Blue sky, green trees.
Things really get bogged down in the middle third of the book, Miller is just repeating himself endlessly about getting the actors to "be real". The choice was either to fail to finish reading the book, or just skip pages until it got to the previews and opening night. I chose the later, for both closure and out of curiosity, and I'm glad I did.
Things really get bogged down in the middle third of the book, Miller is just repeating himself endlessly about getting the actors to "be real". The choice was either to fail to finish reading the book, or just skip pages until it got to the previews and opening night. I chose the later, for both closure and out of curiosity, and I'm glad I did.
I liked it but I'm glad that it's over.
I liked it but I'm glad that it's over.
It was a really good book, and I enjoyed the structure of the story with its two time periods and one extra time period nested inside one of them; it was a treat to read.
****SPOILERS******
I did feel a mix of sadness and frustration as the mom ended up living the exact life that she never wanted, just basically checking everything off the list one by one. And the frustration came in because it's not like she actively chose any of those things, she just failed to make a decision and let herself be carried along with things - which is in itself a decision process, but a piss-poor one to live your life by.
It was a really good book, and I enjoyed the structure of the story with its two time periods and one extra time period nested inside one of them; it was a treat to read.
****SPOILERS******
I did feel a mix of sadness and frustration as the mom ended up living the exact life that she never wanted, just basically checking everything off the list one by one. And the frustration came in because it's not like she actively chose any of those things, she just failed to make a decision and let herself be carried along with things - which is in itself a decision process, but a piss-poor one to live your life by.
Really great mystery! I recognized one of the clues as being a clue, which made me feel smart, but I didn't guess the ending, which kept me in a state of suspense throughout. In short, a perfect combo!
Really great mystery! I recognized one of the clues as being a clue, which made me feel smart, but I didn't guess the ending, which kept me in a state of suspense throughout. In short, a perfect combo!
I liked it, it was a fun read. There was A LOT of boating terminology, which I don't understand; at first it wasn't so bad, but I found myself having to skim entire paragraphs that were simply describing how parts of the boat were working. For this I'm knocking off a star because it really did take up quite a lot of the book. Aside from that I found the plot and writing charming.
I liked it, it was a fun read. There was A LOT of boating terminology, which I don't understand; at first it wasn't so bad, but I found myself having to skim entire paragraphs that were simply describing how parts of the boat were working. For this I'm knocking off a star because it really did take up quite a lot of the book. Aside from that I found the plot and writing charming.
I liked it, it was a fun read. There was A LOT of boating terminology, which I don't understand; at first it wasn't so bad, but I found myself having to skim entire paragraphs that were simply describing how parts of the boat were working. For this I'm knocking off a star because it really did take up quite a lot of the book. Aside from that I found the plot and writing charming.
I liked it, it was a fun read. There was A LOT of boating terminology, which I don't understand; at first it wasn't so bad, but I found myself having to skim entire paragraphs that were simply describing how parts of the boat were working. For this I'm knocking off a star because it really did take up quite a lot of the book. Aside from that I found the plot and writing charming.
I found all but a few of the people in this book completely horrible. That makes it a weird ride, to hate people who you are spending many hours learning about, but also to still be interested in the story.
Also, I felt like the author was quite the apologist for Sam. He never says it explicitly, but the vibe is very "Sam is an asshole and treats people like shit but it's okay because he's smart!" This made me lose faith in the author and in his perspective on the story.
Glad I read the book, but even more glad that it's over.
I found all but a few of the people in this book completely horrible. That makes it a weird ride, to hate people who you are spending many hours learning about, but also to still be interested in the story.
Also, I felt like the author was quite the apologist for Sam. He never says it explicitly, but the vibe is very "Sam is an asshole and treats people like shit but it's okay because he's smart!" This made me lose faith in the author and in his perspective on the story.
Glad I read the book, but even more glad that it's over.
Absolutely fantastic.
Absolutely fantastic.
Quite interesting. When it got to the testimonies of the defendants I started skimming because I figured it was all lies, and by the time we were in the closing statements I was heavily skimming because it got very repetitive. I skimmed basically everything after that until it came to the epilogue, which, along with the afterward, returned to new and interesting points.
Final thought: I was surprised and titillated at how much the author threw the cops under the bus, it must have been quite controversial at the time.
Quite interesting. When it got to the testimonies of the defendants I started skimming because I figured it was all lies, and by the time we were in the closing statements I was heavily skimming because it got very repetitive. I skimmed basically everything after that until it came to the epilogue, which, along with the afterward, returned to new and interesting points.
Final thought: I was surprised and titillated at how much the author threw the cops under the bus, it must have been quite controversial at the time.
This book can be divided into four parts: the lead-up to the disaster, the disaster, the immediate afterwards, and the long-term afterwards. The first part, the lead-up, is quite repetitive, with facts and elements repeated a minimum of three times (per my personal counting). Don't let this stop you! The rest of the book is fantastic, by turns horrifying and sad and uplifting, and at every point fascinating.
This book can be divided into four parts: the lead-up to the disaster, the disaster, the immediate afterwards, and the long-term afterwards. The first part, the lead-up, is quite repetitive, with facts and elements repeated a minimum of three times (per my personal counting). Don't let this stop you! The rest of the book is fantastic, by turns horrifying and sad and uplifting, and at every point fascinating.
It's like the love child of a fairy tale book and an inter-generational novel about mothers and daughters - I loved it.
It's like the love child of a fairy tale book and an inter-generational novel about mothers and daughters - I loved it.
Interesting and well-written science book. I did find it to be overly long, some of the diseases discussed could have been cut in order to keep it lean and zesty.
I also have to say that in the chapter about typhoid, I thought it was irresponsible of the author to declare that Mary Mallon (aka Typhoid Mary) had a mental illness when there is no indication that she was ever diagnosed with one - a fact that the author freely admits immediately after asserting the mental illness claim. Just because someone has a disagreeable personality, and sometimes doesn't conform to social norms, doesn't mean they have a mental illness. The willingness of the author to label people as mentally ill, having never met them and coming from an entirely different cultural period, is deeply troubling.
Interesting and well-written science book. I did find it to be overly long, some of the diseases discussed could have been cut in order to keep it lean and zesty.
I also have to say that in the chapter about typhoid, I thought it was irresponsible of the author to declare that Mary Mallon (aka Typhoid Mary) had a mental illness when there is no indication that she was ever diagnosed with one - a fact that the author freely admits immediately after asserting the mental illness claim. Just because someone has a disagreeable personality, and sometimes doesn't conform to social norms, doesn't mean they have a mental illness. The willingness of the author to label people as mentally ill, having never met them and coming from an entirely different cultural period, is deeply troubling.
Absolutely incredible. I loved that it covered so many aspects of life, from theft to theater to love. I suspect that many readers will be extremely curious about denazification, as was I, and the chapter does not disappoint; frankly, it stunned me.
One thing that I particularly loved was that Brigitte Eicke's diary was one of the sources of information for this book. See, she grew up on the street that I now live on, in fact I can see her door from my living room. So her input for this book had particular meaning to me, and gave me a little thrill every time I saw her name. For the curious, Eicke's diary is called Backfisch im Bombenkrieg (Teenager in the War), available only in German as of this writing.
Absolutely incredible. I loved that it covered so many aspects of life, from theft to theater to love. I suspect that many readers will be extremely curious about denazification, as was I, and the chapter does not disappoint; frankly, it stunned me.
One thing that I particularly loved was that Brigitte Eicke's diary was one of the sources of information for this book. See, she grew up on the street that I now live on, in fact I can see her door from my living room. So her input for this book had particular meaning to me, and gave me a little thrill every time I saw her name. For the curious, Eicke's diary is called Backfisch im Bombenkrieg (Teenager in the War), available only in German as of this writing.
