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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Really well written. Heavy on philosophy, if that is your thing!
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Sarah Viren set out to write a coming-of-age memoir about her charismatic high school philosophy teacher, Dr. Whiles, whose descent into conspiracism in her junior year changed the way she thought about truth and fiction. However, in the middle of writing that memoir, her wife was falsely accused of sexual misconduct. In To Name the Bigger Lie, she weaves these two stories together to investigate the nature of truth.
When I first saw the description of this memoir, I was like OMG I have to read this. A double narrative? Twisty turny? Sounds right up my alley! And while I didn’t think it was a perfect book, I think Viren did a great job making these two highly personal stories engaging for the reader. She certainly does not fall into the trap of many memoirists who think their life are way more interesting than it actually is, and that’s a credit to her finely-worked prose. When I first started the last section, I thought that maybe she was stretching it a bit, that there was a natural ending in the third section she should’ve capitulated to, but as I kept reading the last section actually became my favorite of the whole book! I do think it could’ve been tightened in the middle, but overall this book was 4 out of 5 Catholic conspiracy theorists.
When I first saw the description of this memoir, I was like OMG I have to read this. A double narrative? Twisty turny? Sounds right up my alley! And while I didn’t think it was a perfect book, I think Viren did a great job making these two highly personal stories engaging for the reader. She certainly does not fall into the trap of many memoirists who think their life are way more interesting than it actually is, and that’s a credit to her finely-worked prose. When I first started the last section, I thought that maybe she was stretching it a bit, that there was a natural ending in the third section she should’ve capitulated to, but as I kept reading the last section actually became my favorite of the whole book! I do think it could’ve been tightened in the middle, but overall this book was 4 out of 5 Catholic conspiracy theorists.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This is three books in a trench coat and only two of them were good.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I agree that this would have been better if it stayed an article. The last section felt out of place and dragged.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Mmmmm this was..interesting. I was mostly intrigued but the synopsis, 2 stories intertwined but as the story progressed you’re introduced to some additionally intriguing things. I honestly had no idea that there were/are people out there who think, to their core, that the Holocaust and Slavery were not real, they call them “theories”. 😵💫 excuse me lol
I think at some point I was like this is very cultish. People just not truly having a conscious mind to know fact from fiction or even the stance to stand up to something when your beliefs are being questioned. But then to take it a step further, they were in some philosophy class, which I’m like this is why I don’t mess with philosophy lol all you need is some charismatic turkey spewing lord knows what and then there’s people who actually believe everything that comes out of their mouths.
Lordy then at the end of this book, you would think you’re reading something straight out of Alice and Wonderland lol just umm a very interesting perspective, a very interesting delivery, but I probably wouldn’t read anything else by this author because I don’t vibe with their writing style.
I think at some point I was like this is very cultish. People just not truly having a conscious mind to know fact from fiction or even the stance to stand up to something when your beliefs are being questioned. But then to take it a step further, they were in some philosophy class, which I’m like this is why I don’t mess with philosophy lol all you need is some charismatic turkey spewing lord knows what and then there’s people who actually believe everything that comes out of their mouths.
Lordy then at the end of this book, you would think you’re reading something straight out of Alice and Wonderland lol just umm a very interesting perspective, a very interesting delivery, but I probably wouldn’t read anything else by this author because I don’t vibe with their writing style.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced