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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I just love Patchett's style. The story wasn't really one to change your life or make you think or make you stay up all night, but it was beautiful. The characters felt like people who were real, trying to figure out how to be a parent or a lover or a friend when life gets messy. It was exactly the kind of story that I enjoyed reading before going to bed at night.
2021 Book Review 7: Taft
Taft is Ann Patchett’s novel about a bar manager in Memphis, his employees, his and their families and family dramas.
Taft tells the story of John Nickel, a former drummer managing a bar in Memphis. He’s dealing with the separation of his son after his ex has moved to Miami when a troubled young woman comes into the bar and his life.
This was my least favorite Patchett novel by far. It deserves three stars simply for her beautiful writing, her captivating storytelling...but the relationship between 17 year old Fay and mid-30’s John was just so gross to me I couldn’t get past it. I was too distracted by the ick factor of that to be able to focus on the story. Patchett is my favorite author and I didn’t hate this book but I don’t recommend it.
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taft is Ann Patchett’s novel about a bar manager in Memphis, his employees, his and their families and family dramas.
Taft tells the story of John Nickel, a former drummer managing a bar in Memphis. He’s dealing with the separation of his son after his ex has moved to Miami when a troubled young woman comes into the bar and his life.
This was my least favorite Patchett novel by far. It deserves three stars simply for her beautiful writing, her captivating storytelling...but the relationship between 17 year old Fay and mid-30’s John was just so gross to me I couldn’t get past it. I was too distracted by the ick factor of that to be able to focus on the story. Patchett is my favorite author and I didn’t hate this book but I don’t recommend it.
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ann Patchett did it again. It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did, I was IN it. Patchett's writing is effortless. Lyrical in a very practical way. She describes mundane things in great detail, but in a way that's never boring. I can see it all happening before me: the love, the loss, the pain, the beauty. I could read her words forever.
I just love Patchett's style. The story wasn't really one to change your life or make you think or make you stay up all night, but it was beautiful. The characters felt like people who were real, trying to figure out how to be a parent or a lover or a friend when life gets messy. It was exactly the kind of story that I enjoyed reading before going to bed at night.
I was dismayed that this Ann Patchett novel had the lowest rating of all her books on Goodreads. I enjoyed this, not sure what I expected. John Nickel is the night shift manager of a bar, and the mother of his 9 year old son took his son to Florida. He is soon consumed by a girl looking for a job who comes into his bar along with her Irish twin brother. I really enjoyed the character of John Nickel and the things he struggled with and tried to understand.
This book merits 3.5 stars.
*I listened to the Audible version and, funny thing, the reader pronounced the author's name as Ann PRatchett four separate times.
*I listened to the Audible version and, funny thing, the reader pronounced the author's name as Ann PRatchett four separate times.
Ok, but pales in comparison to Bel Canto and The Patron Saint of Liars. If this is your first Ann Patchett, try those.
this book is excellent as all of her books are
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use
I really wanted to love this book, but in the end, I found that it was just okay. It was a little too slow and I didn't love that while the book seemed to be about John Nickel, there were so many interruptions with Taft and his children, none of which were very exciting. John's relationship with Fay was also a little weird (actually all of his relationships with women were weird) and I didn't really get interested in the story until the last fifty pages or so. This was my first Patchett book, and while I didn't love it, I'm still going to give her other books a chance.