson Cunningham's book, I thought that this sounded like something original and refreshing. However, if I had to describe Cunningham's book in a word, I would use turgid. I am usually a pretty fast reader but his prose and the way that the plot meanders really lost me; so much so that I nearly gave up on it but I kept pressing on in the hopes that I would find something enjoyable. Alas, it didn't happen.
Great Expectations is at least semi-biographical. Ostensibly, it's about a young black man who accidentally stumbles into the job of an election campaign fund-raising staffer. Before joining, he has very little understanding of how such campaigns or fund-raising works but he gradually assimilates and even becomes pretty proficient at his job. While sharing his observations about the campaign and how well it is going, David also ruminates about his life and the choices that he's made to his current career path.
Thematically, he keeps coming back to his Christian faith and the allusions that the campaign makes to this faith, be it overtly or subtextually. He also questions what it means to be successful and black in the America of that time. However, I didn't find any of his observations to be particularly awe-inducing or his past particularly illuminating, which meant that most of his observations regarding the Senator (i.e. Obama) felt like it was almost like a factual portrayal of what had happened at the time rather than any insight that was being shared. I did not find any real connection between David's life and how it is impacted by the campaign either, so I didn't really understand why this book had to be set against the backdrop of this campaign.
But enough about the depressing political climate of today and unto the book. One of the things that I wanted to do this year was to read more literary fiction and when I came across Vinson Cunningham's book, I thought that this sounded like something original and refreshing. However, if I had to describe Cunningham's book in a word, I would use turgid. I am usually a pretty fast reader but his prose and the way that the plot meanders really lost me; so much so that I nearly gave up on it but I kept pressing on in the hopes that I would find something enjoyable. Alas, it didn't happen.
Great Expectations is at least semi-biographical. Ostensibly, it's about a young black man who accidentally stumbles into the job of an election campaign fund-raising staffer. Before joining, he has very little understanding of how such campaigns or fund-raising works but he gradually assimilates and even becomes pretty proficient at his job. While sharing his observations about the campaign and how well it is going, David also ruminates about his life and the choices that he's made to his current career path.
Thematically, he keeps coming back to his Christian faith and the allusions that the campaign makes to this faith, be it overtly or subtextually. He also questions what it means to be successful and black in the America of that time. However, I didn't find any of his observations to be particularly awe-inducing or his past particularly illuminating, which meant that most of his observations regarding the Senator (i.e. Obama) felt like it was almost like a factual portrayal of what had happened at the time rather than any insight that was being shared. I did not find any real connection between David's life and how it is impacted by the campaign either, so I didn't really understand why this book had to be set against the backdrop of this campaign.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
medium-paced
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
no quote because audio
3💫
Never did I think I’d read published Obama self insert fanfic that’s also a memoir. And yet. This was an experience I could’ve done without tho.
3💫
Never did I think I’d read published Obama self insert fanfic that’s also a memoir. And yet. This was an experience I could’ve done without tho.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An observation of the Black bourgeoisie without a critique. Very liberal.
great expectations as a title is so genius actually
thank you netgalley and hogarth! if y'all wanna send me one of those great expectations hats i would be eternally grateful <3
reading this book as a current law student was honestly such a trip, and i encourage all fellow law students to read it. the amount of "you should go to law school" contained in these pages made me laugh every time. never gets old!!
aside from that personal connection to my sense of humor, though, this book is incredibly clever. vinson cunningham so deftly weaves the narrative of main character david into the presidential campaign that serves as a background here. these parallel tales of growth and exploration, on different levels and to different audiences, provides such an interesting journey for the reader. we are able to see the impact that the campaign has on david and those around him, but we are also able to see the impact the campaign has on the senator/candidate from david's perspective, which is equally compelling.
and i mean this as a complete compliment, but it was kind of giving abc's scandal at times. this is a book about relationships, and i thought the way the characters interacted with one another here was seriously compelling.
cunningham is obviously a talented writer. i was struck by the force of his prose on multiple occasions throughout my reading experience. i really appreciated the attention he paid to place and the influence that geography has on a person.
i was left hanging on a few storylines, though, that i had wished were wrapped up more concretely. the pacing, too, left a little to be desired at times, dragging certain moments on longer than necessary. but on the whole, this is a powerful and impressive debut novel.
and if this doesn't appear on obama list of book recommendations this year we know why lmao
thank you netgalley and hogarth! if y'all wanna send me one of those great expectations hats i would be eternally grateful <3
reading this book as a current law student was honestly such a trip, and i encourage all fellow law students to read it. the amount of "you should go to law school" contained in these pages made me laugh every time. never gets old!!
aside from that personal connection to my sense of humor, though, this book is incredibly clever. vinson cunningham so deftly weaves the narrative of main character david into the presidential campaign that serves as a background here. these parallel tales of growth and exploration, on different levels and to different audiences, provides such an interesting journey for the reader. we are able to see the impact that the campaign has on david and those around him, but we are also able to see the impact the campaign has on the senator/candidate from david's perspective, which is equally compelling.
and i mean this as a complete compliment, but it was kind of giving abc's scandal at times. this is a book about relationships, and i thought the way the characters interacted with one another here was seriously compelling.
cunningham is obviously a talented writer. i was struck by the force of his prose on multiple occasions throughout my reading experience. i really appreciated the attention he paid to place and the influence that geography has on a person.
i was left hanging on a few storylines, though, that i had wished were wrapped up more concretely. the pacing, too, left a little to be desired at times, dragging certain moments on longer than necessary. but on the whole, this is a powerful and impressive debut novel.
and if this doesn't appear on obama list of book recommendations this year we know why lmao