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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
A bit hard to relate to the main character due to his nonchalant wealth, but a solid audiobook about the human condition.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
In the aftermath of 09/11 Hans, a Dutch advisor for financial institutions on energy matters, is living in Manhattan with his young son and English wife. The impact of the attack leads his wife to make a decision that she wants to return home but that may or may not involve Hans.
This book is then the story of life in a damaged city as Hans finds hope in his rediscovery of his childhood passion for cricket in small communities playing on rough and ready pieces of ground.
As the books follows Hans and the people he encounters we watch him change as he tries to journey back to normality and a role as husband/father.
An interesting read which I touches on the impact of the catastrophe on both individuals and society and how the tiniest of fracture can become a unbroachable chasm .
This book is then the story of life in a damaged city as Hans finds hope in his rediscovery of his childhood passion for cricket in small communities playing on rough and ready pieces of ground.
As the books follows Hans and the people he encounters we watch him change as he tries to journey back to normality and a role as husband/father.
An interesting read which I touches on the impact of the catastrophe on both individuals and society and how the tiniest of fracture can become a unbroachable chasm .
There's no doubt that JO'N can write beautiful sentences, but i just don't *care* about what's going to happen next.
Living in ny, i can't tell you how many times someone has said, "Man, i've had so many crazy experiences here! All my friends tell me i should write a book!" (No, people. You shouldn't. Everyone has crazy experiences in nyc -- it's NYC, not you!) In this spirit, the scenes at the Chelsea Hotel feel forced. It was good to see that he didn't over-sentimentalize 9/11, though.
Overall, I think he was trying to tell a subtle story of one man's aimless life. But for subtlety to work, the reader needs to feel the deep elements of the story and the light/delicate/fine details *simultaneously.* It's a sweet spot that JO'N keeps missing.
Living in ny, i can't tell you how many times someone has said, "Man, i've had so many crazy experiences here! All my friends tell me i should write a book!" (No, people. You shouldn't. Everyone has crazy experiences in nyc -- it's NYC, not you!) In this spirit, the scenes at the Chelsea Hotel feel forced. It was good to see that he didn't over-sentimentalize 9/11, though.
Overall, I think he was trying to tell a subtle story of one man's aimless life. But for subtlety to work, the reader needs to feel the deep elements of the story and the light/delicate/fine details *simultaneously.* It's a sweet spot that JO'N keeps missing.
Perhaps the reviews gave me unrealistic expectations for this book. Perhaps post-9/11 love for NYC interfered with their objectivity? I expected a book that's supposed to be about "the 'other' America populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality" to actually explore these others at a level deeper than eating in an ethnic restaurant recommended by a cab driver. Our protagonist spends every moment of his leisure time with immigrants playing cricket, but if they never discuss *anything* other than cricket, who cares?
i enjoyed this book despite the story. that might sound strange but this is the deal- i really enjoyed the writing style and the skill it must have taken to write such a flowing, realistic, descriptive and calculated narrative. that said, i wasn't taken with this story.
my biggest book gripe right now: knowing the ending before the beginning. this book had no suspense since you already knew chuck was murdered and that hans and rachel get back together. why spill the beans before you have begun brewing your coffee? this flaw only furthered my inability to engage in the story. it would be like reading the first chapter of anne of green gables to find out she falls in love with gilbert.
i also think adrienne was dead on with the statement that this book is a man's love story. so true.
my biggest book gripe right now: knowing the ending before the beginning. this book had no suspense since you already knew chuck was murdered and that hans and rachel get back together. why spill the beans before you have begun brewing your coffee? this flaw only furthered my inability to engage in the story. it would be like reading the first chapter of anne of green gables to find out she falls in love with gilbert.
i also think adrienne was dead on with the statement that this book is a man's love story. so true.
It seemed like everywhere I turned last year, people were talking about this book (or was it two years ago)? I heard it was on Barack Obama's bedside table. So it was with great expectations that I began listening to the story. It was good, but not the wonderland I had hoped. An interesting story of a marriage and a friendship where lots was left unsaid and people were often taken for granted. I appreciated the insight into unknown cultures (the Chelsea Hotel and the NY cricket scene), but it just wasn't enough. The book felt too light, unfinished, unresolved. Perhaps the bar has been set too high by Jonathan Franzen, but I wanted more from this story.
Absolute drivel. Sentences that verge on the unreadable. Seems to be a really bad Delillo rip-off.
Eh. Decent story, but he was really impressed by his own writing...
Didn't rough understand the hype. Had a hard time getting through it.