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Seriously- phenomenal

Revisado: 05-14-24

Im a life long bookworm, and a tad older than these main characters. But very few books have ever actually made me cry- this did. Not sad, not happy- but fully nuanced, expansively beautiful. For a post-menopausal person, simultaneously gut-piercing and thoroughly embracing. But a woman at any age could identify- it’s amusingly insightful about the experience of being female. I’m aching to get one of the men in my life to read it & weigh in! Anyway, a fabulous slow-burn story written with towering skill, enjoyably performed. My new favorite, and I don’t change often! I enthusiastically recommend (:

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Awful in just about every way

Revisado: 08-24-21

I love everything Neil Gaiman, so I was excited for this. But, with 3 hours left, I just can’t take it anymore. As a rule, I finish books I start- but this one filled me with such dread, I decided to cut my losses. It must be difficult to convert a graphic format to audio, and this doesn’t succeed. I believe I’ve listened to several hundred audio titles, and this has the distinction of being the very worst!

It jumps around inexplicably and is hard to follow. Story lines are left apparently incomplete, and the “episodes” seem only loosely related. There doesn’t seem to be any character or plot development, and the humor of the original totally fails.

The production is terrible. The performances are absurdly campy, but not in an amusing way, just cringeworthy (or worse!) There’s too much music which is ok, I guess, except it isn’t good music, and it wastes massive time without adding anything meaningful. The worst is the extreme reliance on sound effects, many of which are at best distracting, and at worse gag-provoking (do we really need all that chewing?)

On the whole, a disorganized collection of distasteful vignettes, larded with distracting or downright gross side effects, with no redeeming elements. Vaguely traumatizing, in fact. Which I guess has an upside for me at the moment- I’ve been spending too much time listening to audiobooks, and now it’ll be easy for me to take a break for awhile!

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Sexist

Revisado: 04-25-21

The book is an interminable adolescent boy fantasy. At the end, the protagonist literally saves the world with his dick. Need I say more?

Otherwise, forgettable.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

The narration is the best aspect

Revisado: 01-08-21

To each his own, right? Another reviewer hated the narration, but I thought it was fabulous. Then again, John Lee was already one of my favorite narrators.

The book itself is written well, and I am deeply appreciative of the author’s commitment to historical accuracy. I’ve read most of Larson’s other books and will look forward to his work in the future. But, having already read a biography of Churchill, I didn’t learn anything new or gain any additional perspective here. Yet if I hadn’t already been familiar with WSC, I think this book might have been a little hard to follow.

If I were to recommend the book, it would be for the narration :)

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In my Top Ten

Revisado: 07-09-18

I will (have) listened to this book again & again. It is a lovely story; the characters are beautifully drawn and portrayed; but most of all: the story manages to capture Universal Truths of Life. That’s a phenomenally difficult task for an author, but Kate Atkinson manages it here. After this, I went on to read all her other books (also great.) It’s not really a “light read” - it has substance & meaning - but it’s also entertaining, so I would (and do) recommend this book to everyone.

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Awesome - heavyweight

Revisado: 07-09-18

Wow, I really loved this book. The story itself is original & fresh. The structure & the way the story unfolds; the pace; the development of the characters: terrific. But this is not light entertainment: it’s a hard-hitting feminist punch. (Well, maybe “feminist” isn’t the right term, the way some people interpret the word: this book explicitly denies female superiority.) In fact, what it really does is evaluate gender stereotypes, and the clever way it turns them upside down is surprising, fun, and satisfying. I love how this book destroys stereotypes without resorting to any kind of man-hating, in fact supporting male dignity and honor. I think it would be great for my feminist teenage daughter to read this book, but there are some very disturbing scenes. Those scenes (hopefully not a spoiler, but: powerful women behaving very badly) are essential to the point of the book. I will recommend this book to everyone, though I would guess that anyone not at least somewhat sympathetic to gender equality won’t like it. Anyway, I think this is a masterful work that I expect & hope will become a classic. Also, the reader is terrific.

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Give it time

Revisado: 07-09-18

I almost gave up on this story because the protagonist is just horrible. But... I decided to give it a little more time (only because I couldn’t get another book just then!) and I ended up enjoying it. Hopefully this isn’t a spoiler, but the main character does turn out to have redeeming qualities, and he’s treated so badly, you do end up rooting for him. I’m into WWII stories at the moment, & I don’t know that I could recommend the book except to a fellow fan. The WWII context is good, though it seems a little far-fetched, so I’m curious about “based on a true story.” But I liked it overall, & the reader’s performance is fabulous.

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