You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
While it starts off dark and hilarious it ends on a high note. At first I wasn't sure where it was spiraling— thinking that things couldn't possibly get more absurd. The absurdity gave way to a clairty that was warm but didn't feel too kitschy. The end was forgiving, just as the title suggests.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
If I had to go back and read this from the beginning--I wouldn't. But since I started it, I finished it, and ended up sort of liking it. Honestly, I found myself wondering for the entire span of the book--nearly 500 pages--WHY this won the Women's Prize for Fiction. I know Homes is a woman, but this book's treatment of women is totally bizarre and peripheral. But, then again, pretty much all of the characters are drawn that way.
This book takes an incredibly traumatic event, layers on another incredibly traumatic event (all in the first 50 pages) and then lets the story reel out from there, crazily unspooling with more and more characters and absurd situations. This book is supposed to be satire, black comedy, but is also sitcom-like in the way the main character, Harold, builds this community and life out of nothing, somehow (i.e. he's a very rich white dude), and everything turns out lovely in the end. You can practically hear the sitcom music swelling during certain scenes, mostly toward the end of the book.
Maybe this book will strike you as "refreshingly different" or "irreverantly quirky," but it struck me as absurd and long and mostly ridiculous.
This book takes an incredibly traumatic event, layers on another incredibly traumatic event (all in the first 50 pages) and then lets the story reel out from there, crazily unspooling with more and more characters and absurd situations. This book is supposed to be satire, black comedy, but is also sitcom-like in the way the main character, Harold, builds this community and life out of nothing, somehow (i.e. he's a very rich white dude), and everything turns out lovely in the end. You can practically hear the sitcom music swelling during certain scenes, mostly toward the end of the book.
Maybe this book will strike you as "refreshingly different" or "irreverantly quirky," but it struck me as absurd and long and mostly ridiculous.
I'm not sure what to think, to be honest. The main character was whiny but not horrible. Lots of things happened in this book, yet it felt like nothing did. It was a mostly compelling read, but you never feel any connection to anyone or anything. Maybe this will work better as a film, as meaningful glances don't translate to text well. Not the worst I've read, but not the best either. A solid meh.
A conservative satire that seeks to present the middle class to itself as something worthwhile simply by the trick of being self aware. Occasionally amusing.
It's only the fact that I hate stopping a book half way through that I finished this. It was mostly pretty bad. A story of a guy getting his life together that started ok and with an interesting premise and then just got really silly and annoying. It's very much a feel good book but you gotta check your brain at the door before commencing. It did have the odd enjoyable scene but still, not worth the effort I reckon.
funny
informative
reflective
slow-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
dark
emotional
funny
medium-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
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
a bit draggy in parts and a lot of the nixon stuff went over my head but overall such a lighthearted(?) and kinda warming, sweet book - despite a lot of the content matter being darker and extremely sad… idk yeah i liked it, really nice writing from Homes as always.
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes