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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredible book. I couldn't put it down no matter how heartbreaking and maddening it was. I'd have to rate this as the best book I've ever read.
Never thought I’d be crying over Johnny Appleseed but here we are.
Just a wonderful, wonderful book. A real slice of life. It's hard to imagine that somebody actually sat down and wrote this. It feels more like a window being opened into somebody else's life for a brief period. It's almost like the door into John Malkovich's head in Being John Malkovich. Well worth reading.
In two words:
heartbreakingly enjoyable OR beautiful despair OR simply amazing.
heartbreakingly enjoyable OR beautiful despair OR simply amazing.
I'm not really sure I get the hype, but Philip Roth is at turns witty and profound. The Swede is emblematic of the type of sixties America that was rocked by the Counterculture, oblivious to and arguably unwilling to understand how their middle-class life was unintentionally hinged upon the subjugation of the third world. It portrays these era of parents as well-meaning and wholly unable to cope with the increasingly globalized condition of their existences.
While this was a good book, I didn't find it that thought-provoking, and I don't see it's message as being incredibly strong.
While this was a good book, I didn't find it that thought-provoking, and I don't see it's message as being incredibly strong.
4.5
“Tu credi che la guerra sia cattiva? Idea estrema, papà. Non è l’idea che è estrema, è il tentare di cambiare le cose. Tu credi che questo sia estremo? È un problema tuo. Tu chiami questo estremo? No, io credo che estremo sia continuare a fare la solita vita quando succedono queste follie, quando la gente è sfruttata a destra, a sinistra e al centro, e tu puoi tirare avanti, metterti ogni giorno giacca e cravatta e andare a lavorare. Come se niente fosse. Questo è estremo. Estrema stupidità, ecco che cos’è”.
“Tu credi che la guerra sia cattiva? Idea estrema, papà. Non è l’idea che è estrema, è il tentare di cambiare le cose. Tu credi che questo sia estremo? È un problema tuo. Tu chiami questo estremo? No, io credo che estremo sia continuare a fare la solita vita quando succedono queste follie, quando la gente è sfruttata a destra, a sinistra e al centro, e tu puoi tirare avanti, metterti ogni giorno giacca e cravatta e andare a lavorare. Come se niente fosse. Questo è estremo. Estrema stupidità, ecco che cos’è”.
When I think about this book, I think I really liked it. The story of a golden boy whose adult life is crushed after his protester daughter bombs the local post office is certainly compelling. However, and I felt this while reading The Plot Against America, too, there's something about Roth's style that gets to me. At times it feels clipped, while at others I wish he'd hurry up and get to the point already. Argh I can't decide.