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A review by sjgrodsky
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
3.0
"The Betrayers" was excellent, so why not try this earlier work by the same author? And maybe it would be a good choice for the Hadassah book club.
Well. I have such ambiguous feelings. The author has chosen a subject that deserves documentation. He creates somewhat believable characters. He does a good job of managing the complicated time line.
But. But his characters are such embittered, damaged people. It's hard to LIKE any of them. And after a few hundred pages I couldn't wait for the book to reach its arbitrary, unsatisfying end so I could stop spending time with these selfish, sarcastic, argumentative souls.
The book raised one question for me. Several of the characters are communist party members. They sacrifice family because the party tells them to do so. How, how, how, can a political entity become a higher value than a cousin? And no, it's not just ambition to rise in the party. It's heart and soul commitment to an entity that will destroy you as coldly as it did your cousin. That makes no sense to me. Chime in if you can explain.
Well. I have such ambiguous feelings. The author has chosen a subject that deserves documentation. He creates somewhat believable characters. He does a good job of managing the complicated time line.
But. But his characters are such embittered, damaged people. It's hard to LIKE any of them. And after a few hundred pages I couldn't wait for the book to reach its arbitrary, unsatisfying end so I could stop spending time with these selfish, sarcastic, argumentative souls.
The book raised one question for me. Several of the characters are communist party members. They sacrifice family because the party tells them to do so. How, how, how, can a political entity become a higher value than a cousin? And no, it's not just ambition to rise in the party. It's heart and soul commitment to an entity that will destroy you as coldly as it did your cousin. That makes no sense to me. Chime in if you can explain.