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4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
Tony's review is the first of this book with text. Mine will be only the second, which seems a shame. Read his review before mine. His explains the title and is more comprehensive, which leaves me with the feeling that I can just ramble.
For some reason, I kept replacing the word ‘address’ in the title with the word ‘salute.’ This gave me the false feeling that at some point the story would concern military men and war, though gendarmes are checking “papers.” And while Ayton, the catalyst for the events, was a sailor, he could’ve been anything and probably has been. I usually have a problem with his type of character, that is, someone just about everyone ‘falls’ for and makes excuses for, but I was able to go with it this time. That has a lot to do with Boyle’s prose (character development, setting and dialogue included) and it’s what you hang on to from the beginning as a storm crashes and you’re left to fend for yourself. Eventually, as the seasons spool out, you see the ending coming, though you hope it’s not the case, especially for two of the characters, one you now know will be okay and the other who still may have a long way to go.
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Note to Tony: Not one single person coughs.
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My copy of the book has a different cover https://www.bolerium.com/pages/books/103064/kay-boyle/gentlemen-i-address-you-privately than the one above, though I opted not to add it to Goodreads.
For some reason, I kept replacing the word ‘address’ in the title with the word ‘salute.’ This gave me the false feeling that at some point the story would concern military men and war, though gendarmes are checking “papers.” And while Ayton, the catalyst for the events, was a sailor, he could’ve been anything and probably has been. I usually have a problem with his type of character, that is, someone just about everyone ‘falls’ for and makes excuses for, but I was able to go with it this time. That has a lot to do with Boyle’s prose (character development, setting and dialogue included) and it’s what you hang on to from the beginning as a storm crashes and you’re left to fend for yourself. Eventually, as the seasons spool out, you see the ending coming, though you hope it’s not the case, especially for two of the characters, one you now know will be okay and the other who still may have a long way to go.
*
Note to Tony: Not one single person coughs.
*
My copy of the book has a different cover https://www.bolerium.com/pages/books/103064/kay-boyle/gentlemen-i-address-you-privately than the one above, though I opted not to add it to Goodreads.