Ellen

Literary equivalent of fingernails on chalkboard

Revisado: 04-03-16

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Dysfunctional masochists

Would you ever listen to anything by Hanya Yanagihara again?

Probably not

What three words best describe Oliver Wyman’s voice?

OK

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No.

Any additional comments?

The main character was completely unreal. Nobody with that background, untreated emotional trauma and history would have the success the "Jude" character had; nobody who has been isolated as a child and not socialized with other children suddenly becomes exceptionally socially graceful upon entering college. While the character may be attractive for some unknown reason to the other characters in the book, the character has no such relation with the reader and it is impossible to understand why the other characters let him torture them emotionally. The character has no compassion and empathy.

Heidi Pitlor in her preface to the 2015 edition of her Best Short Stories series makes the case for why it is not important for literary characters to be likeable. This book proves the case for how wrong she is about that: nobody cares what happens to an unlikeable character. This book is not enough of a work of literary genius from a technical, structural and stylistic point of view to make it so exceptionally brilliant that it surmounts unlikeability (to extend Ms. Pitlor's metaphor about color) the way a Jackson Pollock painting is great despite the fact it looks, to an uninformed cursory view, like a canvas painted by a 5 year old.

Don't waste your time and credit on this one. There are a few interesting insights, but to say "Don't be a jerk to people who love you" would save you from missing 40 hours of your life that you will never get back.

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the literary equivalent of eating a bag of Cheetos

Revisado: 02-27-15

What would have made The Bone Clocks better?

Anything like character development, insight or at a good editor with a large stack of red markers.

What was most disappointing about David Mitchell’s story?

Boring. Pointless. Like eating a large bag of Cheetos, the book is consumable, but 2000 calories and 200 grams of fat later, you realize there is nothing of substance. Unlike a box of Lucky Charms, you keep thinking you'll get to the prize at the bottom of bag, but get nothing of value for your effort. If you like good storytelling, try Rick Bass's "All The Land To Hold Us." The stories take the reader to the root of what sustains our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. The technique of interwoven short stories/novellas, that together create a portrait of what we humans are about and insight into what is worth living for, works well for Rick Bass's book, but fail in "Bone Clocks." Mitchell's story just spins and blathers without giving the reader any new perspective to bring back to his own life. At least Cheetos are yummy in a gross kind of way. This book was just dull.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

Derek Jacoby and Maggie Smith could not have made this drivel good.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bone Clocks?

It would have been a short story.

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your time on this one. Try Fourth of July Creek, The Garden of Evening Mists, or All the Land To Hold Us instead.

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just read the washington post review

Revisado: 02-27-15

Would you consider the audio edition of Fourth of July Creek to be better than the print version?

same

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fourth of July Creek?

the characteristic of a great book is that it doesn't have moments, it has sustained great writing.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Just read this

Revisado: 06-20-14

What made the experience of listening to Living with a Wild God the most enjoyable?

Many things: In general, I deeply appreciate Barbara Ehrenreich's writing. Her iconoclastic take on beliefs that are uncritically accepted defy demographic pigeonholing. Ms. Ehrenreich challenges the status quo, yet at the same time she works toward an original reframing of the concepts she deconstructs giving the listener something worthwhile to go toward. In this book, she reconciles seemingly paradoxical positions: mysticism and atheism. The insights she offers the reader are fresh and full of heart and intellect.

What other book might you compare Living with a Wild God to and why?

None.

Have you listened to any of Barbara Ehrenreich’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

An author reading their own philosophical treatise brings a degree of intent to the listening that transcends the merits and demerits of performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

For this book, there is no film. Live it.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Thank you, Jiang Rong, for this story

Revisado: 03-30-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This book gives its readers a look into a part of our world that will never be seen again. The point of view of the narrator, a foreigner to the Mongolian grassland, develops the theme of how difficult it is to truly understand a different culture, its relationship to place and its core values and beliefs as if one were native to that culture. As Chen Zhen finally starts to truly understand it, he allows the reader to share the last glimpse of a beautiful culture and land that history has destroyed and how his own actions have contributed to destroying the very thing he loves.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Papa Bilgee. He was kind enough to help out the Han students to try to teach the Han students how his people live.

Have you listened to any of Jason Culp’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The accents are a bit weird.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book started out a bit slow, but it broke my heart. I saw the loss of the beauty of the grassland and its inhabitants through the eyes of one of the last people to be able to tell how it was. Jiang Rong tells the story plainly, without polemics, and it effectively conveys the profound loss of something that should have been preserved and cherished.

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