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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
There is a lot of baseball in there - because the father was a baseball player and various developments in his career are closely followed. Later his sons too had failed Baseball careers with high school teams - actually their baseball careers foreshadowed their failures to achieve what they could in life. Besides there are a lot of baseball quotes.
There are a lot of literature references too, mostly Russian - the title nods to Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov, there are other nods too – a character named after Myshkin from ‘The Idiot’; chapters named ‘The Bland Inquisition’, ‘The shoats from underground’, 'Kwakiutl Karamazov’ etc. Big great authors are often quoted - which is a thing I love, books quoting books.
There is also a lot of religion in there; mostly creating friction among characters having different religious opinions – the Bible is the most quoted and misquoted book. Another book often quoted is Budha's biography. The mother is deeply religious Christian and want to force her belief on the children, the later ressist it.
There is also a lot of politics in there, mostly focused on U.S.-Vietnam war – and oh! There is that war in there too, mostly destroying and disturbing lives as wars always do. Almost all characters who aren't in army are against war.
But above them all, it is story of a family surviving through their differences and problems created by fate, religion, war and their own mistakes as the four brothers live their lives. Their father is a baseball player and the mother is a deeply religious Christian – two things they inherit and lose.
From among four brothers – Everett is by nature a rebel; an agnostic and a political protester and loses his way in trying too hard to change the world.
Peter is a scholar, the religious one but changes his religion to Buddhism - in his quest for knowledge (he comes to India), he leaves much of his life behind and realizies his mistake only too late.
Irwin is a conformist (always a mistake), a real love-them-all type of person – the only one who held on to his mother’s church and which resulted in his doom. The failure of careers of these three brothers is symbolized in the title (‘K’ in baseball stands for “Strike out’)
There is a fourth brother and two sisters (twins) as well. I can't share much as the story is spoilable but there is that whole spectrum of characters and the narrative is full of humorous punches - it is a little like a story from a family comedy sop but with realistic characters having realistic issues. Not something I usually look for in books, but it is hugely entertaining. And it covers so many countries - we see characters who have been to US, UK, India, Canada, Vietnam and Russia.
There are a lot of literature references too, mostly Russian - the title nods to Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov, there are other nods too – a character named after Myshkin from ‘The Idiot’; chapters named ‘The Bland Inquisition’, ‘The shoats from underground’, 'Kwakiutl Karamazov’ etc. Big great authors are often quoted - which is a thing I love, books quoting books.
There is also a lot of religion in there; mostly creating friction among characters having different religious opinions – the Bible is the most quoted and misquoted book. Another book often quoted is Budha's biography. The mother is deeply religious Christian and want to force her belief on the children, the later ressist it.
There is also a lot of politics in there, mostly focused on U.S.-Vietnam war – and oh! There is that war in there too, mostly destroying and disturbing lives as wars always do. Almost all characters who aren't in army are against war.
But above them all, it is story of a family surviving through their differences and problems created by fate, religion, war and their own mistakes as the four brothers live their lives. Their father is a baseball player and the mother is a deeply religious Christian – two things they inherit and lose.
From among four brothers – Everett is by nature a rebel; an agnostic and a political protester and loses his way in trying too hard to change the world.
Peter is a scholar, the religious one but changes his religion to Buddhism - in his quest for knowledge (he comes to India), he leaves much of his life behind and realizies his mistake only too late.
Irwin is a conformist (always a mistake), a real love-them-all type of person – the only one who held on to his mother’s church and which resulted in his doom. The failure of careers of these three brothers is symbolized in the title (‘K’ in baseball stands for “Strike out’)
There is a fourth brother and two sisters (twins) as well. I can't share much as the story is spoilable but there is that whole spectrum of characters and the narrative is full of humorous punches - it is a little like a story from a family comedy sop but with realistic characters having realistic issues. Not something I usually look for in books, but it is hugely entertaining. And it covers so many countries - we see characters who have been to US, UK, India, Canada, Vietnam and Russia.
minnaobrien's review against another edition
5.0
Every once in a great while, I am lucky enough to read a book whose authorship has surpassed craft and become art. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. David James Duncan is one of the best authors out there. His book contains compelling characters, excellent writing, and deeply meaningful themes.
