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bookapotamus's review
3.0
You know I just grabbed this one because it was by Norman Reedus (plus the awesome cover) because that's pretty much how I roll these days. (No shame!) I had no idea what I was getting into, but if it's narrated by Daryl Dixon and it's a gritty road trip type story - I had no qualms with knowing zero things about the plot!
One thing that I think going into this you should know is it's 3 different stories. They do parallel each other - but they never connect. I anticipated the stories merging at some point, and was a tad bit disappointed they never did. But - the three stories themselves were incredibly descriptive and moving - these are not happy stories with endearing characters. They are quite messy and we are thrown right into their journeys as they navigate the disorder of their lives.
We follow each as they travel through these tough situations simultaneously with a road trip - running from something, running away, or running to something. The writing is darkly poetic and Norman narrates it beautifully. There were a few times it feels like it gets stuck in almost too detailed of a descriptive spiral - but it's dark and grittily lyrical, nonetheless.
It's very clear Norman has taken experience from his own travels and applied it throughout the story which I loved. It's very raw and quite a unique read - which I appreciate. A solid debut, I just wished the plots had merged somehow (even a teeny bit!) and the ending wasn't so open. But to be fair - sometimes it really is more about the journey than the destination.
One thing that I think going into this you should know is it's 3 different stories. They do parallel each other - but they never connect. I anticipated the stories merging at some point, and was a tad bit disappointed they never did. But - the three stories themselves were incredibly descriptive and moving - these are not happy stories with endearing characters. They are quite messy and we are thrown right into their journeys as they navigate the disorder of their lives.
We follow each as they travel through these tough situations simultaneously with a road trip - running from something, running away, or running to something. The writing is darkly poetic and Norman narrates it beautifully. There were a few times it feels like it gets stuck in almost too detailed of a descriptive spiral - but it's dark and grittily lyrical, nonetheless.
It's very clear Norman has taken experience from his own travels and applied it throughout the story which I loved. It's very raw and quite a unique read - which I appreciate. A solid debut, I just wished the plots had merged somehow (even a teeny bit!) and the ending wasn't so open. But to be fair - sometimes it really is more about the journey than the destination.
bookbabe0614's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
chantalsbookstuff's review
2.0
When you favourite actor from Walking Dead writes a book, you obviously have to read it. I am sure this book will be a 4 to 5 star for others, but unfortunately I did not like it. It was a bit all over the place, and I often felt lost with no clear direction.
I hope others find it to be a great read!
I hope others find it to be a great read!
jbmorgan86's review
1.0
DNF: This was bad. Like, comically bad. I made it a few chapters before giving up. One of the protagonists has a simple code in life: don’t hurt women or dogs. He upends his life because he sees his boss kick a dog. Reedus uses similes in just about every other sentence. Again, these were comically bad. He compares the firmness of a woman’s butt to a helium balloon and a man’s face to uncooked bratwurst. The dialogue is so wooden and unnatural, it’s laughable.
aprylreads's review
1.0
Well, this book was a sad waste of time.
I really wanted to enjoy it, I only finished because Norman read the audio book.
The three storylines were really difficult to follow.
Overall not worth the time.
I really wanted to enjoy it, I only finished because Norman read the audio book.
The three storylines were really difficult to follow.
Overall not worth the time.
somekindofmiriam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
This story satisfied my undying love for books that are just vibes with no plot in sight, so I enjoyed this quite a bit. However, as many books written by celebreties, it is in desperate need of an editor. Also would've been nice if there was less toxic masculinity. I recognise I'm not the target audience for this book, so I need to take that into consideration.
I liked Anne, but I feel Jack's storyline could've been cut completely.
If you want to know how to fix a lawn mower, you can listen to this book and have Norman Reedus explain it to you, which is a lot nicer than reading a manual (honestly, he does a good job of reading the book, I'd listen to it again, not for the story, but for his calming voice).
I liked Anne, but I feel Jack's storyline could've been cut completely.
