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This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
What's the point of a book like this? I think we have had enough of East coast nevrotic characters with questionable ethics and broken family. How many more times we need to hear the story of bad fathers, self involved fathers and a group of siblings with all the usual cast of characters (the straight arrow with inner deviations, the free spirit and on and on). Very poor use of my time, I must admit. Gets two stars instead of one because the author has a decent mastery of the language. If he could only use his writing talent to produce something that is not a reproduction of a Woody Allen movie...
What's the point of a book like this? I think we have had enough of East coast nevrotic characters with questionable ethics and broken family. How many more times we need to hear the story of bad fathers, self involved fathers and a group of siblings with all the usual cast of characters (the straight arrow with inner deviations, the free spirit and on and on). Very poor use of my time, I must admit. Gets two stars instead of one because the author has a decent mastery of the language. If he could only use his writing talent to produce something that is not a reproduction of a Woody Allen movie...
What's the point of a book like this? I think we have had enough of East coast nevrotic characters with questionable ethics and broken family. How many more times we need to hear the story of bad fathers, self involved fathers and a group of siblings with all the usual cast of characters (the straight arrow with inner deviations, the free spirit and on and on). Very poor use of my time, I must admit. Gets two stars instead of one because the author has a decent mastery of the language. If he could only use his writing talent to produce something that is not a reproduction of a Woody Allen movie...
What's the point of a book like this? I think we have had enough of East coast nevrotic characters with questionable ethics and broken family. How many more times we need to hear the story of bad fathers, self involved fathers and a group of siblings with all the usual cast of characters (the straight arrow with inner deviations, the free spirit and on and on). Very poor use of my time, I must admit. Gets two stars instead of one because the author has a decent mastery of the language. If he could only use his writing talent to produce something that is not a reproduction of a Woody Allen movie...
That's a pretty good book. I truly enjoy when a story also gives me some historical context of things that I'm not familiar with. So with a vivid background of Dominican Republic (or like in the book “The DR”) recent history, the story moves smoothly between lighter and heavier moments, without ever losing momentum. It is truly a pleasure to read a book so original and fresh.
That's a pretty good book. I truly enjoy when a story also gives me some historical context of things that I'm not familiar with. So with a vivid background of Dominican Republic (or like in the book “The DR”) recent history, the story moves smoothly between lighter and heavier moments, without ever losing momentum. It is truly a pleasure to read a book so original and fresh.
That's a pretty good book. I truly enjoy when a story also gives me some historical context of things that I'm not familiar with. So with a vivid background of Dominican Republic (or like in the book “The DR”) recent history, the story moves smoothly between lighter and heavier moments, without ever losing momentum. It is truly a pleasure to read a book so original and fresh.
That's a pretty good book. I truly enjoy when a story also gives me some historical context of things that I'm not familiar with. So with a vivid background of Dominican Republic (or like in the book “The DR”) recent history, the story moves smoothly between lighter and heavier moments, without ever losing momentum. It is truly a pleasure to read a book so original and fresh.
While I'm really sorry for the horrible things that the author and the people around him had to suffer, and I cannot fathom what it would feel to have such a terrible dad, I cannot get over the fact that the book is overlong. Things are repeated again and again with an extremely descriptive style. The ponderousness of the book, weakens, in the end, its power.
While I'm really sorry for the horrible things that the author and the people around him had to suffer, and I cannot fathom what it would feel to have such a terrible dad, I cannot get over the fact that the book is overlong. Things are repeated again and again with an extremely descriptive style. The ponderousness of the book, weakens, in the end, its power.
While I'm really sorry for the horrible things that the author and the people around him had to suffer, and I cannot fathom what it would feel to have such a terrible dad, I cannot get over the fact that the book is overlong. Things are repeated again and again with an extremely descriptive style. The ponderousness of the book, weakens, in the end, its power.
While I'm really sorry for the horrible things that the author and the people around him had to suffer, and I cannot fathom what it would feel to have such a terrible dad, I cannot get over the fact that the book is overlong. Things are repeated again and again with an extremely descriptive style. The ponderousness of the book, weakens, in the end, its power.
Not at his finest SK has delivered an enjoyable enough book, but I was hoping for more...
The boom has a strong beginning, a mid book slump, a good uptake and a tentative ending. SK puts together a lot of already seen ingredients into a story that is original enough, but the narration is discontinuous and I found the evolution of the story not satisfying. I feel like the author has closed himself in a corner more than once and so the story ended up creatively a little flat.
Anyway, I still enjoyed it and a lot of it is fun, and I feel that with a couple more rewrite it could have been better...
Not at his finest SK has delivered an enjoyable enough book, but I was hoping for more...
The boom has a strong beginning, a mid book slump, a good uptake and a tentative ending. SK puts together a lot of already seen ingredients into a story that is original enough, but the narration is discontinuous and I found the evolution of the story not satisfying. I feel like the author has closed himself in a corner more than once and so the story ended up creatively a little flat.
Anyway, I still enjoyed it and a lot of it is fun, and I feel that with a couple more rewrite it could have been better...
Not at his finest SK has delivered an enjoyable enough book, but I was hoping for more...
The boom has a strong beginning, a mid book slump, a good uptake and a tentative ending. SK puts together a lot of already seen ingredients into a story that is original enough, but the narration is discontinuous and I found the evolution of the story not satisfying. I feel like the author has closed himself in a corner more than once and so the story ended up creatively a little flat.
Anyway, I still enjoyed it and a lot of it is fun, and I feel that with a couple more rewrite it could have been better...
Not at his finest SK has delivered an enjoyable enough book, but I was hoping for more...
The boom has a strong beginning, a mid book slump, a good uptake and a tentative ending. SK puts together a lot of already seen ingredients into a story that is original enough, but the narration is discontinuous and I found the evolution of the story not satisfying. I feel like the author has closed himself in a corner more than once and so the story ended up creatively a little flat.
Anyway, I still enjoyed it and a lot of it is fun, and I feel that with a couple more rewrite it could have been better...
This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
This book is a little weaker respect previous books of Sedaris. Themes are the same, tone is the some, humour is the same. So maybe this is getting a little repetitive.
The theme of European and specifically Italian immigrants in US has been treated many times, so I had some doubts about what this book could add.
In reality, this book is highly original, it tells interesting stories of an interesting period. Some of the moments are pretty are to read, while other are uplifting. The prose is good and the author speaks from the heart.
The theme of European and specifically Italian immigrants in US has been treated many times, so I had some doubts about what this book could add.
In reality, this book is highly original, it tells interesting stories of an interesting period. Some of the moments are pretty are to read, while other are uplifting. The prose is good and the author speaks from the heart.
The book is very powerful and there's a lot of craziness in it. Some is due to real mental illnesses, som is due to the madness of the stories and situations and some is just due to not being able to see the reality without some pretty thick educational lenses. Anyway, good for you Tara. You came out from a very strange place a wrote a landmark book.
The book is very powerful and there's a lot of craziness in it. Some is due to real mental illnesses, som is due to the madness of the stories and situations and some is just due to not being able to see the reality without some pretty thick educational lenses. Anyway, good for you Tara. You came out from a very strange place a wrote a landmark book.
The book was not what I expected, mostly because I didn't do my homework beforehand. I was expecting something more focused on fascism and persecution of the Jews, but these things are just in the background, while the book focuses on the “questione meridionale” that is a way to describe the long standing issues related to the south of Italy. Levi explores this complex matter through a series of episodes.
The style is very varied, there are flashbacks, philosophical and historical mini essays throughout the book and so on.
Certainly an original book but maybe a little cold in some places to really merit 5 stars. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading it.
The book was not what I expected, mostly because I didn't do my homework beforehand. I was expecting something more focused on fascism and persecution of the Jews, but these things are just in the background, while the book focuses on the “questione meridionale” that is a way to describe the long standing issues related to the south of Italy. Levi explores this complex matter through a series of episodes.
The style is very varied, there are flashbacks, philosophical and historical mini essays throughout the book and so on.
Certainly an original book but maybe a little cold in some places to really merit 5 stars. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading it.
So far I have not enjoyed Baricco's books that much. Silk is one of the few that I actually liked. I don't think that the quality is even and there are significant drops in style here and there, but the story is cute and the tone is not pretentious.
So far I have not enjoyed Baricco's books that much. Silk is one of the few that I actually liked. I don't think that the quality is even and there are significant drops in style here and there, but the story is cute and the tone is not pretentious.
3.5 stars... TL,DR: This would have been a great book if it wasn't too long. The story is interesting and written in elegant Italian. The research behind this is impressive and the tone in describing something difficult is always on point. Having said that, the author goes a little too far in adding historical context and side stories, such that the book feels a little dispersive and some parts are a little bit of a chore to get through.