This is not an easy read - it is a long book with many emotionally hard-hitting moments - but it is a highly rewarding read.
I would also recommend this book to audiobook listeners. Robertson Dean’s excellent performance elevates the story.
This is not an easy read - it is a long book with many emotionally hard-hitting moments - but it is a highly rewarding read.
I would also recommend this book to audiobook listeners. Robertson Dean’s excellent performance elevates the story.
craftbuzz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
danib11's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing story of family and faith. This was my book club pick...and I was the only person to finish. It takes a while to get into as the characters are introduced. Stick with it! This book is more than worth the energy!
soupy_tom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tophat8855's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audiobook via Hoopla. I really got into the story and felt for the family and brothers and all their conditions. This is very much centered around the Vietnam war, which was ages ago (my parents were children at the time), but also very recent and I know veterans. Everyone in this family trying to make sense of God and not-God in all of it. Felt very relatable. It is a story of white Boomer guys in their younger years, though, which there are already so many books about. But it comes together really well and I enjoyed listening to it.
biomimic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
billymac1962's review against another edition
Too rambling and from some reviews I've read, it doesn't improve much, and way too much baseball talk, so I'm out after 30 pages.
slichto3's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful wonderful wonderful wonderful wonderful. It's just so warm and lovely and funny and smart and relatable. I really loved this book - I just wish it hadn't ended. This is one of the few books where I wasn't at all aware of the page number I was on. I just enjoyed the experience of reading it.
The Brothers K is about the Chance family. The father is an ex-baseball player. He had a shot at the majors, faced, but seemed to overcome, a lot of adversity, then had it all go to hell when he ruined his pitching thumb in a mill accident. His wife, Laura, is an Adventist religious fanatic. Together, they have four sons and two daughters. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Kincaid, the fourth son of the family. He goes through the extensive travails of the Chance kids and parents as they live before, during, and after the Vietnam era. There is so much sadness in their lives that comes from being young, making mistakes, and going through the bad luck in life. But there's also this pervading warm joy that comes from having a family filled with love. Real love, where relationships are sometimes frayed but never completely unjoined.
It's all just so evocative. The writing is beautiful but not dull. It grabs your attention with wit and heart. The characters are so deep and relatable. They come across as the realest of people - they are amazing but also amazingly flawed. The one downside for me, personally, is that it made me feel what more and more books make me feel: that I haven't really lived life. The characters in The Brothers K just live these full and realized lives, while I feel like my own life is one long bore brought about by my own cowardice. But I'll stop there before I make anyone reading this more uncomfortable.
A lovely book that I would recommend to absolutely everyone. It may have overtaken Infinite Jest as my new favorite book. Read it and talk about it with me!
The Brothers K is about the Chance family. The father is an ex-baseball player. He had a shot at the majors, faced, but seemed to overcome, a lot of adversity, then had it all go to hell when he ruined his pitching thumb in a mill accident. His wife, Laura, is an Adventist religious fanatic. Together, they have four sons and two daughters. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Kincaid, the fourth son of the family. He goes through the extensive travails of the Chance kids and parents as they live before, during, and after the Vietnam era. There is so much sadness in their lives that comes from being young, making mistakes, and going through the bad luck in life. But there's also this pervading warm joy that comes from having a family filled with love. Real love, where relationships are sometimes frayed but never completely unjoined.
It's all just so evocative. The writing is beautiful but not dull. It grabs your attention with wit and heart. The characters are so deep and relatable. They come across as the realest of people - they are amazing but also amazingly flawed. The one downside for me, personally, is that it made me feel what more and more books make me feel: that I haven't really lived life. The characters in The Brothers K just live these full and realized lives, while I feel like my own life is one long bore brought about by my own cowardice. But I'll stop there before I make anyone reading this more uncomfortable.
A lovely book that I would recommend to absolutely everyone. It may have overtaken Infinite Jest as my new favorite book. Read it and talk about it with me!
ginny17's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Phenomenal book. Definitely in my top 10 of all time.