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banjax451's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't enjoy this. Couldn't get into it. I like Jess Walter and have enjoyed his novels in the past, but this one just didn't do it for me. I respect what he was trying to write about, but just found this incredibly depressing.
randybo5's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I read this book. It was funny and well-written, but was like watching a train wreck as the main character made one stupid decision after another.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Satire by Jess Walters about a man desperate to make some money quick who gets involved with some not-so-bright-ideas relating to illegal activities. Fast paced, but it didn't really do much for me as a whole. I should have written this little blurb a month ago when I finished it.
pustulio's review against another edition
3.0
Una calificación real sería 2 estrellas, pero la tercera se la puse por asuntos personales. En mi familia tuvimos una crisis que si bien no se parece del todo a la situación del libro, tiene puntos en los que me puedo sentir identificado.
Es lo que se podría denominar como una crisis de los 40. Pero de las culeras, donde pierdes todo. El libro al final tiene un mensaje un poco de que cuando pierdes todo te das cuenta de lo que realmente es importante, pero no tan clichetero. Pensé que iba a ser más pretencioso pero la verdad es una lectura ligera con un persona principal patético pero simpático.
Desiciones pendejas las tomamos todos en algún momento de la vida.
Y ahora una representación gráfica de cuando crees tomar una buena decisión.
Es lo que se podría denominar como una crisis de los 40. Pero de las culeras, donde pierdes todo. El libro al final tiene un mensaje un poco de que cuando pierdes todo te das cuenta de lo que realmente es importante, pero no tan clichetero. Pensé que iba a ser más pretencioso pero la verdad es una lectura ligera con un persona principal patético pero simpático.
Desiciones pendejas las tomamos todos en algún momento de la vida.
Y ahora una representación gráfica de cuando crees tomar una buena decisión.
proffy's review against another edition
3.0
Matt's life is swirling down the toilet - no job, no prospects, a senile father, a possibly-cheating wife, a house about to be reclaimed, and two kids in private school. When he randomly meets up with some stoners at a 7/11, Matt's life takes an unexpected turn, and he makes some unusual decisions. But really, could things get any worse?
Everybody, their mother, and their dog seem to have nothing but gushy goodness to say about this book. Hailed as an artfully written novel full of laugh out loud moments and biting satire, The Financial Lives of the Poets is regarded by many - bloggers and "professional" critics alike - as one of the year's best novels. Eh...okay. Now I did enjoy the book. I thought it was a unique read with some very relevant points about American culture and ideology, but I wasn't blown away by it as everyone else seems to be.
So now that most of you want to stone me for not falling in passionate, suicide-inducing love with this book, let me go back to why I do like it. Originality and humor. Pontificating on the financial crisis and the cultural climate which allowed the crisis to occur through this particular plot is both unique and hilarious. And while I had a great deal of trouble falling in with the extremely bad decisions being made, the characters did feel like real people, the details of them nicely coalescing into unified and believable wholes. Just not wholes I would like. At all.
Everybody, their mother, and their dog seem to have nothing but gushy goodness to say about this book. Hailed as an artfully written novel full of laugh out loud moments and biting satire, The Financial Lives of the Poets is regarded by many - bloggers and "professional" critics alike - as one of the year's best novels. Eh...okay. Now I did enjoy the book. I thought it was a unique read with some very relevant points about American culture and ideology, but I wasn't blown away by it as everyone else seems to be.
So now that most of you want to stone me for not falling in passionate, suicide-inducing love with this book, let me go back to why I do like it. Originality and humor. Pontificating on the financial crisis and the cultural climate which allowed the crisis to occur through this particular plot is both unique and hilarious. And while I had a great deal of trouble falling in with the extremely bad decisions being made, the characters did feel like real people, the details of them nicely coalescing into unified and believable wholes. Just not wholes I would like. At all.
lola425's review against another edition
3.0
This book reminded me of This is Where We Live except that in this book you got the feeling that although the characters were watching their dreams succumb to reality, there was no sense of entitlement there. In other words, the characters were sympathetic, their actions forgiveable.
cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, many people across the country find themselves in the same position as husband and wife Matt and Lisa of "The Financial Lives of the Poets": the money is running out, the couple is about to lose their home, Lisa may or may not be cheating on Matt with a lumber expert, Matt decides to begin dealing drugs to make extra money, and the senile grandfather proclaims his love of chipped beef and "The Rockford Files" from the living room.
Okay, so maybe we can all identify with the money component...hopefully not much more beyond that.
I absolutely loved the first 2/3 of the book, but then slowly found myself losing interest in the story. Matt has a fantastic sense of humor - cynicism and sarcasm sprinkled with wit that made him very likable for me, and that is ultimately what kept me reading. Yes, I did want to know the fate of this young couple and their sons, but it just felt like the last act was detached from the rest of the book.
The poems were quirky and fun; I love when novelists go outside the box a little.
I would recommend it, but there are others I would recommend first.
Okay, so maybe we can all identify with the money component...hopefully not much more beyond that.
I absolutely loved the first 2/3 of the book, but then slowly found myself losing interest in the story. Matt has a fantastic sense of humor - cynicism and sarcasm sprinkled with wit that made him very likable for me, and that is ultimately what kept me reading. Yes, I did want to know the fate of this young couple and their sons, but it just felt like the last act was detached from the rest of the book.
The poems were quirky and fun; I love when novelists go outside the box a little.
I would recommend it, but there are others I would recommend first.
shoemaker's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and intelligent, a rather typical ripping yarn about male, mid-life crisis. Thanks to Shelley for the recommendation.