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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
This is a long novel. It jumps forward and back in time a lot (from 1951 to the late 90's) but is not hard to follow. A consistent (large) group of characters - well drawn and compelling. The central theme is certainly the cold war but there are several others. My first experience with DeLillo and an excellent one.
There's some very nice writing in this novel, some superb, absolutely engrossing passages. Yet there's also a sense that all of that writing doesn't really add up to anything in the end.
The GoodReads one-star reviews for this monster are hilarious and worth reading. This "masterpiece" is not.
sicuramente un capolavoro epico, ma troppo troppo lungo e che si potrebbe riassumere nelle storie di tutti coloro che hanno ruotato intorno ad una pallina da baseball, meglio di Libra che mi era piaciuto ancora meno, ma sicuramente inferiore a Running Dog che invece mi è piaciuto molto.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The kind of gigantic work you only really get to write once you’ve proven your abilities a few times over. For such a big novel it feels very measured; opening set piece aside, this is mostly characters talking (and thinking) to one another. As to what it all adds up to? I’m not sure. In my more uncharitable moments I felt it amounted to little more than ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ in book form. But that would be glib to the point of inaccuracy, and on average there’s an interesting idea every couple of pages—quite the hit rate. Not the best, or even the most, DeLillo, but it’s a privilege to spend a sustained amount of time inside his mind. Perhaps that’s the novel’s main takeaway.
reflective
slow-paced
I understand that this is considered a good book and quality literature. The author is clearly talented. However, I hated the book. I only read it because I had to for school. I was not drawn to any of the characters except Cotter and he left the book at the beginning. I didn’t care about them or what happened to them. The writing style....drove me batty. The repetitive stream of consciousness stuff is beyond annoying. I was listening to the audio book and found myself yelling at it a lot to shut up and move on. My brain does that sort of thing all the time, I read to get away from it I don’t need it in my reading.
