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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF'd at p. 86 / 9%. Minor spoiler behind a tag below (fair warning if you're on a platform that doesn't handle spoiler tags well)
This has been on my to-read list for a few years and I was excited when Libby notified me one of my libraries finally got a copy, but oof:
(1) ~900 pages better be interesting and so far - very little of this was
(2) I am not into this writing. I love a long sentence as much as the next gal, but I should not have to reread a sentence 3 times because lengthy interrupters so thoroughly detail it. Also some of the writing I thought was just plain bad:
This has been on my to-read list for a few years and I was excited when Libby notified me one of my libraries finally got a copy, but oof:
(1) ~900 pages better be interesting and so far - very little of this was
(2) I am not into this writing. I love a long sentence as much as the next gal, but I should not have to reread a sentence 3 times because lengthy interrupters so thoroughly detail it. Also some of the writing I thought was just plain bad:
“I’m real pleased Bill Donovan made sure our paths crossed,” he drawled, stretching his Mississippi vowels like rubber bands and letting them snap back on the consonants.
Wtf does that even mean (I think it means "I have never actually spent time in the South")
(3) I never like when I'm left wondering "Does the lack of interesting women characters reflect the demographics of the story's time and culture, or the views of the writer?" I hoped it was the former until
I think maybe the Slough House series has ruined other books of the genre for me. Maybe this one would've gotten better but the last time I powered through a 900ish-page book on that hope it was Murakami and I shan't make that mistake again
Reading (or even listening to) The Company is a real commitment because it is so long. Even though I knew the novel was multigenerational covering almost 50 years of history, I almost gave up when the story set in Germany taking place in the divided Berlin came to an end. Although I didn't and I enjoyed the complete novel, I don't think it ever became as brilliant again.
I knew so little about some of the events (like the Hungarian Revolution) that I started looking up the details and was delighted to find that some of the characters were real people. From that point on, I always looked up the people and events covered in this huge novel. It added something to the story and certainly added to my historical knowledge.
The personalities of the fictional characters are not really fleshed out but as I was busy creating them as fully rounded people in my own brain, that didn't matter in this basically plot/history driven novel.
I probably won't read it again (so many books, so little time) but I'm very glad that I did invest the time required to read it once.
I knew so little about some of the events (like the Hungarian Revolution) that I started looking up the details and was delighted to find that some of the characters were real people. From that point on, I always looked up the people and events covered in this huge novel. It added something to the story and certainly added to my historical knowledge.
The personalities of the fictional characters are not really fleshed out but as I was busy creating them as fully rounded people in my own brain, that didn't matter in this basically plot/history driven novel.
I probably won't read it again (so many books, so little time) but I'm very glad that I did invest the time required to read it once.
Hand up I’m most likely rounding up for a 5 piecer here because I was at the beach all week and this was an ELITE beach read. First real foray into spy/espionage thriller as an adult, and folks you might not realize this but it’s pretty enjoyable and somewhat stressful trying to figure out who’s playing it straight, who’s double crossing who, it a character is a (dare I say it) TRIPLE AGENT? I could not put it down. Really interesting concept in that it basically covers the entirety of the Cold War through the eyes a number of CIA lifers, Soviet spies, and Starik, a (very) bad guy who’s pretty great at trade craft and the principal adversary. Did not know much about the Cold War and this does a great job showing a somewhat alternate history of major events such as the Bay of Pigs, Hungary’s failed revolution, the Russian Putsch attempt etc. Made me spend time searching Wikipedia for more details on the “real history”. Overall quite enjoyable time spent reading this, and I’m a moron so obviously I didn’t see the twist coming #idiotic and I would make an absolutely horrendous spy/counterintelligence officer
One heck of a story.
I LOVE that this story is full of people. People with flaws, ambitions, fears and hopes. People who make mistakes and have to live with the consequences.
Littell really went to the trouble to get a very good understanding of how the Pickle Factory worked during the Cold War.
Many things surprised me, which I love, and I learned loads.
Now the only question is how different the Factory is in real life.
I LOVE that this story is full of people. People with flaws, ambitions, fears and hopes. People who make mistakes and have to live with the consequences.
Littell really went to the trouble to get a very good understanding of how the Pickle Factory worked during the Cold War.
Many things surprised me, which I love, and I learned loads.
Now the only question is how different the Factory is in real life.
This book slowed me down really fast, after being on a book-reading binge for a long while. Maybe these CIA books just aren't my jam, but this was a struggle for me to get through. I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the descriptions and portions of the story that seemed to be pretty exaggerated. As I was reading this book, I thought that this would be super interesting for someone who enjoys nerding out with books written by Navy SEALs or former Special Operations military members; this just wasn't for me.
An entertaining, but long, spy novel that takes you through a lively fictionalized history of the CIA.
adventurous
fast-paced