Blue sky, green trees
Good, not great. Showed a different kind of Bond than we see in the movies, which was interesting. Is this because it is the first book, and the later books will be more typical? Or did the movies change things to be less nuanced?
Good, not great. Showed a different kind of Bond than we see in the movies, which was interesting. Is this because it is the first book, and the later books will be more typical? Or did the movies change things to be less nuanced?
I read it as a teenager and remember more details about it than I do for some books I read just last year. I also remember that once she escapes and makes her way back toward home the story becomes weighed down with tedious descriptions of the landscape. Many many many pages had to be skipped (is he still talking about trees? damn. is he still talking about trees? damn.) in order to make it through to the end, where we finally got the payoff that the first part of the book promised.
I read it as a teenager and remember more details about it than I do for some books I read just last year. I also remember that once she escapes and makes her way back toward home the story becomes weighed down with tedious descriptions of the landscape. Many many many pages had to be skipped (is he still talking about trees? damn. is he still talking about trees? damn.) in order to make it through to the end, where we finally got the payoff that the first part of the book promised.
One and a half stars because it is not necessarily bad, just repetitive. There's no way I can make it through a whole year of this so I'm closing the book in April. I almost never say this but: the movie is better.
One and a half stars because it is not necessarily bad, just repetitive. There's no way I can make it through a whole year of this so I'm closing the book in April. I almost never say this but: the movie is better.
Fun and clever and exciting.
Added to listNon Fictionwith 387 books.
The second essay was a bit weak, but the other two were really strong so it evened out to a good book. O'Hagan's viewpoint and writing style are really compelling, and shone especially brightly in the essay titled The Satoshi Affair.
The second essay was a bit weak, but the other two were really strong so it evened out to a good book. O'Hagan's viewpoint and writing style are really compelling, and shone especially brightly in the essay titled The Satoshi Affair.
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Merged review:
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Merged review:
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Maybe it's one of those pieces where you really have to see it performed live; as an audiobook performance it felt stilted and emotionless.
Maybe it's one of those pieces where you really have to see it performed live; as an audiobook performance it felt stilted and emotionless.
This beautiful book destroyed me.
This beautiful book destroyed me.
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Merged review:
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Merged review:
Grim.
The lives of small-time farmers that were venerated in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder contain a bitter truth: there is no way to make a living on the prairie without government aid (rarely forthcoming) or tens of thousands of dollars already in your bank account. And the dark secret of the “Little House” series is that the Ingalls family did not make it. Charles and Caroline repeatedly took chances with their money, their labor, and the safety of their children, and none of those chances paid off; they never did make it as farmers on the prairie. Once Laura marries and has started a life of her own there is hope that circumstances will ease, but she has quite the daddy complex and marries a man just like Charles: one determined to be a farmer in a part of the country that is too arid to sustain crops, and one who is a spendthrift to boot. Life is grim and stays that way, and eventually a daughter named Rose grows up to cause a whole host of problems.
For readers who grew up on the “Little House” books (as I did) this book is scandalous and fascinating and touching and grim. The author is thorough and precise in the details, and gives much-needed context to a life that we all thought we knew. A must-read.
Added to listGermanywith 105 books.
Good spy thriller, although a bit too much exposition for my taste. It's not very believable when there's only one person in a book with any brains and they have to tell not only their peers but their superiors which is their ass and which is their elbow.
Good spy thriller, although a bit too much exposition for my taste. It's not very believable when there's only one person in a book with any brains and they have to tell not only their peers but their superiors which is their ass and which is their elbow.
Added to listAuf Deutschwith 121 books.
