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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
DNF Read to page 187
This author is not for me. Its like people who talk just to hear themselves talk while including every minute, mundane detail and really saying nothing at all. That's my description of this book up to page 187. I couldn't do 700 more pages. Too many books to read in one lifetime to spend time on one I don't enjoy.
This author is not for me. Its like people who talk just to hear themselves talk while including every minute, mundane detail and really saying nothing at all. That's my description of this book up to page 187. I couldn't do 700 more pages. Too many books to read in one lifetime to spend time on one I don't enjoy.
Got to page 447 out of 891 and never started to enjoy reading this book. Main character was just angry and an asshole. I didn’t care what happened to him or his brother. He had a shitty childhood, lost a baby, divorced, plenty of reasons to understand his anger but i still didn’t care enough about him to keep reading. This is rare for me to not become involved with characters in a novel, so I took it as a sign to move on.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really surprised how much I liked it while reading. I found the main characters insufferable, but the story was still great. This is a book that shows that it can be a great book without one liking the characters in it.
It is also a slice of life story where the characters life's are miserable without them making particularly bad choices.
I didn't very much enjoy Domenico Tempestas story, that could have been shorter.
And the ending was too much "Friede Freude Eierkuchen" for me. But I definitely get the hype.
Sidenote: I was really upset about the rape scene, where the book just kind of brushed over and Dominick never reflects on it. I mean he's an asshole, I just didn't except him to be a rapist. And then Dessa just forgives him. I feel sorry for her. She deserved better.
It is also a slice of life story where the characters life's are miserable without them making particularly bad choices.
I didn't very much enjoy Domenico Tempestas story, that could have been shorter.
And the ending was too much "Friede Freude Eierkuchen" for me. But I definitely get the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape
Continuing my TBR project:
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added January 20, 2017.
Wow! I flew through this book; just couldn’t put it down. I need to check out the rest of his catalog.
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added January 20, 2017.
Wow! I flew through this book; just couldn’t put it down. I need to check out the rest of his catalog.
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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2nd time (or maybe the 3rd?) reading this as part of my February "Love Month" in which I am re-reading a large chunk of the books I've marked as favorites over the years to see if they are still truly favorites or if they were only a favorite because they struck at the right time/place in my life.
I've long rattled this book off as a favorite, but I've never actually reviewed it. It's exceptionally difficult to review the books I love. But did I actually love this as much as I remembered?
I'll admit that a couple hundred pages in, I wasn't so sure. I noticed several times little details that really only needed to be told once were repeated, so it seemed like it was an error that they appeared twice (or more) - such as what was written on a gravestone. I started to feel panicky. Was this going to slip from my favorites list? Shouldn't I be feeling something?
This book is a whopper.
This book is a whopper in both size and story. There's a lot to dig through here. It takes a while to get going although I never felt like it was slow nor did I ever lose interest. There is a lot of growth, but much of that is achieved through memories of childhood and early adulthood and through a journal/manuscript written by Dominick's grandfather (who is a real piece o' work). The remainder of the growth is through current day events and therapy (lots and lots of therapy).
The biggest problem with a book this size and with writing so great that you start to truly care about the characters? You don't want to leave it. Or rather you don't want it to leave you. I cried when I finished this. I felt a little abandoned. Like I'm not sure where to place my feelings now. And I don't even care that it was mostly tied together with a pretty little bow. He deserves a pretty little bow, damnit.
Still a favorite and still 5 Stars
I've long rattled this book off as a favorite, but I've never actually reviewed it. It's exceptionally difficult to review the books I love. But did I actually love this as much as I remembered?
I'll admit that a couple hundred pages in, I wasn't so sure. I noticed several times little details that really only needed to be told once were repeated, so it seemed like it was an error that they appeared twice (or more) - such as what was written on a gravestone. I started to feel panicky. Was this going to slip from my favorites list? Shouldn't I be feeling something?
This book is a whopper.
This book is a whopper in both size and story. There's a lot to dig through here. It takes a while to get going although I never felt like it was slow nor did I ever lose interest. There is a lot of growth, but much of that is achieved through memories of childhood and early adulthood and through a journal/manuscript written by Dominick's grandfather (who is a real piece o' work). The remainder of the growth is through current day events and therapy (lots and lots of therapy).
The biggest problem with a book this size and with writing so great that you start to truly care about the characters? You don't want to leave it. Or rather you don't want it to leave you. I cried when I finished this. I felt a little abandoned. Like I'm not sure where to place my feelings now. And I don't even care that it was mostly tied together with a pretty little bow. He deserves a pretty little bow, damnit.
Still a favorite and still 5 Stars
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reccomended by a friend and probably would have not been something I would have picked myself. Intriguing, interesting but violent and at times shocking. My favorite part was looking into 90 culture surrounding the AIDS epidemic and the fear when it was possible Tommy was exposed and later Dominik.
This was on my TBR for maybe two decades… It’s as incredible as everyone says, but I could have done without the grandfather’s manuscript and found myself skimming over those stories… it would be 6 star book if those total pages had been limited to 50.