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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
I was leery, I admit it. Comparisons to Gatsby, award-winning writing - these are labels of which I'm naturally suspicious. I remember hearing, back in '08, how much Obama (and other big names) loved this book; even among my friends, it was either loved or hated, which made me curious enough to give it a try.
I see why comparisons have been made to Gatsby, I do, and in some senses maybe it is an updated re-telling. More so, though, it reminded me of [b:Tinkers|4957350|Tinkers|Paul Harding|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364258693s/4957350.jpg|5023150], and [b:Ghosts|88253|Ghosts (The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #2)|John Banville|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389634836s/88253.jpg|1391424], and other novels that reside in a dreamy world of memory and hindsight conjecture. It's the insights you have after only first getting it wrong, and I think those insights - and the clarity with which they're conveyed, even through the dreamy prism of memory - are what made this so enjoyable for me.
That, and it read like non-fiction. Which is, in fact, a compliment.
[4 stars for now, simply because I vacillated between 3 and 5 so regularly. I'm quite certain I'll return to re-read this again, and then maybe I'll have a better feel for it.]
I see why comparisons have been made to Gatsby, I do, and in some senses maybe it is an updated re-telling. More so, though, it reminded me of [b:Tinkers|4957350|Tinkers|Paul Harding|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364258693s/4957350.jpg|5023150], and [b:Ghosts|88253|Ghosts (The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #2)|John Banville|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389634836s/88253.jpg|1391424], and other novels that reside in a dreamy world of memory and hindsight conjecture. It's the insights you have after only first getting it wrong, and I think those insights - and the clarity with which they're conveyed, even through the dreamy prism of memory - are what made this so enjoyable for me.
That, and it read like non-fiction. Which is, in fact, a compliment.
[4 stars for now, simply because I vacillated between 3 and 5 so regularly. I'm quite certain I'll return to re-read this again, and then maybe I'll have a better feel for it.]
This book is stream of consciousness at its best. O'Neill moves seamlessly around the life of his narrator, often changing times and places without so much as a skipped line, but it flows perfectly.The book itself tells the story of a marriage on the cusp of working out or not, and interesting point in relationships that isn't shown often enough. The book is also the better literary accounting I've read of post-9/11 New York. Very enjoyable. Very well done.
I need to read again, but the subtle ways that O'Neill incorporates the responsibility of fatherhood with the emptiness of 9-11 and the oddity of cricket is swirling and compelling.
I'm not sure what all the hype is about this book. While I did find it interesting, especially all the stuff about cricket, I can't help but feel like it was REALLY pretentious. For some reason that's the only word that sticks out in my head to describe. I would read a passage and literally be like, "REALLY?! No one talks like that!" But parts of it were really beautiful.
I also have this thing with books set in NYC. I LOVE the city and would go several times a year if I could, but I can't stand books that are set there sometimes because you just get this feeling that the author assumes you should know all this stuff about it and that you love it as much as he does. Which is, lets say it again folks, pretentious! And a little obnoxious...
It also jumped around all over the place, so I would get into one story line and all the sudden we are back 20 years to the protagionists childhood. Or then all the sudden, he's moved back to London. I was left with a lot of loose ends and wondering how a particular story line ended up.
The good news is that it's short and it sort of has a happy ending.
I also have this thing with books set in NYC. I LOVE the city and would go several times a year if I could, but I can't stand books that are set there sometimes because you just get this feeling that the author assumes you should know all this stuff about it and that you love it as much as he does. Which is, lets say it again folks, pretentious! And a little obnoxious...
It also jumped around all over the place, so I would get into one story line and all the sudden we are back 20 years to the protagionists childhood. Or then all the sudden, he's moved back to London. I was left with a lot of loose ends and wondering how a particular story line ended up.
The good news is that it's short and it sort of has a happy ending.
Netherland, feed my thrill!
It's time to get me off of the ground!
The wicket keeper is down...
It's time to get me off of the ground!
The wicket keeper is down...
Hans is living in New York with his wife and son on the fateful day the twin towers are taken down during a terrorist attack. After this his wife wants to return home to England with their son while Hans continues in New York. With his marriage failing and his view of the world starting to change, Hans reaches out to the one thing in his past that has remained stable…his love of cricket. After starting up a friendship with Trinidadian Chuck Ramkisoon, Hans becomes a member of “immigrant New York”, Chuck’s big dream of a New York Cricket Club, and some of Chuck’s other (not quite legal) enterprises.
A fondness for cricket is almost necessary to enjoy this book. As someone who has never played, watched, or really understands cricket I had a hard time feeling connected to Hans or the game that is so central to his narrative. The writing flows in and out of the past, present, and future which takes some getting used to, but the transitions are done well and O’Neil’s prose is written convincingly. However, I had a difficult time connecting with or feeling empathy for Hans and his struggles.
The immigrant side of New York is done very well, from Russian-Jews to Indians, O’Neil makes sure all the usually unheard voices of the New York story come to life in his writing. This was by far the most interesting part of the book, meeting all the colorful characters Hans runs into during his time with Chuck and seeing how they have modified their lives to fit into New York/American culture while still holding on to the things from their native countries which make them who they are.
Well the book is written well and makes for an interesting read I had a difficult time making it all the way through. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and the detailed descriptions about the proper way to make a cricket field or the difference between batting strategies in the New York games and the European games of Hans youth were a struggle to get through. While I did make it all the way through the book it was a struggle I’m not sure I’d go through again. If you have a love of cricket or are vastly interested in the immigrant life in New York City post-9/11 you might find enough of interest in this book to make it a worthwhile read, but it’s not one I’d personally recommend.
A fondness for cricket is almost necessary to enjoy this book. As someone who has never played, watched, or really understands cricket I had a hard time feeling connected to Hans or the game that is so central to his narrative. The writing flows in and out of the past, present, and future which takes some getting used to, but the transitions are done well and O’Neil’s prose is written convincingly. However, I had a difficult time connecting with or feeling empathy for Hans and his struggles.
The immigrant side of New York is done very well, from Russian-Jews to Indians, O’Neil makes sure all the usually unheard voices of the New York story come to life in his writing. This was by far the most interesting part of the book, meeting all the colorful characters Hans runs into during his time with Chuck and seeing how they have modified their lives to fit into New York/American culture while still holding on to the things from their native countries which make them who they are.
Well the book is written well and makes for an interesting read I had a difficult time making it all the way through. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and the detailed descriptions about the proper way to make a cricket field or the difference between batting strategies in the New York games and the European games of Hans youth were a struggle to get through. While I did make it all the way through the book it was a struggle I’m not sure I’d go through again. If you have a love of cricket or are vastly interested in the immigrant life in New York City post-9/11 you might find enough of interest in this book to make it a worthwhile read, but it’s not one I’d personally recommend.
I had heard luminous, wonderful things about this in all of the year-end roundups, so I gave it a shot. It's a good novel, just not a great one. The lengthy disquisitions about cricket are a little disorienting at first, especially if you know next to nothing about the sport. It's also a little meandering for my taste. You never know what part of protagonist Hans's life you're going to be transported to next. I still enjoyed it well enough though. It's interesting as a mashup of post 9/11 feelings, Gatsbian hope and a look at a NYC that is rarely seen and/or explored.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
I've avoided this book for a long time and yet, when I finally succumbed, I was mesmerized by an author who is incapable of boring me even with a dull plot. This guy has such interesting ideas and boy can he write. I captured a bunch of his quotes starting with his perspective as a European on NY's humid summer days: "It was the kind of barbarously sticky American afternoon that made me yearn for the shadows cast by scooting summer clouds in northern Europe...." and dating: “We courted in the style preferred by the English: alcoholically.”
The plot - of which there is little is about a man, Hans, living in NY on assignment from London whose wife takes their son back to London after 9/11. While the story is about the disintegration and rebuilding of a marriage, it is also about a Gatsby-like character, Chuck Ramkissoon, who befriends Hans through their mutual love of cricket. Chuck is a shady, low-level, immigrant gangster and of course his profession eventually gets in the way of the friendship.
O'Neill's writing is what carries this book. I'd love to see him take on a real plot. The wife of Hans, Rachel is way too snarky for me and raises questions as to why Hans likes her. However, O'Neill's sense of place is outstanding. He gets NY so incredibly well and it resonated (though I didn't have the same feeling about London).
The plot - of which there is little is about a man, Hans, living in NY on assignment from London whose wife takes their son back to London after 9/11. While the story is about the disintegration and rebuilding of a marriage, it is also about a Gatsby-like character, Chuck Ramkissoon, who befriends Hans through their mutual love of cricket. Chuck is a shady, low-level, immigrant gangster and of course his profession eventually gets in the way of the friendship.
O'Neill's writing is what carries this book. I'd love to see him take on a real plot. The wife of Hans, Rachel is way too snarky for me and raises questions as to why Hans likes her. However, O'Neill's sense of place is outstanding. He gets NY so incredibly well and it resonated (though I didn't have the same feeling about London).
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated