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nderiley's review against another edition
1.0
The book is written in second person. The book is written in clipped sentences. The book is unreadable.
mary00's review against another edition
4.0
I am happy to have won a free copy of this memoir from Goodreads First Reads and to have read it.
This man can write! I was in awe the entire book over his ability to perfectly sum up in a sentence or two experiences that would take other writers pages to do justice. What is so beautiful about his writing is that the actual words that he uses are only half of the story that is evoked to the reader; what is left unsaid is just as powerful. This man has had more note-worthy experiences in his lifetime to date than ten "typical" individuals together would have. Throughout the book I would stop reading at certain times to tell my husband about what I had just read. This is something that I rarely do, and a testament to the power of the author's words and the variety of his life experience. He has truly led a renegade life and his writing style matches it (for example his uncommon choice to write the majority of his memoir using second person perspective, and his deft shrinking of major life experiences into mere sentences (he has fully embraced the concept of "less is more" in this book)).
The author's childhood experiences growing up as a "special child" resonated most deeply with me, as I have a special needs son myself. (As a side note, I often wondered throughout the book if the author might have a high-functioning form of autism, especially when he described some of his behaviors as a child.) He became someone I was rooting for to have a successful and happy life, and it appears that he has done that.
This book sparked an interest in me to read the author's critically acclaimed fiction. However, my local library does not carry any of his works (including this book). It seems a shame that an author this talented should not have books in every library in America.
This man can write! I was in awe the entire book over his ability to perfectly sum up in a sentence or two experiences that would take other writers pages to do justice. What is so beautiful about his writing is that the actual words that he uses are only half of the story that is evoked to the reader; what is left unsaid is just as powerful. This man has had more note-worthy experiences in his lifetime to date than ten "typical" individuals together would have. Throughout the book I would stop reading at certain times to tell my husband about what I had just read. This is something that I rarely do, and a testament to the power of the author's words and the variety of his life experience. He has truly led a renegade life and his writing style matches it (for example his uncommon choice to write the majority of his memoir using second person perspective, and his deft shrinking of major life experiences into mere sentences (he has fully embraced the concept of "less is more" in this book)).
The author's childhood experiences growing up as a "special child" resonated most deeply with me, as I have a special needs son myself. (As a side note, I often wondered throughout the book if the author might have a high-functioning form of autism, especially when he described some of his behaviors as a child.) He became someone I was rooting for to have a successful and happy life, and it appears that he has done that.
This book sparked an interest in me to read the author's critically acclaimed fiction. However, my local library does not carry any of his works (including this book). It seems a shame that an author this talented should not have books in every library in America.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't want to give this 4 stars because I was kind of mad at the author during his talk at the Festival of Faith and Writing. He used up way too much of his hour talk reading a section of the book aloud. He kept saying - 'just a little bit more' or 'one more paragraph' and then he'd read for 5 more minutes. I liked the book in spite of the author. In some ways it is a typical memoir of growing up poor and southern in a dysfunctional family. It is unique in that it is written in the third person, the author has a deformity in his hips which required many surgeries, and as an adult he develops an unexpected faith in God. House of Prayer No. 2 is the name of the tiny black church which his white mother regularly attends. Mark Richard's relationship with that church and its pastor provide the catalyst for his growing faith.
pattydsf's review against another edition
5.0
“Say you have a ‘special child,’ which in the South means one between Downs and dyslexic. Birth him with his father away on army maneuvers along East Texas bayous. Give him his only visitor in the military hospital his father's father, a sometime railroad man, sometime hired gun for Huey Long with a Louisiana Special Police badge. Take the infant to Manhattan, Kansas in winter where the only visitor is a Chinese peeping tom, little yellow face in the windows during the cold nights. Further, frighten the mother, age 20, with the child's convulsions. There's something different about this child, the doctors say.”
I walked into my local library recently and a friend handed me this audiobook. She said that I really needed to read it. Stick with it, she said. It isn’t easy. I had no idea what I was in for. Mark Richard is not an author I had ever read before.
I am afraid that if I had picked up the actual book, I would have abandoned it long before I got to the end of the first chapter. Go back to the top of my review and reread those sentences above. That is how the book begins. I really didn’t get it at first. Second person narratives are so hard to read. The last one I read, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, was so unlike anything else I have read that I kept at it. In the case of House of Prayer #2, it was the narrator who drew me in.
As I learned in his memoir, Richard has a radio announcer’s voice and I could not resist his reading. I took my friend’s advice and stuck with it. Once I got used to the point of view, I was hooked and listened every chance I got.
This is a memoir that is fascinating and scary at the same time. Richard writes so well, that I felt I was there. That was both good and bad. There were moments when I could hardly listen to Richard tell his story. How did he live through all of this, I kept thinking. There is much in Richard’s tale that strained my belief system. There are many times that his life seemed at an end. His connections to God and faith are a bit bizarre, but I could not discount them. He believes and that is what is important.
If you are someone who reads memoirs regularly, don’t miss this one. If you like stories, fiction or non-fiction, that draw you in, shake you around and change you, you should look for this autobiography. This is a book that is promoted by one reader to another saying, “You must read this.” If you are a reader who relies on serendipity to find books for you, I am saying, “You must read this.” Give it a few pages so that you get Richard in your head, but you will not be sorry.
I walked into my local library recently and a friend handed me this audiobook. She said that I really needed to read it. Stick with it, she said. It isn’t easy. I had no idea what I was in for. Mark Richard is not an author I had ever read before.
I am afraid that if I had picked up the actual book, I would have abandoned it long before I got to the end of the first chapter. Go back to the top of my review and reread those sentences above. That is how the book begins. I really didn’t get it at first. Second person narratives are so hard to read. The last one I read, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, was so unlike anything else I have read that I kept at it. In the case of House of Prayer #2, it was the narrator who drew me in.
As I learned in his memoir, Richard has a radio announcer’s voice and I could not resist his reading. I took my friend’s advice and stuck with it. Once I got used to the point of view, I was hooked and listened every chance I got.
This is a memoir that is fascinating and scary at the same time. Richard writes so well, that I felt I was there. That was both good and bad. There were moments when I could hardly listen to Richard tell his story. How did he live through all of this, I kept thinking. There is much in Richard’s tale that strained my belief system. There are many times that his life seemed at an end. His connections to God and faith are a bit bizarre, but I could not discount them. He believes and that is what is important.
If you are someone who reads memoirs regularly, don’t miss this one. If you like stories, fiction or non-fiction, that draw you in, shake you around and change you, you should look for this autobiography. This is a book that is promoted by one reader to another saying, “You must read this.” If you are a reader who relies on serendipity to find books for you, I am saying, “You must read this.” Give it a few pages so that you get Richard in your head, but you will not be sorry.
poetlaurelate's review against another edition
3.0
This was vividly written and, for someone who often gets tired of memoirs, never boring. To be honest, some of the techniques used (second person, no discernible chapters, few character names) are not really my cup of tea. That being said, Richard hooks his reader well. This is the type of book I read in a week, and would like to leave on a park bench somewhere with a note in the margin hoping someone would pick it up and enjoy it, in all its chaos and serendipity, as much as I did.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
5.0
There's just not enough good I can say about this book. It's everything I wanted it to be. Richard tells some horrific stories, having his bones nailed together and spending summers in a body cast, and incredible stories. Most exciting for fans, he tells how he came up with the idea that would become the first line of his excellent short story "Strays" (I didn't find it online, but check it out in this collection. It is probably my favorite all-time short story).
The book is full of gorgeous moments, and there are too many good things to say about it. So instead of writing a full-on, comprehensive review, I'm just going to pretend that Mr. Richard honored me by asking me to write one of those short quotes for the back cover.
"There's nothing number 2 about it. Pure winner."
"Reading Mark Richard...if he was telling you these stories out loud, you would reach across and touch his hand just to see if he was real."
"Dazzling. Just dazzling. If this book were an X-Man, it would be Dazzler. Or Wolverine."
The book is full of gorgeous moments, and there are too many good things to say about it. So instead of writing a full-on, comprehensive review, I'm just going to pretend that Mr. Richard honored me by asking me to write one of those short quotes for the back cover.
"There's nothing number 2 about it. Pure winner."
"Reading Mark Richard...if he was telling you these stories out loud, you would reach across and touch his hand just to see if he was real."
"Dazzling. Just dazzling. If this book were an X-Man, it would be Dazzler. Or Wolverine."
marie_gg's review against another edition
3.0
http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2014/06/house-of-prayer-no-2.html
Clearly, Mark Richard has a gift for writing. The end of this book made it all worth while for me, but my mind wandered a bit along the way. Perhaps I'm getting too old or shallow.
I found it awkward that the book starts out in third person and then goes into second person, making the narrator appear detached...as if he's observing his disaster of a life from afar, absolving himself of any responsibility. As a child, he's labeled as "special" because of his deformed hips and spends a great deal of time in charity hospitals.
It's a wonder he made it to adulthood, with some of the risks he took. It's almost as if he didn't feel his life was worth preserving...having faced his crippling hip problems and a dysfunctional family.
By the time he becomes a writer, he's also worked in a variety of odd jobs...on a fishing boat, painting houses, as a radio DJ, photographer, journalist, bartender, and almost a pastor.
The book traverses over his life in a scattershot way. We don't learn much about his writing career or his marriage. I enjoyed the end of the book the most--when he helps build the "House of Prayer."
Although the book was lyrically written and I liked much of it, I was hoping for something more compelling.
Clearly, Mark Richard has a gift for writing. The end of this book made it all worth while for me, but my mind wandered a bit along the way. Perhaps I'm getting too old or shallow.
I found it awkward that the book starts out in third person and then goes into second person, making the narrator appear detached...as if he's observing his disaster of a life from afar, absolving himself of any responsibility. As a child, he's labeled as "special" because of his deformed hips and spends a great deal of time in charity hospitals.
It's a wonder he made it to adulthood, with some of the risks he took. It's almost as if he didn't feel his life was worth preserving...having faced his crippling hip problems and a dysfunctional family.
By the time he becomes a writer, he's also worked in a variety of odd jobs...on a fishing boat, painting houses, as a radio DJ, photographer, journalist, bartender, and almost a pastor.
The book traverses over his life in a scattershot way. We don't learn much about his writing career or his marriage. I enjoyed the end of the book the most--when he helps build the "House of Prayer."
Although the book was lyrically written and I liked much of it, I was hoping for something more compelling.
redroofcolleen's review against another edition
2.0
Written in a choppy, detached style, reminiscent of recipes (or the teletype the author used at the radio station as a youth). Only this time, rather than directions on baking chocolate cake, I received an in depth tutorial on the myriad ways to be an asshole (I do not use this word lightly). I get the feeling, whether it was intentional or not, that this was the only way he could get through his history. Full of mental and physical pain, cheating, womanizing, lies, drugs, and drinking, it is a wonder he's alive. I plowed through, however, hoping for redemption, and quite thankfully found it in the very last sentence. Pretty amazing.
courtney_mcallister's review against another edition
3.0
House of Prayer No. 2 follows the early life and development of Mark Richard, a Southern writer who, at times, seems to possess an almost compulsive desire to expose himself to new experiences. Although the sheer number and variety of Richard's adventures can make one's head spin, the overall effect of this account is complex and resonant. Richard's descriptions of his time spent in children's hospitals are especially harrowing and unique. Such traumatic experiences could easily produce self-obsessed autobiographies, but Richard's restraint makes these memories powerful and remarkably devoid of sentimentality.
How does one write a book about her/his experiences without being solipsistic? How do you write about the self without sounding like you fancy yourself the center of the universe? Mark Richard's memoir is not a perfect piece of writing, but he does offer a compelling response to the aforementioned pitfalls of autobiography. One of the most striking aspects of this book is the absence of first person. Adopting the second person voice while narrating his own life allows Richard to create a unique estrangement effect. Some readers might find it too alienating, but I personally enjoyed the use of distance. It also works, I feel, because of the themes Richard describes. Although he doesn't fixate on the term/diagnosis, most of the early sections of House of Prayer No. 2 have to do with his experiences as a child with autism (or perhaps Asperger's). The use of second person is more meaningful when one considers how it represents the way in which Richard's own mind functions.
I also enjoyed the lack of structural breaks or divisions in House of Prayer No. 2. The entire text flowed together, but not in a mellow, new-agey way. It actually strengthened the book's momentum.
3.5 stars
How does one write a book about her/his experiences without being solipsistic? How do you write about the self without sounding like you fancy yourself the center of the universe? Mark Richard's memoir is not a perfect piece of writing, but he does offer a compelling response to the aforementioned pitfalls of autobiography. One of the most striking aspects of this book is the absence of first person. Adopting the second person voice while narrating his own life allows Richard to create a unique estrangement effect. Some readers might find it too alienating, but I personally enjoyed the use of distance. It also works, I feel, because of the themes Richard describes. Although he doesn't fixate on the term/diagnosis, most of the early sections of House of Prayer No. 2 have to do with his experiences as a child with autism (or perhaps Asperger's). The use of second person is more meaningful when one considers how it represents the way in which Richard's own mind functions.
I also enjoyed the lack of structural breaks or divisions in House of Prayer No. 2. The entire text flowed together, but not in a mellow, new-agey way. It actually strengthened the book's momentum.
3.5 stars
gnostalgia's review against another edition
4.0
Mark Richard is the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Award winner for “The Ice at the Bottom of the World.” He grew up in the rural south under some tough situations:
Sometimes, I wonder how we can take the kindest of words and turn it into something cruel.
In Richard's case he was predicted to be wheelchair bound, but that did not stop him from working a myriad of jobs. In time his hips did fail, but not before one of Richard’s short stories was published and his "writer’s journey" began.
I enjoyed his memoir. His writing style is almost poetic. Many of his tales struck home, because I am old enough to remember the south in those pages. I can remember the exact same toys that I lost in fields all over North Georgia.
I give it a solid 4 stars out of 5.
Say you have a “special child,” which in the South means one between Down’s and dyslexic. Birth him with his father away on Army maneuvers [and] further frighten the mother, age twenty, with the child’s convulsions. There’s something “different” about this child, the doctors say.
Sometimes, I wonder how we can take the kindest of words and turn it into something cruel.
In Richard's case he was predicted to be wheelchair bound, but that did not stop him from working a myriad of jobs. In time his hips did fail, but not before one of Richard’s short stories was published and his "writer’s journey" began.
I enjoyed his memoir. His writing style is almost poetic. Many of his tales struck home, because I am old enough to remember the south in those pages. I can remember the exact same toys that I lost in fields all over North Georgia.
I give it a solid 4 stars out of 5.