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scatterbooker's review against another edition
4.0
A tragic love story spanning a lifetime
The year is 1945 and Sara Smythe reluctantly attends her brother, Eric’s, Thanksgiving Eve party. She is swept away by the enigmatic gate-crasher, Jack Malone. Jack says he is a U.S army journalist and is being deployed to Germany the very next day, despite the war being over. Will Jack make good on his declarations of undying love and devotion or will he breaks Sara’s heart, just as Eric suspects.
The Pursuit of Happiness is set in a time of great unrest in the USA. After the initial optimism of the war ending the country moves quickly to a state of great unease and fear of Communism. The McCarthy witch-hunts of this era a nasty little piece of American history!
The writing of this novel was beautifully done, perhaps a bit too well for me in parts. I found myself becoming a little bit depressed by this novel. There was just one depressing event after another for Sara and her loved ones. Kennedy did such a brilliant job with all of the characters that I just really felt their pain with them throughout the novel.
Originally posted at https://scatterbooker.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-pursuit-of-happiness-by-douglas-kennedy/
The year is 1945 and Sara Smythe reluctantly attends her brother, Eric’s, Thanksgiving Eve party. She is swept away by the enigmatic gate-crasher, Jack Malone. Jack says he is a U.S army journalist and is being deployed to Germany the very next day, despite the war being over. Will Jack make good on his declarations of undying love and devotion or will he breaks Sara’s heart, just as Eric suspects.
The Pursuit of Happiness is set in a time of great unrest in the USA. After the initial optimism of the war ending the country moves quickly to a state of great unease and fear of Communism. The McCarthy witch-hunts of this era a nasty little piece of American history!
The writing of this novel was beautifully done, perhaps a bit too well for me in parts. I found myself becoming a little bit depressed by this novel. There was just one depressing event after another for Sara and her loved ones. Kennedy did such a brilliant job with all of the characters that I just really felt their pain with them throughout the novel.
Originally posted at https://scatterbooker.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-pursuit-of-happiness-by-douglas-kennedy/
didyousaybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Voilà un livre que j'ai lu quand j'étais en terminale sous les conseil de ma prof d'Histoire Européene, pour étudier la chasse aux sorcières (Witch Hunt) des années McCarthy, pendant lesquelles les USA avait une peur bleue des communistes. On plonge donc dans un roman qui fait part belle à l'histoire, non glorieuse, des Etats-Unis.
En tout cas, j'ai adoré!
En tout cas, j'ai adoré!
emmalynn's review against another edition
4.0
This was my second Douglas Kennedy and it was as riveting as the first one. As everybody and their dog wrote in their review, this guy is one hell of a story-teller!
I particularly liked the part about McCarthyism. Yes, I've studied it quite in depth but it's different to see the way it could ruin every single aspect of people's (okay, characters in books but when I start caring about them, they kind of turn into real people to me) lives than to just see it globally with an academic point of view.
I particularly liked the part about McCarthyism. Yes, I've studied it quite in depth but it's different to see the way it could ruin every single aspect of people's (okay, characters in books but when I start caring about them, they kind of turn into real people to me) lives than to just see it globally with an academic point of view.
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