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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
This is one of those novels that sticks in your head for a long time after you read it. It's definitely one of the best books I have ever read, and I have read a whole helluva lot of books. If I could inject books directly into my eyeballs, I totally would. That's how big of a bookworm I am. A Good American is very high up on my top ten list. It's practically art, this book.
The whole story is told by Jette and Frederick's grandson, but the fact that there's only one POV doesn't mean that it's slow or that you don't get to know the characters on a deeper level.
The story is both happy and sad. I both cried and laughed out loud while I was reading. Then I quickly looked around to see if anyone were giving me funny stares.
I was happy to get through it without being spotted by the men with the butterfly nets.
The whole story is told by Jette and Frederick's grandson, but the fact that there's only one POV doesn't mean that it's slow or that you don't get to know the characters on a deeper level.
The story is both happy and sad. I both cried and laughed out loud while I was reading. Then I quickly looked around to see if anyone were giving me funny stares.
I was happy to get through it without being spotted by the men with the butterfly nets.
Let me start by saying that it took me quite some time to decide how I wanted to rate this book. I was given the opportunity to read it in advance of its official release through a giveaway from Goodreads. I am grateful that I had this chance. The plot of this book is nothing short of amazing and is written with an easy flow. The detail is well-written without being overbearing. I read the book quite quickly and enjoyed in a sense tagging along with the Meisenheimer family.
With as much as I enjoyed this book and as much praise as I would love to give it, there were however three main issues that prevented me from giving it five stars.
The first problem nearly caused me to stop reading the book altogether. I place a lot of stock in an author's integrity. In this case, I found it somewhat lacking. This all came about through Alex George's use of a character named Rankin Fitch. As I came across this name, something turned a switch in my head. I knew I had seen it before. Rankin Fitch is not a very common name. In fact, as it turns out, not only is Rankin Fitch an attorney in A Good American, he is also an attorney in John Grisham's Runaway Jury. Another odd point, both John Grisham and Alex George are attorneys turned authors. Though the similarities with the character end there, I was so incensed by the obvious theft of the name that I nearly quit reading what had the potential to be an amazing novel.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I searched for an indication that the use of the name was perhaps an homage. There was no such mention. The idea that the author would try to "pull one over" on the reader by having the laziness not to come up with an original name was insulting. I am hoping that the author was wise enough to alter the name of this character prior to sending the book for it's final printing. If not, I hope that it does not cause other readers to give up hope as I nearly did.
The other two issues were less problematic, but still prevented the story from attaining that five star mark. The other issues: an overused thesaurus and a heavy handed use of allusion.
For the most part, the book's wording flows easily. However, there are occasional bits that are overloaded with ten dollar words, in a way that detracts from the simple storytelling and may make the reader lose some interest momentarily. George also has a tendency to end chapters with a sentence that will all too heavily indicate what is to occur later on in the book, a sentence meant to highlight "hey, you should pay attention to this for later". It's as if he doesn't have enough confidence in the reader's ability to link events or identify ironic situations. The writing of these sections can stand alone and really doesn't need the additional assistance. In fact, the book would flow more smoothly without them. They detract from the overall easy progression of the novel.
I would have really liked to have been able to give this book five stars. It certainly had the potential. And in all honesty, had the character of Rankin Fitch been named anything else, the chances of that happening probably would have been very high.
With as much as I enjoyed this book and as much praise as I would love to give it, there were however three main issues that prevented me from giving it five stars.
The first problem nearly caused me to stop reading the book altogether. I place a lot of stock in an author's integrity. In this case, I found it somewhat lacking. This all came about through Alex George's use of a character named Rankin Fitch. As I came across this name, something turned a switch in my head. I knew I had seen it before. Rankin Fitch is not a very common name. In fact, as it turns out, not only is Rankin Fitch an attorney in A Good American, he is also an attorney in John Grisham's Runaway Jury. Another odd point, both John Grisham and Alex George are attorneys turned authors. Though the similarities with the character end there, I was so incensed by the obvious theft of the name that I nearly quit reading what had the potential to be an amazing novel.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I searched for an indication that the use of the name was perhaps an homage. There was no such mention. The idea that the author would try to "pull one over" on the reader by having the laziness not to come up with an original name was insulting. I am hoping that the author was wise enough to alter the name of this character prior to sending the book for it's final printing. If not, I hope that it does not cause other readers to give up hope as I nearly did.
The other two issues were less problematic, but still prevented the story from attaining that five star mark. The other issues: an overused thesaurus and a heavy handed use of allusion.
For the most part, the book's wording flows easily. However, there are occasional bits that are overloaded with ten dollar words, in a way that detracts from the simple storytelling and may make the reader lose some interest momentarily. George also has a tendency to end chapters with a sentence that will all too heavily indicate what is to occur later on in the book, a sentence meant to highlight "hey, you should pay attention to this for later". It's as if he doesn't have enough confidence in the reader's ability to link events or identify ironic situations. The writing of these sections can stand alone and really doesn't need the additional assistance. In fact, the book would flow more smoothly without them. They detract from the overall easy progression of the novel.
I would have really liked to have been able to give this book five stars. It certainly had the potential. And in all honesty, had the character of Rankin Fitch been named anything else, the chances of that happening probably would have been very high.