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2.64 AVERAGE
2.64 AVERAGE
This book is about a professor, Jeremy O'Keefe, who leads two different lives in the UK and the USA He moves back to the USA to rekindle his role as a father. He learns that his life and his activities are not as private as he might have thought. Most of this story takes place after the events of September 11 where our feelings of security and safety were threatened and later questioned. When Jeremy moves back to the United States he has some strange things happen to him, such as he keeps bumping into this one stranger, and strange boxes keep arriving at his doorstep.
Overall I rated this book three and a half stars out of five. It was a very interesting and intriguing book. This book is about so much more than what is written on the cover. It brought forward some interesting concepts and questions of the recent world we have been living in. Such as where is the boundary line between your right to privacy and the public's right to information? Imagine receiving a file on everything you have done in your life, private and public. A little creepy huh? But after September 11, this is the type of world we live in. Do we sacrifice privacy for safety? Although I understand that the author was trying to form Jeremy Okeefe's character as normal and insignificant as possible. In doing this, it made Jeremy's character seem dull and annoying at times throughout the book. I think if the characters were written to be more likable this would have made this book better. However, it is still a good book, intriguing and worth the read.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Patrick Flanery, and Crown Publishing Group Tim Duggan Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com/
Overall I rated this book three and a half stars out of five. It was a very interesting and intriguing book. This book is about so much more than what is written on the cover. It brought forward some interesting concepts and questions of the recent world we have been living in. Such as where is the boundary line between your right to privacy and the public's right to information? Imagine receiving a file on everything you have done in your life, private and public. A little creepy huh? But after September 11, this is the type of world we live in. Do we sacrifice privacy for safety? Although I understand that the author was trying to form Jeremy Okeefe's character as normal and insignificant as possible. In doing this, it made Jeremy's character seem dull and annoying at times throughout the book. I think if the characters were written to be more likable this would have made this book better. However, it is still a good book, intriguing and worth the read.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Patrick Flanery, and Crown Publishing Group Tim Duggan Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com/
I found the book too verbose, too descriptive for my liking. There was even a few sentences that went one page long! I got exhausted just by reading it.
Amusingly, though, it just took one short paragraph (or a few ones) to recount the protagonists' romantic encounter. It's the "talk about sex without talking about sex" kind of thing.
However, as I approached the end, I'd have to appreciate the twist it offered about personal privacy. It's as if my earlier observation of long-winding sentences was the book's entire MO: the book was long-winding, but the end would be profound and potent enough.
Amusingly, though, it just took one short paragraph (or a few ones) to recount the protagonists' romantic encounter. It's the "talk about sex without talking about sex" kind of thing.
However, as I approached the end, I'd have to appreciate the twist it offered about personal privacy. It's as if my earlier observation of long-winding sentences was the book's entire MO: the book was long-winding, but the end would be profound and potent enough.
I Am No One wasn't a read that I could really get into. It took me a good while to delve into its pages and even then it didn't quite have enough of the mystery and suspense I was hoping for.
Much of this novel's first chapter was about Jeremy's return to New York and his career, where its taken him, and where it has gotten him. That is more than fine, a backstory is always nice, but when reading a first page I want something that catches my attention right from the beginning. It wasn't until I moved along the novel a little further, that I started to become a bit more attentive with the read.
"I walked home and was going to email her to ask why she hadn't shown up, only to discover that I appear to have written to her earlier today to ask if I could reschedule and she responded saying that was fine. Now the problem is, I have no memory of writing that email asking to reschedule, nor do I remember reading her reply, and yet both messages are there."
As I kept reading I could feel Jeremy's paranoia as things didn't seem to make sense and weird encounters became more common then they should have been. When I felt like I wouldn't be able to keep reading on with I Am No One, there came a few thrilling parts and mystique that I was hoping would be carried within most of these pages. From meeting figures in the street that all of a sudden seemed to be outside his window, to the uneasiness of being in his own place and feeling the need to double check every accessibility into it.
Then to make matters worse, with his ever growing paranoia, he meets a Michael Ramsey that may or may not be whom he says he is and may or may not be staying in Jeremy's neighbors' house for the meantime. Jeremy's mind goes into overdrive, fueling the craziness that he believes to be following him from his time in Oxford. With all of this and the more it continues into the second half of the novel, I couldn't help but finish this read.
There were many parts that I felt were more detailed than needed be, some areas I wished had more of it. Although the first half of this novel had been like this, the second half was a little better, but I still couldn't find a footing with it. I kept skimming through several sections and only really reading through a portion of this book. It just wasn't a novel for me, no matter how much I wanted to like it, and even with the sections that caught my attention, it just wasn't enough.
***I received this copy from Crown/Penguin Random in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***
Much of this novel's first chapter was about Jeremy's return to New York and his career, where its taken him, and where it has gotten him. That is more than fine, a backstory is always nice, but when reading a first page I want something that catches my attention right from the beginning. It wasn't until I moved along the novel a little further, that I started to become a bit more attentive with the read.
"I walked home and was going to email her to ask why she hadn't shown up, only to discover that I appear to have written to her earlier today to ask if I could reschedule and she responded saying that was fine. Now the problem is, I have no memory of writing that email asking to reschedule, nor do I remember reading her reply, and yet both messages are there."
As I kept reading I could feel Jeremy's paranoia as things didn't seem to make sense and weird encounters became more common then they should have been. When I felt like I wouldn't be able to keep reading on with I Am No One, there came a few thrilling parts and mystique that I was hoping would be carried within most of these pages. From meeting figures in the street that all of a sudden seemed to be outside his window, to the uneasiness of being in his own place and feeling the need to double check every accessibility into it.
Then to make matters worse, with his ever growing paranoia, he meets a Michael Ramsey that may or may not be whom he says he is and may or may not be staying in Jeremy's neighbors' house for the meantime. Jeremy's mind goes into overdrive, fueling the craziness that he believes to be following him from his time in Oxford. With all of this and the more it continues into the second half of the novel, I couldn't help but finish this read.
There were many parts that I felt were more detailed than needed be, some areas I wished had more of it. Although the first half of this novel had been like this, the second half was a little better, but I still couldn't find a footing with it. I kept skimming through several sections and only really reading through a portion of this book. It just wasn't a novel for me, no matter how much I wanted to like it, and even with the sections that caught my attention, it just wasn't enough.
***I received this copy from Crown/Penguin Random in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***
If there’s one particular type of story that’s never worked for me, it’s a story about about a sad sack middle-aged man moaning about his poor life choices. Unfortunately, the literary world is filled with such stories. I’ve read so many I feel as though I could instruct others on how to write one of their very own – just combine the aforementioned middle-aged men, add a divorce, a child or two he wishes he was closer to, and some sort of intellectually-minded job like professor or writer. Mix it all together with a rather long and drawn out plot and viola! You’ve create a work of “Literature.” Bonus points if it’s set in London, New York, or New England.
Unfortunately, almost all of the above describes I Am No One...
Read the rest of this review on Women Write About Comics
Unfortunately, almost all of the above describes I Am No One...
Read the rest of this review on Women Write About Comics
While this novel is essentially a thriller it is smart, thought-provoking and layered.
Jeremy O'Keefe is an unlikeable American university professor who has taught ten years at Oxford and has recently returned to teach in the US, ostensibly to be closer to the daughter he abandoned just prior to the 9/11 attacks. He receives troubling anonymous packages and warnings and soon realizes that he's under surveillance, but by whom, and why? As the story unfolds, one wonders just how unreliable of a narrator he is. The reader sees that he has continually made ambiguous choices, yet he seems blithely unaware. Is he this stupid or is there more that he is up to?
I love how the author layers in the theme of surveillance, from Professor O'Keefe's area of specialty (the Stasi in East Germany) to the mysterious new artist his daughter's art gallery is featuring, to the new phone his daughter has given him. Jeremy has a peeping tom, yet he is a peeping tom himself.
Sharp, articulate and completely absorbing. It makes me think of how many ways all of us are being watched and how easy it would be to build a case of "traitor" against just about anyone if there was enough will and malice to do so. O'Keefe is indeed No One but also everyone.
I found myself pondering the nuances and layers of this novel long after I reached the end.
Thank you Net Gallery and Algonquin Books for the review copy.
Jeremy O'Keefe is an unlikeable American university professor who has taught ten years at Oxford and has recently returned to teach in the US, ostensibly to be closer to the daughter he abandoned just prior to the 9/11 attacks. He receives troubling anonymous packages and warnings and soon realizes that he's under surveillance, but by whom, and why? As the story unfolds, one wonders just how unreliable of a narrator he is. The reader sees that he has continually made ambiguous choices, yet he seems blithely unaware. Is he this stupid or is there more that he is up to?
I love how the author layers in the theme of surveillance, from Professor O'Keefe's area of specialty (the Stasi in East Germany) to the mysterious new artist his daughter's art gallery is featuring, to the new phone his daughter has given him. Jeremy has a peeping tom, yet he is a peeping tom himself.
Sharp, articulate and completely absorbing. It makes me think of how many ways all of us are being watched and how easy it would be to build a case of "traitor" against just about anyone if there was enough will and malice to do so. O'Keefe is indeed No One but also everyone.
I found myself pondering the nuances and layers of this novel long after I reached the end.
Thank you Net Gallery and Algonquin Books for the review copy.
I received this advanced reading copy through Librarything. I've read 135 pages and it's just not holding my interest. Way too descriptive and I found myself scanning most of the text.
this is literally the worst book I've ever read. there are so many run-on sentences and the narrator is utterly insufferable. I'm literally falling asleep every ten pages because there's no suspense for a book I had expected to keep me on the edge of my seat
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
omg i cannot believe i put myself through this. SO SHIT. this man was absolutely delusional. you groomed a woman, had a child with her, then hoped you could rekindle the relationship with her when she decides to come visit to get away from your proposed stalker?? it was so obviously written by a man and it was like the author was making it up as he went. just no flow, not a lot of plot. every new character had to be described by their ethnicity/race. SO DULL. BORED.
- Excessively purple prose
- Authors abuses commas and forgets periods
- Banal metafictional framing device
- "Mystery" is essentially revealed by about 60% through, but is so unsatisfying you think there must be something else
- No real action or physical tension
- Boring. So boring. Only read for book club.
- Vacillating between 1 and 2 stars
- Authors abuses commas and forgets periods
- Banal metafictional framing device
- "Mystery" is essentially revealed by about 60% through, but is so unsatisfying you think there must be something else
- No real action or physical tension
- Boring. So boring. Only read for book club.
- Vacillating between 1 and 2 stars