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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
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If you happen to have clicked this review before reading the book, please stop now and read the book first. I want you to discover this book on your own, with 0 expectations.
Ok, you're back. Or you've already read it and also want to GUSH about this perfect little gem. I knew nothing about it - plucking it off the Free Library's virtual "available now" shelf. And how lucky, lucky lucky I was that I chose the audiobook. What a supreme talent, taken from earth too soon.
I already can't wait to read it again.
M
G
If you happen to have clicked this review before reading the book, please stop now and read the book first. I want you to discover this book on your own, with 0 expectations.
Ok, you're back. Or you've already read it and also want to GUSH about this perfect little gem. I knew nothing about it - plucking it off the Free Library's virtual "available now" shelf. And how lucky, lucky lucky I was that I chose the audiobook. What a supreme talent, taken from earth too soon.
I already can't wait to read it again.
I listened to this audiobook based on a stellar review, knowing nothing about the author or that the book is in verse. What an amazing book. The verse is clever and funny and heartbreaking, covering decades and diverse characters.
When I finished the second CD, I immediately started the first one and listened to the whole book again, of course hearing many things I missed the first time. Now I'm going to buy the book in honor of the author who died last year just days after he finished recording it.
--Reviewed by Connie
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Slove%2C%20dishonor%2C%20marry%2C%20die%2C%20cherish%2C%20perish__Orightresult__U1?lang=eng&suite=pearl
When I finished the second CD, I immediately started the first one and listened to the whole book again, of course hearing many things I missed the first time. Now I'm going to buy the book in honor of the author who died last year just days after he finished recording it.
--Reviewed by Connie
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Slove%2C%20dishonor%2C%20marry%2C%20die%2C%20cherish%2C%20perish__Orightresult__U1?lang=eng&suite=pearl
A short novel/collection of interconnected short stories written entirely in verse sounds like it would be pretentious and way too artsy for my preference, but I was captivated by this book. I listened on audio, read by the author. which I'm sure helped with the few times meter or rhyme seemed forced. I'll need to go back and either listen again or read to catch the whole stories, but even once through I don't feel like I'm missing out. I guess the author was terminally I'll while writing the book, which you can feel a bit. It's sad and bitter at times, but still very human in its tenderness and emotion.
Very impressed that he pulled off so much rhyme without it feeling like a reach. Would have loved a similar style with a more cohesive story and character development. All in all a great reading/listening experience (2.5 hours on audio, I got through it in a Saturday morning)
Very impressed that he pulled off so much rhyme without it feeling like a reach. Would have loved a similar style with a more cohesive story and character development. All in all a great reading/listening experience (2.5 hours on audio, I got through it in a Saturday morning)
Exceedingly clever, a true labor of love.
Seth's art fit the words like a well tailored glove.
Seth's art fit the words like a well tailored glove.
I can't say I wasn't skeptical: a novel written in rhyming couplets? Sounds corny. Granted, if anyone could pull it off it would be David Rakoff, but still, I was scared knowing that this was the last thing I would read from him, knowing that I wanted so very much to love it...and yet still doubting. Doubting was wasted energy. Not only does this work, it is sublime. He packs more love and understanding of human nature in one couplet than some writers manage in a career. his love of language is apparent, his wry sense of humor, his voice is all there. Which is not to say that there aren't some clunky moments. There are, but it makes the novel all the more real and lovely. And if you have lingering doubts, I cannot stress this enough: get your hands on the audio version and after you've read it once, listen to it read in Rakoff's voice. It is as near to perfection as you can get in a literary experience, IMHO. I will go back to this book again and again. It opened up a part of me that I didn't even know existed.
This is such a wonderful book. The stories are artfully intertwined and the writing is masterful. These stories are heartbreaking, humorous and relatable. There are no Hollywood endings here, just honest humanity.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(I decided to take a very short break from Infinite Jest so that I could read this.)
I think calling Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish (another beautiful title) a "novel" does the work a bit of a disservice - even though it was probably a marketing decision, since long-form verse isn't the hottest thing on the market. It doesn't meet virtually any of the criteria one would expect from a novel. There isn't much of a plot, there isn't much in the way of character development, and there isn't much resolution. This whole book is really just an excuse to see how one writer can manipulate language in a fun and beautiful manner.
And that is exactly what this book is - fun and beautiful. It isn't perfect and it sort of wears that imperfection as a badge of pride. It follows characters whose lives intersect (in mostly minor ways, really) throughout the twentieth century.
The brevity of this book may be its biggest issue. So many interesting parts are picked up and then dropped abruptly. It doesn't ruin the book but it certainly prevents it from being great. It's a little mock epic. But it isn't exactly fulfilling.
The book is unexpectedly thoughtful, though. Knowing Rakoff only by his reputation, I expected a mostly comedic work. And while a satirical edge does enter the story (particularly in Clifford's section), the whole book is steeped in the sadness of time passing and lives unlived and people unknown.
So, yeah.
4 Heads Full of Curls Shining Like Copper Coins out of 5
I think calling Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish (another beautiful title) a "novel" does the work a bit of a disservice - even though it was probably a marketing decision, since long-form verse isn't the hottest thing on the market. It doesn't meet virtually any of the criteria one would expect from a novel. There isn't much of a plot, there isn't much in the way of character development, and there isn't much resolution. This whole book is really just an excuse to see how one writer can manipulate language in a fun and beautiful manner.
And that is exactly what this book is - fun and beautiful. It isn't perfect and it sort of wears that imperfection as a badge of pride. It follows characters whose lives intersect (in mostly minor ways, really) throughout the twentieth century.
The brevity of this book may be its biggest issue. So many interesting parts are picked up and then dropped abruptly. It doesn't ruin the book but it certainly prevents it from being great. It's a little mock epic. But it isn't exactly fulfilling.
The book is unexpectedly thoughtful, though. Knowing Rakoff only by his reputation, I expected a mostly comedic work. And while a satirical edge does enter the story (particularly in Clifford's section), the whole book is steeped in the sadness of time passing and lives unlived and people unknown.
So, yeah.
4 Heads Full of Curls Shining Like Copper Coins out of 5
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated