Reviews

Lontano da Crum by Gian Paolo Serino, Lee Maynard

silviaamaturo's review

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3.0

Romanzo certamente ben scritto, con il fascino aggiuntivo dell'essere quasi autobiografico.
Crum è un postaccio, non offre alcuna attrattiva, tutto sembra sporco, povero, abietto, senza speranza. Nessuna sorpresa, dunque, che l'unico desiderio del protagonista sia quello di andarsene lontano. Lontano da un luogo che sembra non offrire alcuna prospettiva, lontano da persone che gli stanno intorno senza un vero perché, accomunati solo dal vivere tutti a Crum.
Il romanzo è scandito da episodi, pennellate che vanno a comporre questo quadro grigio e polveroso.
Le premesse per un testo nelle mie corde ci sarebbero tutte, eppure ho faticato un pochino, non ho sentito trasporto per questo protagonista né per i suoi compari e forse solo alla fine, all'appendice, ho trovato un po' di quel coinvolgimento che mi sarei aspettata ben prima.
3,5

flexdza's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

kade_spade's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

celtdrgn's review against another edition

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1.0

Deeply depressing. Not a good read.

the_graylien's review against another edition

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4.0

Pretty good... Reminds me of Salinger, which is always good.

xterminal's review against another edition

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4.0

Crum is one twisted little novel. Actually, it's less a novel than a collection of vignettes about the (non-fictional) coal-mining ghost town of Crum, WV, and the author's (presumably fictional) experiences growing up. After a long and tedious chapter of setup, Maynard takes off. He wears his Jean Shepherd influence on his sleeve a bit much in places, but there are far worse authors in this vein by whom to be influenced. As such, Crum tends to read like In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash with a bubbling cauldron of Freudian influence and a little A Man Called Horse for good measure. The whole thing is front-to-back delicious.

tinyelephants's review against another edition

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Since this is basically about my family, I can't rate it fairly. I will say that my father hates it.
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