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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Amazing. I wish very important subject had a book about it written by this author.
dark
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5; This is a pretty impressive, comprehensive non-fiction look into the opioid epidemic. Sometimes it was difficult for me to follow all of the components as the chapters switched frequently (and I read this at school), but wow-- I learned a lot and was captivated by the writing.
Very long book. Lots of very interesting pieces about the opiate epidemic. This is a good read if you work in substance abuse.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
The introduction to Dreamland sets the stage for a complex, gripping narrative of crime and greed. Unfortunately, that narrative never really appears.
You do learn a lot about the opiate epidemic - how corporate opiate marketing paved the way for mexican heroin imports. But strangely, after giving us the broad outlines of the story in the introduction, we... continue to get broad outlines all the way through the book. While Quinones tries to liven things up with a cast of characters, we never really hear their voices or live through their experiences.
Instead, the characters come off as yet another artifice for tracing the broad outlines of the book's overall argument. You get real tired of hearing about how heroin delivery boys keep balloons of heroin in their mouths. The point, in terms of the argument, is that a clever distribution system was key in turning black-tar heroin into an epidemic problem. And this IS a fascinating fact, and worth knowing. But we just keep hearing about it over and over again, without any clear narrative purpose.
Dreamland was quite informative for me in learning about the opium epidemic. It was also extremely difficult to read because it is so infuriatingly repetitive. For those who aren't themselves doing research into these issues, the introduction is enough.
You do learn a lot about the opiate epidemic - how corporate opiate marketing paved the way for mexican heroin imports. But strangely, after giving us the broad outlines of the story in the introduction, we... continue to get broad outlines all the way through the book. While Quinones tries to liven things up with a cast of characters, we never really hear their voices or live through their experiences.
Instead, the characters come off as yet another artifice for tracing the broad outlines of the book's overall argument. You get real tired of hearing about how heroin delivery boys keep balloons of heroin in their mouths. The point, in terms of the argument, is that a clever distribution system was key in turning black-tar heroin into an epidemic problem. And this IS a fascinating fact, and worth knowing. But we just keep hearing about it over and over again, without any clear narrative purpose.
Dreamland was quite informative for me in learning about the opium epidemic. It was also extremely difficult to read because it is so infuriatingly repetitive. For those who aren't themselves doing research into these issues, the introduction is enough.
dark
informative
reflective
dark
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Fairly certain I disliked it for the main reason it’s considered a YA book. My fault for not reading the cover more thoroughly before picking it up.