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epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Prima dată am văzut-o lângă sicriul mamei. Avea în jur de şaptezeci de ani – o doamnă înaltă, zveltă, ce-şi prinsese, într-un coc impecabil, la ceafă, părul fin şi cărunt. Arăta aşa cum mi-aş dori eu să arăt dacă aş apuca vârsta ei. Stătea perfect dreaptă, spinarea sa refuzând să se încovoaie o dată cu trecerea timpului. Structura ei osoasă era fără cusur, iar pielea de o netezime impresionantă. Puţinele riduri ce-i brăzdau faţa îi dădeau un aer maiestuos. Încă îşi mai păstra frumuseţea blândă, patriciană. Probabil că, până nu de mult, bărbaţii roiseră fermecaţi în jurul său.
Dar ceea ce mi-a atras atenţia în mod special au fost ochii ei. Albaştri-cenuşii. Pătrunzători şi limpezi. O privire critică, vigilentă, uşor melancolică. Dar cine nu este melancolic la un asemenea eveniment? Cine nu se uită la coşciug fără să-şi imagineze clipa în care va zăcea în el? Se spune că înmormântările sunt pentru cei vii. Al naibii de adevărat! Pentru că nu îi plângem doar pe răposaţi. Ne jelim şi pe noi. Jelim efemeritatea brutală a vieţii. Lipsa ei acută de semnificaţie. Ne tânguim pentru felul în care ne-am împotmolit de-a lungul anilor, ca nişte turişti fără hartă, greşind la fiecare cotitură a drumului.
Dar ceea ce mi-a atras atenţia în mod special au fost ochii ei. Albaştri-cenuşii. Pătrunzători şi limpezi. O privire critică, vigilentă, uşor melancolică. Dar cine nu este melancolic la un asemenea eveniment? Cine nu se uită la coşciug fără să-şi imagineze clipa în care va zăcea în el? Se spune că înmormântările sunt pentru cei vii. Al naibii de adevărat! Pentru că nu îi plângem doar pe răposaţi. Ne jelim şi pe noi. Jelim efemeritatea brutală a vieţii. Lipsa ei acută de semnificaţie. Ne tânguim pentru felul în care ne-am împotmolit de-a lungul anilor, ca nişte turişti fără hartă, greşind la fiecare cotitură a drumului.
anne_hillebrand's review against another edition
4.0
Sort of a mix between Marquez, Dostoyevski and Edith Wharton. Well written and nicely done. I had never heard of the Blacklist before, and thought it was an interesting bit of history covered too.
megcronin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eibi's review against another edition
Nueva York estaba tan frenética y obsesionada consigo misma como siempre. Todos parecían correr hacia alguna parte. Todos parecían preocupados, y tan ocupados que no eran conscientes de las cosas que se perpetraban en su nombre: carreras destrozadas, confianzas traicionadas, vidas destruidas. Aquello era lo que hacía la lista negra. Si no te tocaba a ti personalmente, podías seguir como si no estuviera ocurriendo nada oscuro a tu alrededor. No podía comprender cómo nos habíamos podido dejar intimidar por aquellos demagogos patrióticos. Lo único que tenía claro era que tenía que irme. Poner un océano entre mi país y yo. Hasta que terminara la locura.
He pasado las últimas cuatro noches en una vorágine lectora sin igual.
Douglas Kennedy me ha llevado por donde ha querido con esta historia; no es perfecta y en algunos momentos me ha resultado un pelín trágica en exceso, pero está tan bien escrita y tan bien hilada que lo he pasado completamente por alto. Me he dejado llevar y ha merecido la pena.
Mención especial para los grandísimos personajes, esos diálogos maravillosos y el momento histórico que retrata: años 40-50 en EEUU en plena caza de brujas de McCarthy, brutal.
Y, por mucho que ame a este país, no creo necesario envolverme en una bandera. El fanatismo patriótico es como seguir la Biblia: me da miedo porque es doctrinario. El patriotismo de verdad es silencioso, discreto y reflexivo. Crítico.
Reconozco que he sido muy visceral tanto con la historia como con los personajes; en muchos momentos he tenido la sensación de estar leyendo sobre vidas reales, y supongo que cuando un libro consigue eso, es de los buenos.
Leer En busca de la felicidad ha sido como ver una película clásica en blanco y negro, donde todo es a lo grande, todo es épico y emocionalmente inmenso e intenso.
Y qué decir de Sara Smythe..., un personajazo tremendo: luchadora, humana, honesta. La lealtad y el apoyo incondicional entre ella y su hermano Eric es una de las cosas más bonitas y emocionantes de esta lectura; ese, es el verdadero amor de este libro.
Duerme; y si la vida fue amarga contigo, perdona; si fue dulce, da las gracias; no tienes nada más que vivir. Y dar las gracias es bueno, como perdonar. -Algernon Charles Swinburne.
He pasado las últimas cuatro noches en una vorágine lectora sin igual.
Douglas Kennedy me ha llevado por donde ha querido con esta historia; no es perfecta y en algunos momentos me ha resultado un pelín trágica en exceso, pero está tan bien escrita y tan bien hilada que lo he pasado completamente por alto. Me he dejado llevar y ha merecido la pena.
Mención especial para los grandísimos personajes, esos diálogos maravillosos y el momento histórico que retrata: años 40-50 en EEUU en plena caza de brujas de McCarthy, brutal.
Y, por mucho que ame a este país, no creo necesario envolverme en una bandera. El fanatismo patriótico es como seguir la Biblia: me da miedo porque es doctrinario. El patriotismo de verdad es silencioso, discreto y reflexivo. Crítico.
Reconozco que he sido muy visceral tanto con la historia como con los personajes; en muchos momentos he tenido la sensación de estar leyendo sobre vidas reales, y supongo que cuando un libro consigue eso, es de los buenos.
Leer En busca de la felicidad ha sido como ver una película clásica en blanco y negro, donde todo es a lo grande, todo es épico y emocionalmente inmenso e intenso.
Y qué decir de Sara Smythe..., un personajazo tremendo: luchadora, humana, honesta. La lealtad y el apoyo incondicional entre ella y su hermano Eric es una de las cosas más bonitas y emocionantes de esta lectura; ese, es el verdadero amor de este libro.
Duerme; y si la vida fue amarga contigo, perdona; si fue dulce, da las gracias; no tienes nada más que vivir. Y dar las gracias es bueno, como perdonar. -Algernon Charles Swinburne.
theowlery_reads's review against another edition
5.0
This book has 600 pages but once you start reading it, you'll find it hard to put down.
All tragedies of human lives are touched here. We're talking about war, heart-break, divorce, infidelity, miscarriage, mental illness, addiction, death... Everyone reading this novel will find a part that they can relate to... because that's how life is. But after it all, you need to keep going.
In one part of the book it says how most of the things in life don't have a bad or a happy ending. They just end. Just like that. And this is kind of how this novel ended. I like that, because it makes the whole story much more realistic and relatable to readers.
Douglas Kennedy is an amazing author and story-teller. His characters are so... human. In the book, they make choices that you may not agree with, but you will understand why they got there. You can't always judge characters for the choices they make, because at the end of the day, what would you have done?
This is a no-brainer 5-star for me and I hope I'll get to read more of Douglas Kennedy's novels soon.
All tragedies of human lives are touched here. We're talking about war, heart-break, divorce, infidelity, miscarriage, mental illness, addiction, death... Everyone reading this novel will find a part that they can relate to... because that's how life is. But after it all, you need to keep going.
In one part of the book it says how most of the things in life don't have a bad or a happy ending. They just end. Just like that. And this is kind of how this novel ended. I like that, because it makes the whole story much more realistic and relatable to readers.
Douglas Kennedy is an amazing author and story-teller. His characters are so... human. In the book, they make choices that you may not agree with, but you will understand why they got there. You can't always judge characters for the choices they make, because at the end of the day, what would you have done?
This is a no-brainer 5-star for me and I hope I'll get to read more of Douglas Kennedy's novels soon.
emmaef's review against another edition
5.0
I had high expectations on this book since it was recommended to me with such excitement. At first, I was confused since it doesn’t start with the main story, but it makes sense.
I can’t say much without spoiling since I didn’t know much myself and appreciated finding out along the way.
A real page turner, you read its more than 600 pages in a blink of an eye and it’s kind of addictive.
I didn’t know the author and I’m curious about his other work. His novels look like typical “romantic novel”, not my kind of reading but might give it go.
I can’t say much without spoiling since I didn’t know much myself and appreciated finding out along the way.
A real page turner, you read its more than 600 pages in a blink of an eye and it’s kind of addictive.
I didn’t know the author and I’m curious about his other work. His novels look like typical “romantic novel”, not my kind of reading but might give it go.
traceychick's review
5.0
This was my first Douglas Kennedy book and I am certain it won't be my last.
A beautiful and at times extremely painful love story that reduced me to tears more than once.
Mr Kennedy's prose flows beautifully and his characters are superbly crafted.
I loved this book.
A beautiful and at times extremely painful love story that reduced me to tears more than once.
Mr Kennedy's prose flows beautifully and his characters are superbly crafted.
I loved this book.
festivefun's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
whatsheread's review against another edition
Douglas Kennedy has a way of capturing the tumult that is life - the swings between highs and lows, the drama, the staleness, and everything in between - and doing so in such a way that utterly captivates the reader. He does so this time while highlighting one of the darkest periods in American post-war history. While the post-WWII era is typically considered one of bucolic happiness, The Pursuit of Happiness explores the fleeting spirit that is happiness and the challenges faced by everyone during the very tumultuous McCarthy era.
Mr. Kennedy uses a change in narrators to the maximum effect. The story starts out as Kate is attending the funeral of her mother. Her father passed a long time ago, and as the reader digs into the narrative, Kate is only just beginning to understand and accept how her life has changed now that she is an orphan, albeit an adult orphan with a child of her own. A reader is immediately drawn into Kate's likability. She has just gone through a very tough emotional experience and is still fragile. When Sara enters the scene, as an unknown in her family's past and possible threat, the reader immediately feels protective of Kate. Her unease, concern, fear, and anger becomes the reader's own emotions. Just as the reader gets comfortable and sympathizes with Kate, he switches to Sara telling her story. Gradually, a reader is drawn into dueling emotions as one cannot help but empathize with Kate while at the same time sympathizing with Sara as she shares her painful familial past. This allows the reader to continue to experience Kate's unseen reactions as one's own and drives home the sense of confusion, hurt, wonder, and pity at everything Sara shares.
Mr. Kennedy specializes in addressing little-known or vaguely familiar periods in history and bringing them to life. The Pursuit of Happiness is no different. While taking the reader on an unparalleled emotional roller coaster, Mr. Kennedy includes the horrors inspired by Joseph McCarthy and the Un-American Activities Committee, the fear being named induced in people, what it meant to be blacklisted, and the lengths people were willing to go to avoid being blacklisted. Under Mr. Kennedy's pen, the McCarthyism scare is eerily reminiscent of today's war on terror and the all-encompassing Department of Homeland Security, and for that reason deserves to be studied in depth to ensure that Americans do not fall prey to the same mass hysteria that occurred in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The Pursuit of Happiness is one of those books that is completely captivating and thoroughly enjoyable throughout all 592 of its pages. In fact, a reader will not mind the length because the story is so well told. Sara, Eric, and Jack's stories become more than words on a page, as their characters have a sense of authenticity and reality that makes it easy for readers to believe that this is a work of non-fiction. His ability to understand his characters and allow readers to understand them just as well is only one of the perks of the novel. The others include understanding more of the hysteria that took over the country, the difficulties that befell women and homosexuals at this most conservative of periods, and a story that will affect a reader deeply. As this is the second novel of Mr. Kennedy's of which I have had the pleasure of reading, he has grown into one of my favorite modern-day authors, and I eagerly anticipate his next novel.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy!
Mr. Kennedy uses a change in narrators to the maximum effect. The story starts out as Kate is attending the funeral of her mother. Her father passed a long time ago, and as the reader digs into the narrative, Kate is only just beginning to understand and accept how her life has changed now that she is an orphan, albeit an adult orphan with a child of her own. A reader is immediately drawn into Kate's likability. She has just gone through a very tough emotional experience and is still fragile. When Sara enters the scene, as an unknown in her family's past and possible threat, the reader immediately feels protective of Kate. Her unease, concern, fear, and anger becomes the reader's own emotions. Just as the reader gets comfortable and sympathizes with Kate, he switches to Sara telling her story. Gradually, a reader is drawn into dueling emotions as one cannot help but empathize with Kate while at the same time sympathizing with Sara as she shares her painful familial past. This allows the reader to continue to experience Kate's unseen reactions as one's own and drives home the sense of confusion, hurt, wonder, and pity at everything Sara shares.
Mr. Kennedy specializes in addressing little-known or vaguely familiar periods in history and bringing them to life. The Pursuit of Happiness is no different. While taking the reader on an unparalleled emotional roller coaster, Mr. Kennedy includes the horrors inspired by Joseph McCarthy and the Un-American Activities Committee, the fear being named induced in people, what it meant to be blacklisted, and the lengths people were willing to go to avoid being blacklisted. Under Mr. Kennedy's pen, the McCarthyism scare is eerily reminiscent of today's war on terror and the all-encompassing Department of Homeland Security, and for that reason deserves to be studied in depth to ensure that Americans do not fall prey to the same mass hysteria that occurred in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The Pursuit of Happiness is one of those books that is completely captivating and thoroughly enjoyable throughout all 592 of its pages. In fact, a reader will not mind the length because the story is so well told. Sara, Eric, and Jack's stories become more than words on a page, as their characters have a sense of authenticity and reality that makes it easy for readers to believe that this is a work of non-fiction. His ability to understand his characters and allow readers to understand them just as well is only one of the perks of the novel. The others include understanding more of the hysteria that took over the country, the difficulties that befell women and homosexuals at this most conservative of periods, and a story that will affect a reader deeply. As this is the second novel of Mr. Kennedy's of which I have had the pleasure of reading, he has grown into one of my favorite modern-day authors, and I eagerly anticipate his next novel.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy!