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bookishthoughtsandspots 's review for:
Ghost Boy: My Miraculous Escape from a Life Locked Inside My Own Body
by Martin Pistorius
In a nutshell: Martin was a perfectly happy boy until a mysterious medical condition put him into a coma and brought him back unable to communicate and physically disabled, though he remained mentally stable.
Recommendation: The first half of the book is interesting and inspirational... the second half is sweet but falls off the tracks.
I borrowed this book from a friend who is a nurse. I found the book interesting and inspirational for the most part, but the second half seemed to go off-topic.
Martin was once a regular little boy, who was active and happy. But then he falls ill under a mysterious medical condition and is suddenly unable to communicate and is paralyzed. He became trapped in his own body, in a sense that despite his inability to move or communicate, he is very aware of absolutely everything. This book is about Martin’s life, and how he fought to carry on and live as normal and as happy a life as possible.
First of all, I do want to say that Martin’s story is truly inspiring and the story has all the qualities that would make it a good book. How Martin regained control over his life enough to actually formulate ideas to MAKE a book in the first place is incredible. But the story was written out sequence and the structure therefore could be improved.
I wanted to love this book much more than I did... the beginning and first part of the novel was very intriguing. Very sad, but intriguing.
At times the events are out of sequence with the order in which they happened, so it can be difficult to follow along. I found myself frequently flipping back a chapter or two to try and find my way again.
As well, I could have done without the later parts of the novel. It is amazing that Martin found someone he loves and that loves him for who he is and can look past his impairments. But was it necessary to write 5 chapters about how amazing his now-wife is and to include a bunch of spiritual language that can go over a lot of people’s heads? Don’t get me wrong, I REALLY think it’s great that he’s with someone and had a beautiful wedding and all that. His relationship is better than most other couples I know of. But including so much detail about all of that is not interesting to the reader and I would argue takes away from the actual POINT of the whole book.
But that’s just me. It is still an interesting story and I would encourage you to read it if the subject matter seems interesting to you.
Recommendation: The first half of the book is interesting and inspirational... the second half is sweet but falls off the tracks.
I borrowed this book from a friend who is a nurse. I found the book interesting and inspirational for the most part, but the second half seemed to go off-topic.
“I would like you all to stop for a moment and really think about not having a voice or any means to communicate,” my computer voice says. “You could never say, ‘Pass the salt’ or tell someone the really important things like ‘I love you.’ You can’t tell someone that you’re uncomfortable, cold, or in pain.”
Martin was once a regular little boy, who was active and happy. But then he falls ill under a mysterious medical condition and is suddenly unable to communicate and is paralyzed. He became trapped in his own body, in a sense that despite his inability to move or communicate, he is very aware of absolutely everything. This book is about Martin’s life, and how he fought to carry on and live as normal and as happy a life as possible.
First of all, I do want to say that Martin’s story is truly inspiring and the story has all the qualities that would make it a good book. How Martin regained control over his life enough to actually formulate ideas to MAKE a book in the first place is incredible. But the story was written out sequence and the structure therefore could be improved.
I wanted to love this book much more than I did... the beginning and first part of the novel was very intriguing. Very sad, but intriguing.
At times the events are out of sequence with the order in which they happened, so it can be difficult to follow along. I found myself frequently flipping back a chapter or two to try and find my way again.
As well, I could have done without the later parts of the novel. It is amazing that Martin found someone he loves and that loves him for who he is and can look past his impairments. But was it necessary to write 5 chapters about how amazing his now-wife is and to include a bunch of spiritual language that can go over a lot of people’s heads? Don’t get me wrong, I REALLY think it’s great that he’s with someone and had a beautiful wedding and all that. His relationship is better than most other couples I know of. But including so much detail about all of that is not interesting to the reader and I would argue takes away from the actual POINT of the whole book.
But that’s just me. It is still an interesting story and I would encourage you to read it if the subject matter seems interesting to you.