Reviews

The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion, Matteo Orsini

mizele20's review against another edition

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3.0

Very different style. A character is described as repeatedly punching his arm into a sleeve. The writing was like that. I almost stopped before halfway. Then I found that I wanted to know what happened. Good, but not a comfortable book.

jennylimmy's review

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5.0

([political thriller starring Matt Damon or somebody like Matt Damon])(tongue-in-cheek “bureaucratic” prose) = (a delightful, at times profound read)

moon_dude's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

bernadettebloom's review

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3.0

Enjoyed this book even though the story and timeline got confusing. It's about a reporter who gets caught up in her dad's illegal arms dealing. Interesting, fast-paced but the timeline is choppy. The movie helped.

annacarolinaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

mollyot's review against another edition

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3.0

I struggled with this in the same way that I struggled with A Book of Common Prayer. I didn't know who anybody was and I didn't understand what anybody was doing. I Googled "What was Iran Contra affair easy" very early on and that helped a bit, but not enough. I am learning that sometimes not everything is for me! And that's okay!

josettte's review against another edition

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informative tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Interesting type of writing but throughout most of the book, I could not understand a single thing that was happening. It was almost at the end that my brain started gathering pieces and connecting the dots but I still am a bit confused.

slefebvre95's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

lauraoday's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

nathansnook's review against another edition

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adventurous informative tense fast-paced

3.0

Murder happens on the first page.

The story spins and spins. Looks left. Looks right.

Exposition is in lucky draws. You get a bit of info here. 

Then there.

And everything starts to make sense. 

Watch the money move. See the people go. 

Look carefully.

And it all comes together in the end.

It works in this way. And though there is a film adaptation, it was messily made judged by letterboxd reviews. It's in the prose does Didion succeed in laying out a political thriller. And we all know that Didion is a master when it comes to prose.