Scan barcode
slampizzy's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
jaydonreadsabook's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kimew2023's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This felt very contrived and clunky. I didn't enjoy reading it. To me, the characters seemed unreal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility
ageorge1877's review against another edition
3.0
I ain't gonna lie I'm not entirely sure what John was goin for here
Always try to read a new Steinbeck every summer. Burning Bright has the emotive characters, it has the stunning one liners, it has flashes of the breathtaking, simple descriptions of setting that we've come to expect from the goat. I guess the attempt to clang together the forms of the play and the novella make the scenes feel a little static. It's not quite one thing or the other. The dialogue isn't quite compelling enough to sustain the whole thing, and the settings aren't quite rich enough to get fully absorbed in.
A lot of that comes down to the changes in the setting. So what's happening here is the same plot is carrying on chronologically, but for some reason all the characters keep changing jobs in between. It's like one story told in three parallel universes, one at the circus, one at a farm, one on a boat. And I just dont know... why. Lmao. Is it something to do with the play's concluding message that every kind of person has a responsibility to raise every child? Or was Steinbeck just fuckin about? I respect it. I just dont know what it's adding.
Fair play though it was fun. Some pretty wild gymnastics to get to its weirdly moral dismount. Friend Ed definitely entering the list of favourite Steinbeck characters.
'It is so easy a thing to give - only great men have the courage and courtesy and, yes, the generosity to receive'
Always try to read a new Steinbeck every summer. Burning Bright has the emotive characters, it has the stunning one liners, it has flashes of the breathtaking, simple descriptions of setting that we've come to expect from the goat. I guess the attempt to clang together the forms of the play and the novella make the scenes feel a little static. It's not quite one thing or the other. The dialogue isn't quite compelling enough to sustain the whole thing, and the settings aren't quite rich enough to get fully absorbed in.
A lot of that comes down to the changes in the setting. So what's happening here is the same plot is carrying on chronologically, but for some reason all the characters keep changing jobs in between. It's like one story told in three parallel universes, one at the circus, one at a farm, one on a boat. And I just dont know... why. Lmao. Is it something to do with the play's concluding message that every kind of person has a responsibility to raise every child? Or was Steinbeck just fuckin about? I respect it. I just dont know what it's adding.
Fair play though it was fun. Some pretty wild gymnastics to get to its weirdly moral dismount. Friend Ed definitely entering the list of favourite Steinbeck characters.
'It is so easy a thing to give - only great men have the courage and courtesy and, yes, the generosity to receive'
rarchar's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
fmcculley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75