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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
I just finished T.J. Klune’s Into This River I Drown, and—not to belabor the pun—my own emotions are awash over me, flooding my thoughts. I wasn’t prepared for the cascade of ideas stemming from Benji Green’s journey, and I haven’t been this ensorcelled by a novel in a while. The first person narration latched onto me right away, and I was Benji’s shadow for the rest of the story. Sometimes a first person narrator can be a challenge to connect with, but throughout the story, I found myself wanting to know so much more about Benji and his past.lune’s intricate way of bringing me through the wildly gripping labyrinth of events in Roseland had me unable to put the book down, and it was that hold that held me firmly in place for the story of this young man and his faith. If I were to go further, I’d probably give away some spoilers, so I won’t give a more detailed plot analysis or reaction. Suffice to say, this novel forced me to take a look at myself and understand just what kind of person I am and want to be. Some decisions are the hardest to make, and they can test you to the core. I recommend this novel highly, and I hope you the journey you begin will resonate beyond the last page. Kudos to you, Mr. Klune, for an enrapturing mind-walk.
Wow.
A man consumed by grief and anger following his fathers untimely death. A guardian Angel coming down to look after a town but more specifically after the man who he loves. After falling, said angel and the man then accidentally becomes a part of a sinister plan that was cooked up by some evil people. This book is part murder mystery, part paranormal with a side of sweet romance and a heavy dose of emotional turmoil.
Big sad.
BIG.
I ugly cried.
Into This River I Drown was a beautiful novel. Clearly this book was written to help someone work through their grief- be it his own or his audience’s.
As usual TJ Klune wrote moving and poetic words that left an ache in my chest.
He truly is an artist and I would read a grocery list if he was the one who wrote it.
Cal was a beautiful character. He made me happy when he was on the page. Benji was so complex, he was a character full of contradictions. He was soft and hard, strong and weak. Full of loss but full of love. He was human and it was lovely. And though Big Eddie was a post mortem character. His presence was big and strong and always there. The relationship and the love he had with his son was inspiring and heart breaking and was the type of love everyone wants to have from their family members. It was beautiful.
The River was a terrifying symbol. Klune gave personality to The River. It pulled Benji under and I could feel the sorrow and the anger and the fear of being pulled under completely. It was an apt metaphor for grief.
I love everything TJ Klune writes. This was no exception. Another five star from me.
A man consumed by grief and anger following his fathers untimely death. A guardian Angel coming down to look after a town but more specifically after the man who he loves. After falling, said angel and the man then accidentally becomes a part of a sinister plan that was cooked up by some evil people. This book is part murder mystery, part paranormal with a side of sweet romance and a heavy dose of emotional turmoil.
Big sad.
BIG.
I ugly cried.
Into This River I Drown was a beautiful novel. Clearly this book was written to help someone work through their grief- be it his own or his audience’s.
As usual TJ Klune wrote moving and poetic words that left an ache in my chest.
He truly is an artist and I would read a grocery list if he was the one who wrote it.
Cal was a beautiful character. He made me happy when he was on the page. Benji was so complex, he was a character full of contradictions. He was soft and hard, strong and weak. Full of loss but full of love. He was human and it was lovely. And though Big Eddie was a post mortem character. His presence was big and strong and always there. The relationship and the love he had with his son was inspiring and heart breaking and was the type of love everyone wants to have from their family members. It was beautiful.
The River was a terrifying symbol. Klune gave personality to The River. It pulled Benji under and I could feel the sorrow and the anger and the fear of being pulled under completely. It was an apt metaphor for grief.
I love everything TJ Klune writes. This was no exception. Another five star from me.
