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babsellen's review
5.0
Beautiful read. More like a long poem in prose form, lists of thoughts. An ode to humans and the natural world - one and the same. I love how they fit together. You get very much a sense of place - the Oregon coast with all its flora and fauna lovingly woven into heartfelt stories. Irish immigrants and the People together. I'll miss it.
readingrainbill's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
If you love lists and hate quotation marks then boy do I have the book for you.
This is a boring mess. Don't read it.
This is a boring mess. Don't read it.
christiek's review
4.0
These are fantastic characters. I love them all so much and I love the way they interact with each other. The writing here is fun and interesting but often way too much. I have only a couple of twenty item lists in me. Unfortunately, Doyle serves up twenty or so such lists. Other passages remind me of the interludes in Grapes of Wrath, and while beautiful and philosophical, they halt the flow and are tough to maintain interest through.
jenna_cross's review
2.0
2 stars for potential but really a 1 star reading experience. I couldn't wait for it to be over but dreaded picking it up. I wanted to quit multiple times because nothing was happening and I wasn't enjoying it but I kept telling myself it has to get better. Halfway through I was so sick and tired of the descriptive lists! "Oh no! Not another one!". I would roll my eyes and heavily sigh when I realized another list was upon me. The switches between characters were hard to keep track of and I wanted to go deeper with so many of them. There are some really special people in this story but we only ever got a shallow look inside. I was so excited to read this one but what a disappointment it turned out to be.
anniesmanybooks's review
3.0
Not as fascinating as I had hoped it would be. The description sounded great, and I usually love intertwined stories such as Winesburg, Ohio, and rambling stream-of-consciousness narratives. I really missed a strong plot, though, and found it hard to connect and engage with these characters. I think it would be much better as an audiobook, so maybe I'll check out the Lake Oswego community-read audiobook at the LO library.
sarah_dreger's review
1.0
I’ve had this book for years. 1.5* maybe. I originally picked this up because I loved the joyas valadoras short story.
alissabar's review
I picked up this book after visiting the Oregon coast. I fell in love with that area and wanted to revisit it in book format because that's almost like being there, right? There were times when the words Brian Doyle weaved together were so beautiful, and other times when his writing drove me a little crazy (lack of punctuation during conversations and even in sentences. Commas and periods are our friends. Especially if you don't want your readers lost or trying to decipher sections of text for long periods of time instead of continuing on with the story.) After giving it 60-70 pages, I've called it quits. I suspect if I had slogged on, I would have found a gem, but I couldn't muster up enough desire to continue. This one comes with a language warning as well.
kylalouis's review
4.0
I wanted to give up on this book because it didn't fit my reading style. There's no skimming or assuming you know what's coming next. The point it to read every word. And every word is worth it.
margaret_j_c's review
5.0
Oh my goodness.
I was, of course, joking yesterday when I said this book was healing me. But then again, isn't that what stories do? They pull the feelings from our hearts and speak them back to us in solidarity. They release the pressure of emotion.
I can't remember the last time I read a piece of fiction that I needed so badly. The very action of reading it was pure delight. I've spent many thousands of hours reading in my short lifetime, but despite how much I love what it does to my heart and my mind, I don't generally think about the actual physical reading of a book at all. But with Mink River it's almost impossible not to. Doyle's prose feels like his title - it sweeps you along. In his world, everything has the most extraordinary significance. The tiniest details have the most profound meaning. His world is a symphony of soul and spirit and story, which eddies and pools and finally empties out into the sea.
I am grateful for this book.
5/27/18:
It's been a year today since Brian Doyle passed away, and Mink River remains one of the most stunning pieces of fiction I have ever read. My original review is still true. This is a healing book. In its pages Doyle offers us a glimpse of a world where deep harmony presides, rooted in nature, tradition, and faith. Love runs underneath it all, a strong current. It is an echo of a place Doyle knows better than any of us now.
I was, of course, joking yesterday when I said this book was healing me. But then again, isn't that what stories do? They pull the feelings from our hearts and speak them back to us in solidarity. They release the pressure of emotion.
I can't remember the last time I read a piece of fiction that I needed so badly. The very action of reading it was pure delight. I've spent many thousands of hours reading in my short lifetime, but despite how much I love what it does to my heart and my mind, I don't generally think about the actual physical reading of a book at all. But with Mink River it's almost impossible not to. Doyle's prose feels like his title - it sweeps you along. In his world, everything has the most extraordinary significance. The tiniest details have the most profound meaning. His world is a symphony of soul and spirit and story, which eddies and pools and finally empties out into the sea.
I am grateful for this book.
5/27/18:
It's been a year today since Brian Doyle passed away, and Mink River remains one of the most stunning pieces of fiction I have ever read. My original review is still true. This is a healing book. In its pages Doyle offers us a glimpse of a world where deep harmony presides, rooted in nature, tradition, and faith. Love runs underneath it all, a strong current. It is an echo of a place Doyle knows better than any of us now.