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stacialithub's review
5.0
It's about nothing & everything. Storytelling at its finest. Completely gorgeous. I loved it.
(If you read & enjoy this book, I think you'd also enjoy [b:Galore|8891439|Galore|Michael Crummey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320474914s/8891439.jpg|6459759] by Michael Crummey.)
(If you read & enjoy this book, I think you'd also enjoy [b:Galore|8891439|Galore|Michael Crummey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320474914s/8891439.jpg|6459759] by Michael Crummey.)
hannanelson's review
5.0
Stunning. Loved this book. The language is lyrical, the stories heartbreaking. I love the way he interweaves multiple simultaneous events/people/nature. Beautiful.
sapphire_mayo's review
5.0
This might have just become my favorite book of all time. The way the story of this town is told is phenomenal and unlike anything I have ever read. If you have ever wanted to read a book with the best run-on sentences ever written, this is the one. All of Doyle's characters are clear and distinct in my mind (although it does take a while to remember their relationships) so that I can easily tell who is who despite the lack of distinction of dialog. I love the omniscient point of view, it really sets the idea that this is a story of the soul of the town which isn't just made up of one person's perspective, but everyone's, including the bears and the ouzels. I can't wait to pick up another of his books.
resaunders26's review
3.0
I loved Martin Marten so was eager to read another novel by Brian Doyle. For some reason, in this book, the style didn't move me as much. I found it overly wordy and couldn't really engage with any of the characters. The bird annoyed me.
andybeagle333's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Beautiful and magical. I've never read a book quite like this one. It's vivid, and poetic, and emotional. The characters are impossible to not love- including their faults and flaws, and the book itself is written in a way where seemingly Everything could be a character. The Town is a character, the River, the Sea, the Bears, the Rain, individual Sounds, Words, Stories, Emotions- all characters. It far surpasses my tried and true litmus test for great stories- when you reach the last word on the last page, does it feel like saying goodbye to a life you've been living whilst reading? Does it feel like saying goodbye to incredible friends and teachers? Yes yes and yes.
I highly suggest this to anyone, if you aren't used to stream of consciousness writing it may take a second to fall in stride, but I believe it is worth every bit of effort.
I highly suggest this to anyone, if you aren't used to stream of consciousness writing it may take a second to fall in stride, but I believe it is worth every bit of effort.
mhall's review
5.0
If you're going to visit the Oregon Coast, you must read this novel. So good - like, Sherman Alexie good.
I was hooked by page 16, by the sly humor and the descriptions of the natural world and the residents of the fictional town. The two employees of Neawanaka's Public Works Department discuss their jobs:
"Billy, he says quietly. Billy. We heal things. That's what we do. That's why we're here. We've always agreed on that. Right from the start. We do as well as we can. We fail a lot but we keep after it. What else can we do? We have brains that still work so we have to apply them to pain. Brains against pain. That's the motto. That's the work. That's what we do. Soon enough we will not have brains that work, so therefore."
The appeal of this is the writing and setting. There's a talking crow and some digressions into stuff like the language of bears. It's wonderful. It meanders.
I was hooked by page 16, by the sly humor and the descriptions of the natural world and the residents of the fictional town. The two employees of Neawanaka's Public Works Department discuss their jobs:
"Billy, he says quietly. Billy. We heal things. That's what we do. That's why we're here. We've always agreed on that. Right from the start. We do as well as we can. We fail a lot but we keep after it. What else can we do? We have brains that still work so we have to apply them to pain. Brains against pain. That's the motto. That's the work. That's what we do. Soon enough we will not have brains that work, so therefore."
The appeal of this is the writing and setting. There's a talking crow and some digressions into stuff like the language of bears. It's wonderful. It meanders.
weego's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
mattstebbins's review
5.0
Re-read in January 2016:
I loved this book when I first read it in 2013, and I loved it even more upon re-reading. This remains one of my favorite books, and one I'll come back to again and again - in the veins of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, River Teeth, and some of my other permanent favorites.
[Five stars for being one of the most perfect pieces of writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading.]
Review from April 2013:
I've fallen in love. No more than a few chapters into the library's copy, I told Kerri we'd buy it - that I needed to dog-ear and mark up these pages. I know these characters, or versions of them, and I know this world, and I know these flora and fauna and goddamn this is the book I wish I'd written. How dispiriting is that - to have an idea for what you think the perfect story would be, and then find someone else went and wrote it better? Because that's what happened here.
David James Duncan is one of my favorite authors, and The River Why is one of the two other books I've read and immediately thought this was my story... but he wrote it better. His review of this book? Breathtaking hyperbole. And yet... reading it again now, it underwhelms in comparison to Doyle's world. I don't know how else to better tell you the love I feel for this story, this place, these people.
I can't make you read this. But if you don't - and if you don't love it - you're a damn fool.
[5 stars for all the beauty, for endless passages I couldn't help but read aloud and savor, for the certainty I'll read and re-read this time and time again until I've its bones memorized and felt all the way through.]
I loved this book when I first read it in 2013, and I loved it even more upon re-reading. This remains one of my favorite books, and one I'll come back to again and again - in the veins of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, River Teeth, and some of my other permanent favorites.
[Five stars for being one of the most perfect pieces of writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading.]
Review from April 2013:
I've fallen in love. No more than a few chapters into the library's copy, I told Kerri we'd buy it - that I needed to dog-ear and mark up these pages. I know these characters, or versions of them, and I know this world, and I know these flora and fauna and goddamn this is the book I wish I'd written. How dispiriting is that - to have an idea for what you think the perfect story would be, and then find someone else went and wrote it better? Because that's what happened here.
David James Duncan is one of my favorite authors, and The River Why is one of the two other books I've read and immediately thought this was my story... but he wrote it better. His review of this book? Breathtaking hyperbole. And yet... reading it again now, it underwhelms in comparison to Doyle's world. I don't know how else to better tell you the love I feel for this story, this place, these people.
I can't make you read this. But if you don't - and if you don't love it - you're a damn fool.
[5 stars for all the beauty, for endless passages I couldn't help but read aloud and savor, for the certainty I'll read and re-read this time and time again until I've its bones memorized and felt all the way through.]
relf's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't been as swept up by a book in years, and it felt wonderful. It was one of those books whose world I was sad to leave. And that's quite remarkable, because on the surface this book has features that wouldn't usually appeal to me--long, lyrical passages that are more like poetry than prose; a setting in a coastal Oregon town that seems pulled out of time; and a talking crow and a bear who reads the New York Times. But the river of stories--of a Public Works Department that mainly tries to seek out pain and help broken people, a cop who loves Puccini, a sculptor who suddenly can't find the figure within the wood--carried me along. There are real problems, from child abuse to the decline of the once-thriving fishing industry, but storytelling, art, the natural world, the heritage of ancestors, and community give healing and hope. Everything I've just said would have put me off reading this book, and I understand why it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it only took a page to win me over. I recommend that everyone at least give it a try.
stephms's review
Memorable characters. Excellent writing. I have a lot of respect for this book but I'm not entirely sure how to rate it.