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mmseitz822's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book. The whole story read like poetry to me. I know many people won't like the writing style with run-on sentences and lots of descriptions, but I found it beautiful. The town and characters came alive in the pages and seemed so real. I highly recommend this book!
samwreads's review against another edition
4.0
Date read is approximate. Just realized I read this earlier this summer and forgot to record it.
Anyway, it was great. Awesome writing. Love the Oregon love. Just a little bit of supernatural/spirit stuff to keep things spicy. Interesting characters, great stories.
I will say this: Doyle seems to be so full of love for his characters, and in a way that makes them seem preternaturally good. Yes they do dumb, hurtful things and bring pain and crisis to those around them. But there's always hope. They're always good people. It's always going to be alright. And they're just so damn good at being who they are that they'll get through the rough parts and come out the other side together, as a community.
It's not at all a perfect comparison, but the strength of spirit/character and the author's apparent love for them reminded me a bit of Mark Helprin and Winter's Tale. I think if I had read this book at the same time in life as I had that one (college), I would have loved it unreservedly. As it was, though, it got to be a tad much at times.
Anyway, definitely recommended, especially if you love to love the people you read about.
Anyway, it was great. Awesome writing. Love the Oregon love. Just a little bit of supernatural/spirit stuff to keep things spicy. Interesting characters, great stories.
I will say this: Doyle seems to be so full of love for his characters, and in a way that makes them seem preternaturally good. Yes they do dumb, hurtful things and bring pain and crisis to those around them. But there's always hope. They're always good people. It's always going to be alright. And they're just so damn good at being who they are that they'll get through the rough parts and come out the other side together, as a community.
It's not at all a perfect comparison, but the strength of spirit/character and the author's apparent love for them reminded me a bit of Mark Helprin and Winter's Tale. I think if I had read this book at the same time in life as I had that one (college), I would have loved it unreservedly. As it was, though, it got to be a tad much at times.
Anyway, definitely recommended, especially if you love to love the people you read about.
cathyjtp's review against another edition
4.0
The first part of this novel is relentlessly anecdotal and you wonder if it's going to progress, coalesce or something as it meanders along. The author gives us long lists, odd and later purposeful peregrinations, allusions to Irish legends. Doyle was known to be a Catholic novelist but churchiness and institutional faith are almost completely absent, though a bit of scripture reading finds its way in. Thought provoking.
klingcooper's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reads like poetry
meghan111's review against another edition
5.0
If you're going to visit the Oregon Coast, you must read this novel. So good - like, Sherman Alexie good.
I was hooked by page 16, by the sly humor and the descriptions of the natural world and the residents of the fictional town. The two employees of Neawanaka's Public Works Department discuss their jobs:
"Billy, he says quietly. Billy. We heal things. That's what we do. That's why we're here. We've always agreed on that. Right from the start. We do as well as we can. We fail a lot but we keep after it. What else can we do? We have brains that still work so we have to apply them to pain. Brains against pain. That's the motto. That's the work. That's what we do. Soon enough we will not have brains that work, so therefore."
The appeal of this is the writing and setting. There's a talking crow and some digressions into stuff like the language of bears. It's wonderful. It meanders.
I was hooked by page 16, by the sly humor and the descriptions of the natural world and the residents of the fictional town. The two employees of Neawanaka's Public Works Department discuss their jobs:
"Billy, he says quietly. Billy. We heal things. That's what we do. That's why we're here. We've always agreed on that. Right from the start. We do as well as we can. We fail a lot but we keep after it. What else can we do? We have brains that still work so we have to apply them to pain. Brains against pain. That's the motto. That's the work. That's what we do. Soon enough we will not have brains that work, so therefore."
The appeal of this is the writing and setting. There's a talking crow and some digressions into stuff like the language of bears. It's wonderful. It meanders.
arielamandah's review against another edition
4.0
I am completely taken with Brian Doyle’s writing right now. Very similar to Martin Marten in structure, this book churned with darker, deeper, more challenging things. Ultimately it gets to the goodness of people, the way that community is woven out of disparate threads, and the way that life throws wrenches into our plans, but how we adjust, realign, and still find joy and ways to love one another. Doyle’s writing is such a generous, comforting spot in a difficult world. Somehow his characters make me believe that despite it all, with a little grace and resilience we’ll all be OK.
shiloniz's review against another edition
5.0
I do believe that Mink River has the great honor of being the best book I have read all year. There is nothing else to say, I was deeply moved, and I still am. I wished the whole time reading it, that Mink River would go on forever. Sadly that could not be the case, but I am grateful for the time I did get to spend lost in this captivating world on my most beloved Oregon coast.
wsk56's review against another edition
3.0
There is much to like in this tale of a small coastal Oregon town. Many wonderful characters, a strong sense of place including the town and the natural environment of the Pacific Northwest, a talking crow, interesting stories of Native Americans and Ireland, and a very lyrical style of prose. It is not an easy book to read, due to a multitude of characters to keep straight and the unusual style of writing. The reward is an immersion into a place you will remember as if it were a real place. A quintessential Pacific Northwest tale.