I just finished it and I think I loved it, but also it was even weirder than I've come to expect from TJ Klune. I'm definitely going to keep working my way through all of his books.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4-4.5 stars
Dang, T.J. Klune does it again! The story is structured so that the main character, Benji, is telling the story about a traumatic event in his life and a pivotal moment 5 years later when an angel fell from the sky and changed his life and the town's life forever. The style is such that he tells us the story, but then he also shares all the thoughts that flit through his mind as those events take place. I didn't think I would like this, but the narrator, Matt Baca, did an amazing job distinguishing between Benji's head voice and his storytelling voice, and it totally worked for me. He did a great job conveying the emotions without making it seem over the top. This is the first audiobook I've listened by Baca and I thought he was perfect for this story. The only thing with the sound was that occasionally you could hear background sounds (including breathing) and sometimes the tone of the recording would change. But those were minor issues for me.
For the story itself, well, I thought it was going to be a romance story about an angel and a human boy, and yes, that was an important part of the story and the connection between Benji and Kal was real. I also thought this was going to be about the mystery of what happened to his father, and once again, that was part of it and I felt the danger and suspense as the villains threatened, killed, and did all the horrible things. But at its core, it was about the relationship between Benji and Big Eddie, even though Eddie died before the book began. Through mostly flashbacks, you end up getting a full picture of the amazing man and father Eddie was, and it was amazing.
This book made me sob, but it also made me laugh, and sometimes it just quietly made me smile. In many ways, this felt to me like Benji was sharing the story of all that happened, and then commenting along the way, sort of how directors might do with a movie that they created. Occasionally the story seemed to lose steam, but never completely, and Klune always brought me back with an emotional moment that made me love the characters even more.
Many of Klune's books are long and this audiobook is almost 19 hours long (although I tend to listen to it at 1.5x speed), but that never ends up mattering to me. As with every one of his books, he makes me feel all the feels for his characters, and that's enough for me. Highly recommended.
Merged review:
4-4.5 stars
Dang, T.J. Klune does it again! The story is structured so that the main character, Benji, is telling the story about a traumatic event in his life and a pivotal moment 5 years later when an angel fell from the sky and changed his life and the town's life forever. The style is such that he tells us the story, but then he also shares all the thoughts that flit through his mind as those events take place. I didn't think I would like this, but the narrator, Matt Baca, did an amazing job distinguishing between Benji's head voice and his storytelling voice, and it totally worked for me. He did a great job conveying the emotions without making it seem over the top. This is the first audiobook I've listened by Baca and I thought he was perfect for this story. The only thing with the sound was that occasionally you could hear background sounds (including breathing) and sometimes the tone of the recording would change. But those were minor issues for me.
For the story itself, well, I thought it was going to be a romance story about an angel and a human boy, and yes, that was an important part of the story and the connection between Benji and Kal was real. I also thought this was going to be about the mystery of what happened to his father, and once again, that was part of it and I felt the danger and suspense as the villains threatened, killed, and did all the horrible things. But at its core, it was about the relationship between Benji and Big Eddie, even though Eddie died before the book began. Through mostly flashbacks, you end up getting a full picture of the amazing man and father Eddie was, and it was amazing.
This book made me sob, but it also made me laugh, and sometimes it just quietly made me smile. In many ways, this felt to me like Benji was sharing the story of all that happened, and then commenting along the way, sort of how directors might do with a movie that they created. Occasionally the story seemed to lose steam, but never completely, and Klune always brought me back with an emotional moment that made me love the characters even more.
Many of Klune's books are long and this audiobook is almost 19 hours long (although I tend to listen to it at 1.5x speed), but that never ends up mattering to me. As with every one of his books, he makes me feel all the feels for his characters, and that's enough for me. Highly recommended.
Dang, T.J. Klune does it again! The story is structured so that the main character, Benji, is telling the story about a traumatic event in his life and a pivotal moment 5 years later when an angel fell from the sky and changed his life and the town's life forever. The style is such that he tells us the story, but then he also shares all the thoughts that flit through his mind as those events take place. I didn't think I would like this, but the narrator, Matt Baca, did an amazing job distinguishing between Benji's head voice and his storytelling voice, and it totally worked for me. He did a great job conveying the emotions without making it seem over the top. This is the first audiobook I've listened by Baca and I thought he was perfect for this story. The only thing with the sound was that occasionally you could hear background sounds (including breathing) and sometimes the tone of the recording would change. But those were minor issues for me.
