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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
a well received recommendation from dan brennan.
it reminds me of, if mrs. dalloway took place in nyc in the 70s and there was overall more heroin, so basically my ideal book.
it reminds me of, if mrs. dalloway took place in nyc in the 70s and there was overall more heroin, so basically my ideal book.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a great book. The author was able ti bring together characters in a way that I never saw coming.
This started out really great but lost momentum in the middle. I had to force myself to finish it & then wished I hadn't bothered.
One irony of my new vocation is that coaxing people to read critically leaves me so much less time for reading. So it's been a while since I actually finished a book (browsing books of essays and grammar textbooks doesn't count because one never reads those straight through). I'm so so glad that this was the one book I have lately managed to finished.
McCann weaves the stories of several people together into a novel that may in another life have been a book of short stories. I mean, can you imagine these lives crossing paths in a meaningful way?
An Irish monk.
A Bronx prostitute.
The mother of three dead Vietnam War soldiers.
The mother of one dead Vietnam War soldier.
A judge.
A French tightrope walker.
A Manhattan party girl/artist.
An Arkansan accountant.
A Guatemalan nurse.
And yet their lives are braided together in such a lovely way-- the reader gets attached to one story, and gets annoyed when it abruptly ends because now she much start over and must get to know a new character, a new world. But then the character we knew before pops up, or more like subtly surfaces-- not abruptly, not in a way that answers questions in a satisfying way. And the reader realizes that this is more like life. I suppose we all think we're on a trajectory, a straight line from birth to death, but if we take a step back (and this novel enables that) we will see a mass of squiggles and curlicues. And if we are astute like McCann, then we know this mess is sad, but very beautiful.
McCann weaves the stories of several people together into a novel that may in another life have been a book of short stories. I mean, can you imagine these lives crossing paths in a meaningful way?
An Irish monk.
A Bronx prostitute.
The mother of three dead Vietnam War soldiers.
The mother of one dead Vietnam War soldier.
A judge.
A French tightrope walker.
A Manhattan party girl/artist.
An Arkansan accountant.
A Guatemalan nurse.
And yet their lives are braided together in such a lovely way-- the reader gets attached to one story, and gets annoyed when it abruptly ends because now she much start over and must get to know a new character, a new world. But then the character we knew before pops up, or more like subtly surfaces-- not abruptly, not in a way that answers questions in a satisfying way. And the reader realizes that this is more like life. I suppose we all think we're on a trajectory, a straight line from birth to death, but if we take a step back (and this novel enables that) we will see a mass of squiggles and curlicues. And if we are astute like McCann, then we know this mess is sad, but very beautiful.
Unbelievably beautiful writing — definitely a doozy to get through if you want to soak it all in, but worth it
After the first 50 pages or so, I couldn't put this down. It is such a beautiful book.
This wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't the type of book I like to read. The writing was solid, interesting, and engaging. It wouldn't surprise me if lots of people enjoy it.
Me? I just found it SO depressing. It hurt to read. Thus the one star.
Me? I just found it SO depressing. It hurt to read. Thus the one star.
A beautiful prose poem of a book.
One of the best. Sad, haunting, confusing at places, but comes together into a masterpiece of a story.
One of the best. Sad, haunting, confusing at places, but comes together into a masterpiece of a story.
Good writing, but I wasn't a fan of the story line. It seemed to just trudge along.