David
This 800 page epic has put me 4 books behind in my 2022 Reading Challenge, but it was worth every page! In a world not so different from our own, a mysterious group of unstoppable sleepwalkers along with their family members and a group of scientists, embark on a journey across a post-apocalyptic landscape to discover the cause and a cure. Throw in some Artificial Intelligence, a right wing militia group and a highly infectious and deadly disease, and you're in for a gut-busting laugh riot.
Kidding.
This book is dark AF.
In the aftermath of January 6th, Anthem takes us to a world where hopeless teens are killing themselves and our nation is in the midst of a civil war. So begins this bleak, dark AF, post-apocalyptic tale from Noah Hawley.
I loved “Before The Fall” so I was excited to read his latest. I found the first 100 or so pages to be gripping. But then all the teenagers, which this book follows, started to all sound alike. I had to stop and think who was who. When you couple that with the author breaking the 4th wall and speaking directly to the reader, it took me out of the story. We are also left hanging with regard to what happened to TWO pivotal characters, which really bothered me.
4.5 stars!
It's hard to talk about this story without giving anything away.
I will say my emotions ran the gamut from worried, scared, to what-the-hell just happened. I even audibly gasped at one point! The blurb by Stephen King says it best: “A true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end.”
This took me a month and a half to read.
Not because of its 600+ pages but because I knew this was the conclusion of this remarkable series and I wasn't ready to say goodbye. So I Took. My. Time.
With an out of this world ending I did not see coming, Bancroft, with his talent for prose and propulsive storytelling, knocks it out of the park. At 600+ pages, not an easy feat.
While not my favorite of the series, it's still a 5 star read for me and an excellent conclusion to a wonderful and thrilling saga.
Well here's another book I can add to my “Reasons I Don't Camp” collection.
3 women go camping in the Grand Canyon.
What could possibly go wrong?
First 100 pages were a bit of a slog and I had to suspend my disbelief at the actions this group decided to undertake once warning signs started to appear.
Yet, once they finally did, I was hooked although it felt like not a lot was happening and at times a bit repetitive.
That's not to take away anything from the author or her talents.
She managed to write wonderful characters that you care about (well most of them) which held my interest to the very end.
Down a hard to find maze-like alley is a small iron door built into the wall. Beyond that door lies a mysterious garden where, from the perspective of 5 individuals, we experience the tension, thrills and terror that is Slade House. To say anything more would spoil the story.
One of the joys of reading is discovering authors I've never read before and loving their work. That is the case for me when it comes to David Mitchell.
Stay awake! Don't go to sleep or else the pod people will get you!
It's difficult to predict the future and this book which was written in the 1950s during the Red Scare takes place in Mill Valley, CA in the 1970s.
That said, the hysterical and helpless female protagonist does not fit into the Women's Lib movement of the 1970s. She is definitely written as a product of her time.
For me, everything was moving along great until the last 3rd of the book where the exposition was endless and made the story much longer than it needed to be.
Otherwise, this book is a classic for a reason and definitely worth the read.
I saw the movie several years ago and I still haven't recovered. So it makes perfect sense for me to revisit that trauma and read the book. While not as unsettling as the film, Murakami does an excellent job of creating a sense of impending dread that will have you quickly turning the pages until the very end. A quick, fun and suspenseful read.
Love Richard Matheson (and if you're a fan of Twilight Zone, you know his stories) and this one, while not my favorite, was excellent.
Some parts were problematic (ogling a 16 year old girl) and some of the physical descriptions of our main character traversing his new giant sized landscape were, for me, difficult to envision.
That aside, a thrilling and exiting story told by one of the greats.
Now to watch the movie!....
Love the movie (the 1940 Best Picture winner directed by Hitchcock...not that Netflix version) and now that I've read the book, I can say that I love it as well.
Beautifully written and engaging gothic mystery that stands the test of time.
For a tale set in 1938, du Maurier has a lot to say about women's roles, their acquiescence to dominating males and the inevitable rebellion against the patriarchy that comes as a direct result of that dominance.
There were definitely some differences between the film and book that caught me off guard along with an incredibly abrupt ending. But then one recalls that the story begins where it ends, thus the abrupt ending brings us full circle and makes for a completely satisfying conclusion.
“The baby kicked like a demon. Rosemary told it to stop or she would start kicking back.”
Another instance of being very familiar with the movie, but still being utterly drawn into the story despite knowing the outcome. The sense of paranoia, claustrophobia and dread leapt right off the page and just added to what was already a chilling and disturbing read.
Having seen the film countless times, this was the first time I've read the book and it still managed to be unsettling! The film is quite faithful to book except for the fact that the description of Norman Bates had me thinking more of Philip Seymour Hoffman than of Anthony Perkins. I was also surprised to see that Hitchcock changed the setting of the book from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (where I grew up) to Phoenix, AZ.
Love the movie, but never read the short story, but now I have. Much more explicit and racy with some problematic language for this day and age. That aside, it's hard not to think of Audrey Hepburn when Holly Golightly is speaking the witty words of Truman Capote. The additional short stories were also very good.
Aging is something we all just accept as a natural part of life. The idea here is that aging is actually a disease. A disease that is treatable. A disease that affects 90% of us. Compare that to cancer which impacts 8.7% of the population, yet cancer research received 6.3 billion while aging research got less than 1/10th of that. That was an eye-opener for me as we are focused more on the symptoms but not the cause.
A thoroughly captivating (while at times a bit challenging) read that takes us behind the curtain and into the labs where groundbreaking work is being done to extend our lifespan AND our healthspan!
If you can avoid reading the blurb about this book, I would highly recommend you do so. The less you know the better as the blurb practically gives the entire plot away.
A great, albeit not entirely original concept, the story examines the roles of husbands and wives, child rearing and gender inequality, all very important and timely issues. The story started off strong and then took forever to get to where it was going. I also felt some of the husbands and wives were indistinguishable from one another. In the end, because I read the blurb, there were little to no surprises for me.
After finishing and loving Razorblade Tears, I went back to read this one. Suffice it to say, I am a fan and I eagerly await his next book!
If you are looking for a fast-paced, gritty crime story...your search has ended with this propulsive story that will have you turning pages faster than Bug's Plymouth Duster!
3.5 stars but rounded up to 4.
A lot of 5 star reviews so to go a bit against the grain here...This was a fun ride about a hit man who is hired to do “one last job” before he retires. I'm not big on war stories, so those segments slowed the story down for me and the ending confrontations felt rushed. Not my favorite King story, but I'm a lifelong fan so it was worth the read.