If you want to know how to fix a lawn mower, you can listen to this book and have Norman Reedus explain it to you, which is a lot nicer than reading a manual (honestly, he does a good job of reading the book, I'd listen to it again, not for the story, but for his calming voice).
bkmckown's review
2.5
I loved that Norman Reedus narrated this. It was gritty and tense and it enjoyed the characters. It had a Sons of Anarchy feel to it. The plot on the other hand was all over the place and seemed pointless.
ellagrace233's review
3.0
okay..... this is a lot to unpack. to start, this book absolutely exceeded my expectations. while i love norman with my entire being, i didn't have any high expectations that he would be a fantastic writer. keeping that in mind, i loved his writing style. it was gritty and real and didn't shy away from anything. i found some of the motorcycle bits interesting too, if you're into that. also yassssss gay representation! however, i could not bring myself to care about the character jack. i loved the stories of hunter and anne, but just couldn't resonate with him enough to care about what happened to him, that may just be me though. i would probably not read this book again, but i don't regret reading it in any way, and if norman comes out with another book i am absolutely reading.
maria_elisabeth's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointed... Even though I didn't even know I had any
livresdeliv's review
5.0
I did NOT expect to rate this five stars. I expected three, maybe four if I was entertained. My main reason for concern was that Norman Reedus is a photographer and an actor, so how good can he be at writing? On the other hand, the size of his name compared to Frank Bill's had me keeping my guard up, as that often means 'celebrity's name is solely to sell the book, author actually wrote it,' but I kept my fingers crossed as Norman seems like a pretty genuine guy. Another concern I had was that Reedus seems to get a bit artsy and cryptic at times, making me wonder if the novel would read like a fake-deep poem. This didn't show through, though there were many issues brought to light that got dramatic at times.
The story follows three stories that never intersect but share common themes. All three protagonists are at completely different stages in their life (17, 46 and 65), yet seem to be at the exact same place mentally. All of them have lived with some form of ignorance and are then forced to face up to these, be it things they've taken for granted, had hidden from them, repressed or just actively ignored. The older one's story shows that some people think they're doing very well but actually lose sight of what is important, then have to figure things out at such a late stage.
The few antagonistic characters presented share the action of twisting certain views to fit their agenda, always preaching but never doing. However, they also present arguments that further distort the gray areas surrounding our characters, while one of them actually acted as the tipping point for a character's final, happy decision.
All three stories have open endings that leave us hopeful as the characters start to look towards everything they've ignored. There could be a sequel, but I don't think there should be as it is good to leave us with the possibilities we can imagine. One thing I didn't like was that I was quite concerned about the health of the relationship one of them got into, but I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't matter too much as it wasn't the main point of that ending, but it still bothered me a bit.
With the apparent genre, I didn't expect much diversity at first glance. What did I get? Diversity. The minority characters (different races, genders and sexualities) were treated appropriately by the writers and the audience were presented with various perspectives. Again, within the genre, I worried about the role of women. There were times, especially early on, at which I thought it'd fall victim to tropes common in classic media of the sort, but I was pleasantly surprised when these were overcome, putting different people in different roles in each of the three main stories. The one man who slid a little (a refreshingly small amount) towards disrespect was, interestingly enough, one who had such a saviour complex that he fully believed he was respectful, yet he realised his assumptions and went on to focus on himself. It's also very clear that his childhood played a heavy role in it.
History, as suggested by this man's repressed childhood causing him problems, is a prevalent theme in this book. It talks of how we need to learn from the past, which is something I really support. It goes on to discuss indigenous history and the rise of nationalism after Pearl Harbour, showing that both the history of your country and your own personal history are equally as important in shaping your decisions in life.
Expanding on the American history, it both criticises America and shows hope for it, discussing the ways in which people have interpreted the 'American Dream.' It was refreshing to see multiple ways of viewing it rather than either 'oh poor me America is a cesspit' or 'GOD BLESS AMERICA HOME OF THE BRAVE!'
Returning to the subject of women and their roles, one of the most important themes in this book was parenting. It talks about how the idea people have of men being the sole provider is a total scam, as both parents have to be there. Dedicating yourself to 'the grind' is useless when you ignore everything else and let things play out without you.
It then delves into what we can and can't control or, more accurately, what we should and shouldn't control. All three characters deal with things differently, but they all learn similar lessons.
The next few topics I have to discuss are about the style of writing. At first, I wasn't sure about the writing for two reasons: one story uses a slight dialect that I briefly mistook for bad writing, while they all contain parts in which a character will tell a story quite quickly and in a natural dialogue, making it a little hard to catch up with. Luckily, I was able to settle in and catch up, but I doubt many people would. Having had to look up a lot of lingo, I'm definitely not part of the main target audience, so perhaps there is hope for more people to understand it.
There was something in the writing that gave the story an uncomfortable sense of urgency, making you feel like you're wasting time. This was pretty good for the overall vibe, but there were circumstances in which the characters had to learn freedom and relaxation, and an overarching message of moderation, so sometimes it felt a bit too panicked. As previously mentioned, the endings were hopeful and open but I worried at several points that they wouldn't be.
