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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Ohhh, how I loved this book! A beautifully written story.
Narrator J.D. Jackson was excellent. Writing was great, story was good. I'm still thinking about the characters...
3.5 rounded up. Above average novel, but not my favorite Ann Patchett
Patchett writes characters who are emotionally complex and completely genuine. They are real people with complicated lives. Taft is no exception, as this novel is full of characters who tugged at my heart. The only difference between this novel and most of her others is that it was soooo sloooow. Sometimes less action makes room for character development but that isn't the case here. The changes of perspective and time were confusing, I didn't always realize we had switched from the present to the past. I also didn't quite understand the purpose of those flash backs.
Regardless, it's an interesting story and the Patchett's writing is skilled as always. This one just didn't pack much punch for me. I still recommend it for fans of her novels and readers of literary fiction.
Regardless, it's an interesting story and the Patchett's writing is skilled as always. This one just didn't pack much punch for me. I still recommend it for fans of her novels and readers of literary fiction.
Like all of Ann Patchett's novels, I started out not caring too much about the plot, but got so quickly wrapped up in her characters that I had to keep reading. Her best, by far, is still Bel Canto, but this was a good read, too.
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.
Probably my least favourite of Ann Patchett's novels, which is to say still incredibly good. Fabulous writing, and the character of John Nickel is well-drawn and engaging. Fay Taft is a little precious -- sweet and vulnerable but tough-as-nails, almost too perfect -- she's the closest to a type that I've ever found in one of Patchett's books. It feels more like a vignette or novelette than a novel. I'm curious as to what made Patchett choose to write a book with a black man as the main character. It didn't feel forced or unnatural to me, but then I'm so completely not a black man.
The last of her fiction that I still had left to read. It's Definitely not my favorite of Ann Patchett's books, but it's not my least favorite either. I found both threads of the story compellng and I really enjoyed that it was set in Tennessee. I could definitely relate to and see clearly the portions set in East TN. It's definitely true what she says in the beginning about how different east and west TN are.
This was a good read, although I was pretty angry at the protagonist at times. After reading Patchett's "What Now" over New Year's weekend, I checked out two more of her books from the library. I loved Bel Canto, so I am happy to rediscover her writing.
Taft is the story of a family's suffering after the father dies, and a man's suffering because of choices he made/didn't make in life. It's a well-woven tale.
Taft is the story of a family's suffering after the father dies, and a man's suffering because of choices he made/didn't make in life. It's a well-woven tale.
I picked this book up because I loved Bel Canto and because it's set in Memphis, where I'll be living in a few months. The story is told from the viewpoint of John Nickel, a black man who manages a bar called Muddy's. Once a talented drummer, Nickel has given up his musical dreams in favor of a steady job. He wants to be a good father but the mother of his nine-year-old son has moved to Miami with the boy. When Nickel hires a new waitress, a young white woman from east Tennessee, he begins to imagine scenes from the life of her father, the Taft of the title.
It's unclear if the visions of Taft are purely the product of Nickel's imagination or if he's somehow really seeing glimpses of what life was like for him. Nickel wants to be a good father and his insight into Taft's life, whether real or imagined, ultimately has a significant impact on his own sense of compassion.
It's unclear if the visions of Taft are purely the product of Nickel's imagination or if he's somehow really seeing glimpses of what life was like for him. Nickel wants to be a good father and his insight into Taft's life, whether real or imagined, ultimately has a significant impact on his own sense of compassion.