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mrchance 's review for:
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
I'm Shmooping this almost three years after reading it the first time. Writing-wise, it's a worse book than I remember. However, I see now that there are always different sides of the story. There's a lot of speculation over just how accurate both Mortenson *and* Krakauer all. I think Mortenson started with his heart in the right place, but turned into the greedy little troll that he is today. And the "scandal" got a little blown out of proportion for publicity's sake.
Even if I didn't know it was a lie, I'd still suggest an alternate subtitle: Whitey Saves Pakistan.
The whole book is about how amazing and incredible and godlike Greg Mortensen is. I couldn't tell if David Oliver Relin, the author, wanted to blow Mortensen or worship him. Either way, Relin was down on his knees and thanking Mortensen for doing what no other handsome white guy had done before him: build a building in the Middle East and stick some kids in it... at least long enough for a photo opportunity.
The scandal has caused me to look at the book in two ways.
As a book: The writing is over the top and verb choice is unnecessarily dramatic. No one ever just looks out a window, they always press their noses to the glass. I get it: the book is a call to action. But the only action I want to take is to chuck the book in the trash. The message that takes 322 pages to slog through can be achieved better in a pamphlet.
As a memoir: Embellishments are practically required in the field of memoir. I'm looking forward to doing more research into the scandal, so I can decide what is true and what is just lip service.
Even if I didn't know it was a lie, I'd still suggest an alternate subtitle: Whitey Saves Pakistan.
The whole book is about how amazing and incredible and godlike Greg Mortensen is. I couldn't tell if David Oliver Relin, the author, wanted to blow Mortensen or worship him. Either way, Relin was down on his knees and thanking Mortensen for doing what no other handsome white guy had done before him: build a building in the Middle East and stick some kids in it... at least long enough for a photo opportunity.
The scandal has caused me to look at the book in two ways.
As a book: The writing is over the top and verb choice is unnecessarily dramatic. No one ever just looks out a window, they always press their noses to the glass. I get it: the book is a call to action. But the only action I want to take is to chuck the book in the trash. The message that takes 322 pages to slog through can be achieved better in a pamphlet.
As a memoir: Embellishments are practically required in the field of memoir. I'm looking forward to doing more research into the scandal, so I can decide what is true and what is just lip service.