Overall, returning to my concern about the co-writing and celebrity author, I'll tell you what I thought showed through. It has clear nods to (what I think are) many aspects of Reedus' life, work and interests, coming across as a very personal project to him. It made sense that many aspects of the book reminded me of Daryl Dixon (his most famous role), but this element also surprised me as a lot of his fans from the show seemed not to like it, though the book is definitely for a niche audience. However, Reedus was not the only writer. I have no idea what Frank Bill has been through or written about before, but I believe that some of the elements of this book I understood less were further towards his areas of interest. I'm not qualified to evaluate that area, but I think his assistance has proven useful in creating such a broad story and tackling all they tried to tackle.
The story follows three stories that never intersect but share common themes. All three protagonists are at completely different stages in their life (17, 46 and 65), yet seem to be at the exact same place mentally. All of them have lived with some form of ignorance and are then forced to face up to these, be it things they've taken for granted, had hidden from them, repressed or just actively ignored. The older one's story shows that some people think they're doing very well but actually lose sight of what is important, then have to figure things out at such a late stage.
The few antagonistic characters presented share the action of twisting certain views to fit their agenda, always preaching but never doing. However, they also present arguments that further distort the gray areas surrounding our characters, while one of them actually acted as the tipping point for a character's final, happy decision.
All three stories have open endings that leave us hopeful as the characters start to look towards everything they've ignored. There could be a sequel, but I don't think there should be as it is good to leave us with the possibilities we can imagine. One thing I didn't like was that I was quite concerned about the health of the relationship one of them got into, but I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't matter too much as it wasn't the main point of that ending, but it still bothered me a bit.
With the apparent genre, I didn't expect much diversity at first glance. What did I get? Diversity. The minority characters (different races, genders and sexualities) were treated appropriately by the writers and the audience were presented with various perspectives. Again, within the genre, I worried about the role of women. There were times, especially early on, at which I thought it'd fall victim to tropes common in classic media of the sort, but I was pleasantly surprised when these were overcome, putting different people in different roles in each of the three main stories. The one man who slid a little (a refreshingly small amount) towards disrespect was, interestingly enough, one who had such a saviour complex that he fully believed he was respectful, yet he realised his assumptions and went on to focus on himself. It's also very clear that his childhood played a heavy role in it.
History, as suggested by this man's repressed childhood causing him problems, is a prevalent theme in this book. It talks of how we need to learn from the past, which is something I really support. It goes on to discuss indigenous history and the rise of nationalism after Pearl Harbour, showing that both the history of your country and your own personal history are equally as important in shaping your decisions in life.
Expanding on the American history, it both criticises America and shows hope for it, discussing the ways in which people have interpreted the 'American Dream.' It was refreshing to see multiple ways of viewing it rather than either 'oh poor me America is a cesspit' or 'GOD BLESS AMERICA HOME OF THE BRAVE!'
Returning to the subject of women and their roles, one of the most important themes in this book was parenting. It talks about how the idea people have of men being the sole provider is a total scam, as both parents have to be there. Dedicating yourself to 'the grind' is useless when you ignore everything else and let things play out without you.
It then delves into what we can and can't control or, more accurately, what we should and shouldn't control. All three characters deal with things differently, but they all learn similar lessons.
The next few topics I have to discuss are about the style of writing. At first, I wasn't sure about the writing for two reasons: one story uses a slight dialect that I briefly mistook for bad writing, while they all contain parts in which a character will tell a story quite quickly and in a natural dialogue, making it a little hard to catch up with. Luckily, I was able to settle in and catch up, but I doubt many people would. Having had to look up a lot of lingo, I'm definitely not part of the main target audience, so perhaps there is hope for more people to understand it.
There was something in the writing that gave the story an uncomfortable sense of urgency, making you feel like you're wasting time. This was pretty good for the overall vibe, but there were circumstances in which the characters had to learn freedom and relaxation, and an overarching message of moderation, so sometimes it felt a bit too panicked. As previously mentioned, the endings were hopeful and open but I worried at several points that they wouldn't be.
Overall, returning to my concern about the co-writing and celebrity author, I'll tell you what I thought showed through. It has clear nods to (what I think are) many aspects of Reedus' life, work and interests, coming across as a very personal project to him. It made sense that many aspects of the book reminded me of Daryl Dixon (his most famous role), but this element also surprised me as a lot of his fans from the show seemed not to like it, though the book is definitely for a niche audience. However, Reedus was not the only writer. I have no idea what Frank Bill has been through or written about before, but I believe that some of the elements of this book I understood less were further towards his areas of interest. I'm not qualified to evaluate that area, but I think his assistance has proven useful in creating such a broad story and tackling all they tried to tackle.