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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Believe I picked this up at a thrift store. Didn't even know what it was about. I wasn't into it at first but it picked up towards the end. I've read romance novels that were less trashy than this. This is a story of white people and refugees and a house.
While I was reading in the break room a co worker asked if I had seen the movie. So I watched the movie immediately after finishing. My main beef with the movie was the lack of the mustache on Lester, because the book focused on that stash A LOT. Although I pretty much always prefer the book, I do think the movie had a better ending. Another thing I noticed was I cried a little for the movie.
I don't think I usually cry for books. I wonder if it is actually seeing the emotion and sadness in people's face that draws a deeper empathy than reading words on paper. Interesting, no?
While I was reading in the break room a co worker asked if I had seen the movie. So I watched the movie immediately after finishing. My main beef with the movie was the lack of the mustache on Lester, because the book focused on that stash A LOT. Although I pretty much always prefer the book, I do think the movie had a better ending. Another thing I noticed was I cried a little for the movie.
I don't think I usually cry for books. I wonder if it is actually seeing the emotion and sadness in people's face that draws a deeper empathy than reading words on paper. Interesting, no?
This books is a great reminder of why it is important for people in America to find a way to be educated at the college level, or at very least gain enough life experiences to convey enough patience, professionalism, maturity and wisdom to not impair the lives of others. I feel like it was also attempting to reveal a taste of what life might be like if government was not organized. How blame can get out of scope, and how a mistake can expand exponentially, until it explodes.
The annoying things about this book: #1-Sentence length. There were some unnecessarily long sentences. #2-Commercializing. I am pretty sure Coke/Coca Cola paid Dubus to write this book. #3-The ending. I felt like the last thirty pages could have been different in a large or small scale & the story would have not suffered. The story was fascinating and engrossing on its own, so for it to end so predictably was a letdown. To me, it was like putting explosions in an action movie. I think my generation is rarely shocked, so the attempt dates the book as much as someone who still might use a watch for a Rolodex. #4-Communication. This wasn't so much of an annoyance as it just was honest reporting on the times in which this book was written. The story would just not hold up these days. Modern people google things that confuse them and call their loved ones on cell phones when they can't find each other. I have to remember that even though a book like this is semi-modern, times have changed considerably. For one thing, the colonel would have likely gotten a cool mil for that house! My guess is that if there where horse and carriages & minimal government, the story would be easier to comprehend. #5-Sex. It was pointed out to me by another reviewer that sweaty uneven mustaches aren't a fantastically sexy thing to write about. Never mind the idea that wood will not burn if it is still green, Lester(Rhymes with Fester!) Burdon(probably not a mistake here either) was offensively pathetic. Hopefully reading about he and Kathy having sex was intended to make one squirm with disgust. That is the only way I can justify it's gratuity. It was lovely that they liked each other, and I really wanted everything to work out-but a name like that, sex scenes like those where obvious precursors to where this story might end.
I am sure there where a few more, but I am willing to look over them for what was a unique story.
The annoying things about this book: #1-Sentence length. There were some unnecessarily long sentences. #2-Commercializing. I am pretty sure Coke/Coca Cola paid Dubus to write this book. #3-The ending. I felt like the last thirty pages could have been different in a large or small scale & the story would have not suffered. The story was fascinating and engrossing on its own, so for it to end so predictably was a letdown. To me, it was like putting explosions in an action movie. I think my generation is rarely shocked, so the attempt dates the book as much as someone who still might use a watch for a Rolodex. #4-Communication. This wasn't so much of an annoyance as it just was honest reporting on the times in which this book was written. The story would just not hold up these days. Modern people google things that confuse them and call their loved ones on cell phones when they can't find each other. I have to remember that even though a book like this is semi-modern, times have changed considerably. For one thing, the colonel would have likely gotten a cool mil for that house! My guess is that if there where horse and carriages & minimal government, the story would be easier to comprehend. #5-Sex. It was pointed out to me by another reviewer that sweaty uneven mustaches aren't a fantastically sexy thing to write about. Never mind the idea that wood will not burn if it is still green, Lester(Rhymes with Fester!) Burdon(probably not a mistake here either) was offensively pathetic. Hopefully reading about he and Kathy having sex was intended to make one squirm with disgust. That is the only way I can justify it's gratuity. It was lovely that they liked each other, and I really wanted everything to work out-but a name like that, sex scenes like those where obvious precursors to where this story might end.
I am sure there where a few more, but I am willing to look over them for what was a unique story.
So bad. After 1/4 of the way through, I decided to skim, just to see if it appeared that the book got better. But...I kept skimming....and finally realized that it did NOT get better, and, indeed, got worse.
It is very hard to sympathize withgoing from 1 bad relationship to another. There are no surprises, the characters are unlovable and stay unlovable.
The jacket says it is a "riveting novel of almost unbearable suspense." Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. That review is a work of fiction.
THIS BOOK IS BAD, don't read it.
It is very hard to sympathize with
Spoiler
a heroin addictThe jacket says it is a "riveting novel of almost unbearable suspense." Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. That review is a work of fiction.
THIS BOOK IS BAD, don't read it.
Hard to read- beautifully written, but depressing and dark. Amazing how the author uses 2 viewpoints so well to tell the story, but a total downer of a story...
Loved the two narrators. Great writing and a very gripping story. Definitely recommend reading (or listening)
I might give this book to the next person who asks me why in the I voluntarily moved to Boston. BAY AREA REAL ESTATE RUINS LIVES.
Not bad writing, intriguing characters, but such a downer of a novel that just kept getting more and more depressing. I can see why others would like it, but I just couldn't enjoy it.
I abandoned this book halfway through. I just could not go on. I didn't like any of the characters at all and I couldn't stir up any bit of empathy for any of them. It was so depressing and horrid I stopped reading. And after reading the other one-star reviews on Goodreads and learning about the ending, I am soooooooo glad that I gave up. I would have hated the book even more had I finished it, and I didn't think that was possible.
3 people's dream for a house, riveting detail, and the house that started it all.
I couldn't not get into this novel at all. The characters irritated me to no end; they seemed to lack awareness of anything -- self, others, responsibilities. I find nothing redeeming about them, so it was hard to plod through this slow read.