Still, there are some very deep social meanings in this book that the author is not scared to bring forward.
3.5 stars... TL,DR: This would have been a great book if it wasn't too long. The story is interesting and written in elegant Italian. The research behind this is impressive and the tone in describing something difficult is always on point. Having said that, the author goes a little too far in adding historical context and side stories, such that the book feels a little dispersive and some parts are a little bit of a chore to get through.
Still, there are some very deep social meanings in this book that the author is not scared to bring forward.
Better than previous books. A lot of other readers find Sedaris “hilarious”, but at most I had a few chuckles, but I found this book a little less cynical than his other books and this made it more enjoyable.
Better than previous books. A lot of other readers find Sedaris “hilarious”, but at most I had a few chuckles, but I found this book a little less cynical than his other books and this made it more enjoyable.
Lots of characters and lots of story. Maybe too much. The book is well written and takes you to cool places all around Barcelona, with interesting collisions with real Spanish history, but overall, the book is too long and the story loses steam along the way because of it.
Lots of characters and lots of story. Maybe too much. The book is well written and takes you to cool places all around Barcelona, with interesting collisions with real Spanish history, but overall, the book is too long and the story loses steam along the way because of it.
I'm a “constant reader” and I'm all caught up. That means that I read everything SK wrote, and I've been an SK reader for 30+ years. This is to say, that for people who haven't read everything from SK, this book might come out really strong, but for me is just nice, because most of the themes have been explored before in other books of his.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone: Classic King, nothing new under the sun, but it was like being visited by an old friend, maybe with different new clothes. So a nice evening remembering old times. Overall, very enjoyable.
The Life of Chuck: This is the most original of the stories in this book, too bad it feels unfinished, or maybe I didn't get it :-)
If It Bleeds: There's no doubt that “The Outsider” has been a full package success and gave us great hours of entertainment, so why not getting into Holly's world one more time? No reason not to!
Rat: Solid, classic King once again. Nothing new, but well written.
I'm a “constant reader” and I'm all caught up. That means that I read everything SK wrote, and I've been an SK reader for 30+ years. This is to say, that for people who haven't read everything from SK, this book might come out really strong, but for me is just nice, because most of the themes have been explored before in other books of his.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone: Classic King, nothing new under the sun, but it was like being visited by an old friend, maybe with different new clothes. So a nice evening remembering old times. Overall, very enjoyable.
The Life of Chuck: This is the most original of the stories in this book, too bad it feels unfinished, or maybe I didn't get it :-)
If It Bleeds: There's no doubt that “The Outsider” has been a full package success and gave us great hours of entertainment, so why not getting into Holly's world one more time? No reason not to!
Rat: Solid, classic King once again. Nothing new, but well written.
There are some interesting things here and there and a lot of other things that are just common sense. The author tries so hard to make his examples conform to the framework he created, that that the tone of the book is too forced. Overall it is an easy read and it doesn't add much to your knowledge, if you already read a lot of self improvement books and regularly listen to popular podcasts.
There are some interesting things here and there and a lot of other things that are just common sense. The author tries so hard to make his examples conform to the framework he created, that that the tone of the book is too forced. Overall it is an easy read and it doesn't add much to your knowledge, if you already read a lot of self improvement books and regularly listen to popular podcasts.
Easy easy read. A reminder of simple things that everybody should already know. Most of the book is decent, then it gets a little too spiritual for my taste, but overall good suggestions that might resonate with some people more than others.
Easy easy read. A reminder of simple things that everybody should already know. Most of the book is decent, then it gets a little too spiritual for my taste, but overall good suggestions that might resonate with some people more than others.
Easy easy read. A reminder of simple things that everybody should already know. Most of the book is decent, then it gets a little too spiritual for my taste, but overall good suggestions that might resonate with some people more than others.
Easy easy read. A reminder of simple things that everybody should already know. Most of the book is decent, then it gets a little too spiritual for my taste, but overall good suggestions that might resonate with some people more than others.
Fun, not particularly deep, but well written and an enjoyable way to pass the time while working out.
Fun, not particularly deep, but well written and an enjoyable way to pass the time while working out.
An history lesson and a medicine lesson all wrapped up in an engaging family drama. Great book!
An history lesson and a medicine lesson all wrapped up in an engaging family drama. Great book!
An history lesson and a medicine lesson all wrapped up in an engaging family drama. Great book!
An history lesson and a medicine lesson all wrapped up in an engaging family drama. Great book!