For the story itself, well, I thought it was going to be a romance story about an angel and a human boy, and yes, that was an important part of the story and the connection between Benji and Kal was real. I also thought this was going to be about the mystery of what happened to his father, and once again, that was part of it and I felt the danger and suspense as the villains threatened, killed, and did all the horrible things. But at its core, it was about the relationship between Benji and Big Eddie, even though Eddie died before the book began. Through mostly flashbacks, you end up getting a full picture of the amazing man and father Eddie was, and it was amazing.
This book made me sob, but it also made me laugh, and sometimes it just quietly made me smile. In many ways, this felt to me like Benji was sharing the story of all that happened, and then commenting along the way, sort of how directors might do with a movie that they created. Occasionally the story seemed to lose steam, but never completely, and Klune always brought me back with an emotional moment that made me love the characters even more.
Many of Klune's books are long and this audiobook is almost 19 hours long (although I tend to listen to it at 1.5x speed), but that never ends up mattering to me. As with every one of his books, he makes me feel all the feels for his characters, and that's enough for me. Highly recommended.
Merged review:
4-4.5 stars
Dang, T.J. Klune does it again! The story is structured so that the main character, Benji, is telling the story about a traumatic event in his life and a pivotal moment 5 years later when an angel fell from the sky and changed his life and the town's life forever. The style is such that he tells us the story, but then he also shares all the thoughts that flit through his mind as those events take place. I didn't think I would like this, but the narrator, Matt Baca, did an amazing job distinguishing between Benji's head voice and his storytelling voice, and it totally worked for me. He did a great job conveying the emotions without making it seem over the top. This is the first audiobook I've listened by Baca and I thought he was perfect for this story. The only thing with the sound was that occasionally you could hear background sounds (including breathing) and sometimes the tone of the recording would change. But those were minor issues for me.
For the story itself, well, I thought it was going to be a romance story about an angel and a human boy, and yes, that was an important part of the story and the connection between Benji and Kal was real. I also thought this was going to be about the mystery of what happened to his father, and once again, that was part of it and I felt the danger and suspense as the villains threatened, killed, and did all the horrible things. But at its core, it was about the relationship between Benji and Big Eddie, even though Eddie died before the book began. Through mostly flashbacks, you end up getting a full picture of the amazing man and father Eddie was, and it was amazing.
This book made me sob, but it also made me laugh, and sometimes it just quietly made me smile. In many ways, this felt to me like Benji was sharing the story of all that happened, and then commenting along the way, sort of how directors might do with a movie that they created. Occasionally the story seemed to lose steam, but never completely, and Klune always brought me back with an emotional moment that made me love the characters even more.
Many of Klune's books are long and this audiobook is almost 19 hours long (although I tend to listen to it at 1.5x speed), but that never ends up mattering to me. As with every one of his books, he makes me feel all the feels for his characters, and that's enough for me. Highly recommended.
What to say about a book that rips you emotionally on every level and leaves you wanting more. This book did just that for me. An absolutely beautiful book about love, hope, faith and acceptance.
While this book is the winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award Winner for Best Gay Romance, I have to say that this award is selling this book short and honestly could be the best Romance period that I have read.
This book has a fantastic spiritual element to it too which crosses into fantasy...leaving me questioning if this could really happen...I want to believe it possible.
I am going to close this review with a beautiful song "Lifeline" from Mat Kearney which I listened to yesterday and which for me is the perfect companion to this experience.
https://youtu.be/hFyt4UoOr9o
While this book is the winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award Winner for Best Gay Romance, I have to say that this award is selling this book short and honestly could be the best Romance period that I have read.
This book has a fantastic spiritual element to it too which crosses into fantasy...leaving me questioning if this could really happen...I want to believe it possible.
I am going to close this review with a beautiful song "Lifeline" from Mat Kearney which I listened to yesterday and which for me is the perfect companion to this experience.
https://youtu.be/hFyt4UoOr9o
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes