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not as good as the Company, but what could be?

Revisado: 04-13-19

a nice cynical take on Russian-US reading of each other's signals. Female characters badly developed.

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ridiculous plot, whiney narration.

Revisado: 03-01-19

the girl was Inconcievably stupid, as only a man could write. long, tedious, slog, then tendentious payoff. best avoid.

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Moving story of a dry quiet life

Revisado: 01-05-19

I dreaded reading the book, based on the description. but it was lovely, moving, insightful.

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My First and Last Masie Dobbs

Revisado: 12-23-18

simplistic, padded, repetitive. Masie doesn't do anything clever. Just obvious. And at the end incomprehensible and never explained. She is supposed to be observant but goes to the bohemian area of Munich and does not describe one interesting entertainer or shop or person. But we do get at least four rehashes of what she learned while serving as a nurse in Spain. No, silly. nothing interesting. Just yadda yadda about finding herself. This book is terrible. I think it's the equivalent of a romance novel with minor violence substituted for heaving passion. oh boy. not for me. back to smart writers with a quick pace, like Dick Francis.

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Which is worse, the writing or the narration?

Revisado: 10-04-16

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Thin, no, make that NO character development. A plot that jumps and scrambles. The usual conceit that two or three people alone are trying to defeat a plot to kill thousands and terrorize the United States. Sexist. The writing is terrible. One good thing, the author apparently knows a lot about the military/weapons/lingo etc. But, nah. This is sub par, even for light reading. The only reason I didn't send it back was because it was on sale and it was worth $5 to state my opinion. I hope the narrator has another line of work.
The author too.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

So Sad and So Beautiful

Revisado: 09-24-16

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The narrator beautifully embodies the main character, a sociopathic loner who is, nonetheless, achingly sympathetic. The language is lyrical (although the Irish seem to have an over-fondness for the word "tumbledown") and John Keating inhabits it completely. The story: the main and really only character other than One Eye, the dog, adopts a scruffy, mangled dog, somewhat like himself. The reader is at first hopeful that this will be a healing relationship. But the narrator's life is burdensome, and the facts slowly emerge of what he had done in his 57 years of life and what leads to the adoption of the dog. There is a twist even I, who am always on my toes expecting this and that, did not expect and yet it was beautifully explicated, The writing is gorgeous. Some of it is slow, the lists of flora and fauna. (The narrator spent his childhood teaching himself about nature in books.) His understanding of nature is, in part, an understanding of himself. Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart. Expect dread and tears.

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Prime Follet

Revisado: 09-06-16

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What an amazing trip through a time period (before the Renaissance) little known or understood. Great characters. Great narration. Wonderful details about business. Strong women. One small complaint. I'm not giving anything away (really) but if you hate knowing anything about a plot stop here.A warehouse full of wool in sacks burns. I don't think so. I think wool, filled with lanolin, packed in sacks, would not burn like that. I may be wrong, but that's my suspicion. This book really stays with you. Right now I want to go on a walking trip through the great cathedrals of Europe.

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Uneven while so very skilled

Revisado: 09-06-16

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The writing is so very good, especially the dialog of the younger kids. It sounds so real. And the plot keeps humming along. But... this is a very long book, and I felt there were way too many coincidences, too many plot stumbles. Far too many coincidences. Even the basic idea behind the plot is confused. And small things. The blind girl has a cat ... oh we forgot about the cat... oh we remember she has a cat .... what was the point of that? And why talk about going to New York City about 20 chapters ahead of time, get old aunty to agree to pay for the trip and then not go for page after page after page ... did we forget? And what was in New York that we couldn't figure out from Upstate? Why did he HAVE to go there? Remember the rule about introducing a gun? The same should apply for books that take place in the back woods but talk about going to New York City.
It's clear the author thinks there is nothing remarkable about an old coot having a fling with a girl who is hardly out of her teens (although one who is blind yet able to buy coordinating bed linens, clothing and curtains in her bed chamber, in fact it is so unremarkable that pretty much no one mentions it. That said, the sex was well done. Obviously I'm of mixed minds about this book. I know that part of New York State very well, and have no problem with his depiction of it. In fact, that was part of the pleasure of reading it. But will other people feel that the length of the book is worth the candle? Literally worth burning down the candle to read it all. The book left me feeling unsatisfied. And yes, I've read the positive reviews, which seem to be reviews of Caleb Carr more than of this book. (Apparently he's an old coot who likes to date young women. Surprise.)

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You Gotta Love This Woman

Revisado: 09-06-16

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She's a brave, deeply funny person, and the humor comes out of a refreshing attitude, unusual in a woman. (Don't shoot me for saying that. It's true. Women get criticized for being as honest and, actually, as crude, as she is.) Here's the problem. She wrote a book. Now she's reading a book. And it SOUNDS like she's reading a book. Good god. This is a woman who does stand up for a living. An actress. At some points she even sounds bored. Someone should have found a way of recording this to make her more lively, and alive. Odd.

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Love Emma, Hate the Adbridgement

Revisado: 09-06-16

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Emma Thompson is, of course, sublime, and her voice is not just an instrument but an entire orchestra. However, why was she conned into reading this abridged version of the book. The prose is so sublime, is the exact point of the book. I could see an abridged version of Anna Karenina (I know, shocking, but let me at it), but why Howard's End? I hope this isn't so college students can pretend to have read the book.
Why Emma, why?

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas