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A review by petersimpson
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This reminds me of recent Stephen King novels. Mostly because it seems like King and Hanks both seem like they could really do with a good editor to go to town on their books. Tighten it up and chunk out some of the chaff. But there was also hints of King’s style in this, filling out characters and backstory.
It’s readable and it’s keeps you engaged, but it’s a little all over the place. It chops around a bit and has a few different beginnings that don’t really connect for a long while. And by the time they do link back in it’s kind of too little too late. Hanks tried a few different writing styles and even uses footnotes to tell us things that most of the time we don’t need telling. If I sound like I’m not really giving much praise it’s because whilst I enjoyed the book I think if a few things were tightened up or done differently it could have been much better. After reading his short story collection I should have been a bit wearier about a novel, but I was tempted by the premise. If Hanks continues to write I’ll be interested, but hope that his style gets a bit better.
It’s readable and it’s keeps you engaged, but it’s a little all over the place. It chops around a bit and has a few different beginnings that don’t really connect for a long while. And by the time they do link back in it’s kind of too little too late. Hanks tried a few different writing styles and even uses footnotes to tell us things that most of the time we don’t need telling. If I sound like I’m not really giving much praise it’s because whilst I enjoyed the book I think if a few things were tightened up or done differently it could have been much better. After reading his short story collection I should have been a bit wearier about a novel, but I was tempted by the premise. If Hanks continues to write I’ll be interested, but hope that his style gets a bit better.