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pam2375's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for this one, however, it just never delivered.
We find out in the first couple of paragraphs what happens in the book, but, the anticipation is 'supposed' to come with the telling of the back story. There was no anticipation and the back story is just plain boring.
If you are looking for something to make you drowsy while suffering from insomnia, this is the book for you.
We find out in the first couple of paragraphs what happens in the book, but, the anticipation is 'supposed' to come with the telling of the back story. There was no anticipation and the back story is just plain boring.
If you are looking for something to make you drowsy while suffering from insomnia, this is the book for you.
kcourts's review against another edition
2.75
I zoned out mid way thru and based on other reviews that may not have been just my state of mind. Once he went to Canada I stopped caring.
carolrinke's review
3.0
What is it about the books I have read by Richard Ford? They are well reviewed, people I respect like them, but for me, they fall flat. The first half of the book kept me involved. The idea that bank robbers can have children and the children have a point of view drew me in. It was not realistic that a military family was quite so isolated, and unbelievable that a mother would send her children off to strangers. Ford bothers me when he repeats things frequently. We had to hear that his mother was "ethnic" and his father bombastic over and over. He kept drawing us to the Canada/America similarity and differences theme. Second half of the book became unbearably too long and strung out. And the plot twists of the second half left me cold--just not likely. I had moments of loving the story...then dread that I might not bother to finish it. It was so good and so bad. Dell and Berner had a raw deal.
kanissa's review
4.0
Do you ever find yourself feeling restless after you finish a book? I have, rarely, and for some undefinable reason, this book left me feeling that way. I'm not sure why - perhaps it's just Ford's writing style.
At the end of the book, I spent a while trying to decide what it was "about." Ostensibly it's about Dell's parents and how their terrible decisions impact him, but really it seemed like so much more, and yet so much less at the same time. It struck me as a very vague book, but I think that's part of the appeal. You really get the sense of being in Dell's head. Thoughts are somewhat unformed, and the descriptions have the haze of decades-old memories.
I thought the last couple chapters - where we jumped into current-day settings - didn't quite fit. I think I would have been happier leaving Dell in the 1960s, and letting our own imaginations fill in his current life.
However, despite all of that, I enjoyed the book, though I couldn't really tell you why.
At the end of the book, I spent a while trying to decide what it was "about." Ostensibly it's about Dell's parents and how their terrible decisions impact him, but really it seemed like so much more, and yet so much less at the same time. It struck me as a very vague book, but I think that's part of the appeal. You really get the sense of being in Dell's head. Thoughts are somewhat unformed, and the descriptions have the haze of decades-old memories.
I thought the last couple chapters - where we jumped into current-day settings - didn't quite fit. I think I would have been happier leaving Dell in the 1960s, and letting our own imaginations fill in his current life.
However, despite all of that, I enjoyed the book, though I couldn't really tell you why.
therealkathryn's review
4.0
I recently read an article on a study that found people in jail considered themselves more moral than average. The gulf between how the characters in this book see themselves and how they really are is shown clearly but not over-obviously. Most either can't bridge that gulf, or if they do, find it torments them. In the end Dell, the most passive, seems to have lived the most contented life. I'm not sure if that's exactly what Richard Ford intended to convey but that's what I took away. The writing is lovely but the story moves at a glacial pace.
mschrock8's review against another edition
4.0
This story sucked me in, even with a male main character. It would not have been the same, and I would not have wanted it to be the same, if Dell's twin Burner had been the main character.
I was bothered when Ford wrote "she said" before a question. I think it should be "she asked." I heard it once, then it stuck. I noticed it every time.
Listened on Hoopla through JCPL.
Listening length 14 hr
I was bothered when Ford wrote "she said" before a question. I think it should be "she asked." I heard it once, then it stuck. I noticed it every time.
Listened on Hoopla through JCPL.
Listening length 14 hr
da403's review
2.0
This book had its moments but it was too slow & repetitive for my tastes. I don't need to repeatedly be reminded of character. I kept hoping something would happen to engage me a bit more but it just lacked the holding power. I almost gave up on this book but persevered. It did have potential... It just didn't deliver in the end for me.
shesnotthere's review
1.0
I really had high hopes for this book. The first two sentences are killer (literally). Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there. The plot putters along slowly...extremely slowly. I've seen turtles walk faster than the pace of this novel. Another issue was that it was extremely repetitive. I swear Ford repeats the fact that Dell wanted to befriend Arthur Remlinger about a hundred times. I understand that Ford wanted this novel to be bleak, but it was also excruciatingly bland. Even the robbery & murders mentioned in the first sentences are mind-numbingly tedious. I would not recommend this book.