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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I had to read this book for my Brit Lit class, and this book sucked! It was such a hard read, and Dowell has to be the most oblivious and stupid character I have ever read! There were only a few parts that were funny, but mostly it just sucked. His wife cheated on him and not once did he realize it! He didn't even know she faked a heart attack! The only saving grace fro. This book was that it was pretty short, just not short enough. I have to say the end really did surprise me, I did not see that coming! Overall it was an okay book, and Dowell is a moron.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a weird read that will not appeal to everyone, but if you do end up liking it, it’s a masterclass in how to create an unreliable narrator. felt like i got punched in the jaw at certain points where i was confronted with how the MC had strung me along. you are left with little idea of what actually occured, and you have to rely entirely on your own ability to read between his lines.
The ending is a masterstroke which had me considering 5 stars, but although the book is very engaging, the narrator's naivety was at times quite frustrating. For a story focused on the titular good soldier, I also don't really think that Edward was that well illustrated. Most of the retelling is focused on Leonora, and the narrator's strong identification with Edward at the end seems a bit out of left field.
Has to be the mark of a great book when two (albeit stupidly busy) months later you don't remember a single thing about it.
You know that thing where the protagonist isn't aware of his own blatant biases? This has that in spades. Narrow selectivity with odd shades of truth. The narrator's interpretation of events is so contradictorily one-sided, it leaves the lion's share of responsibility to the reader and his/her own ability to draw conclusions from the mishmash timeline of infidelity, dishonesty, and affectation.
An impressionistic bric-à-brac with fair gusts of social satire blowing its story into a measured set of obscured truth clumps.
An impressionistic bric-à-brac with fair gusts of social satire blowing its story into a measured set of obscured truth clumps.
Had the urge to read it again right away, which for me is often the sign of a five-star. Not a lot of plot, very much about the individuals that make up the two couples. Loved that I was kept on my heels, never quite sure what was going on - which works because it is intentional (as opposed to just bad writing). Thought the narrator, one of the main characters, was great not because he was particularly likable but because he was kind of clueless, a little superficial, and not completely reliable.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like the idea of the story and there was some good evocation of the time period and some good writing but in the end I felt like I just didn’t care that much about any of them.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-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