Reviews

Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth

daffodill37's review against another edition

(Audio)
3 stars
This was an interesting perspective story, since I'm not very familiar with Res Life and Native stories in general. However, the pacing was off. I wasn't really sure where the story was going until about 75% of the way through. I was intrigued by the characters pretty quickly.

annakim's review against another edition

3.0

I really liked Eric Gansworth's other book, If I Ever Get Out of Here, but this one was a little hard to get through. The plot picked up more than halfway through the book and then slowed down until it limped to the end, which, incidentally, felt a bit rushed.

lphel's review against another edition

4.0

It’s helpful to read Gansworth’s other novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, before this one as the many of the characters and plot lines overlap (even though this is technically not a sequel.) This is my least favorite of the two books, but I enjoyed listening to Gansworth himself narrating on the audiobook.

thatbookishwriter's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

sharpiemyshoe's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

heydayzee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

spiderfelt's review against another edition

3.0

Not bad, not great. Maybe other folks would enjoy the Beatles theme more than I did. It's been a while since I met a main character I loathed as much as I did Carson, the driver of much of the story's action. While his narcissism is essentially the point by the end of the book, it was tough to bear his narration along the way.

lizzieh96's review against another edition

2.0

There were times when I felt invested in this novel, and the dramatic moments really shine. But I also spent way too much time being frustrated with the characters. The stakes were so varied and there were so many plotlines, all of which, again, resolved themselves in dramatic and emotional ways, but overall it just kind of felt meh.

lazygal's review against another edition

4.0

Life on the Rez isn't easy, but neither is life in the city. Set in 1980s upstate New York, on the Tuscarora reservation and nearby cities, this isn't a sequel to If I Ever Get Out of Here but is set in the same world, with many of the same characters. The blend of reservation life and life outside is skillful, and there's nothing about the lives of Carson, Maggi, Lewis and their families and friends that won't be both familiar and real for readers. The "real world" intrudes in the form of a racist diner, racist coworkers and John Lennon's death - and there's a squicky couple of relationships. For readers looking for another view of Indian life, this (and the previous book) are must reads.

ARC provided by publisher.

snchard's review against another edition

2.0

DNF about halfway, but not because it was bad! It just wasn't interesting? "Slice of life" bildungsromans are just really not my thing, and while the characters were interesting, it was not really exciting. I picked this up after hearing Gansworth speak on a panel about toxic masculinity, and I really wanted to love it. This belongs in the "great book but just not my genre" pile.