Bill54494

Powerful! It may be a novel, but...

Revisado: 09-13-24

My early adult years coincide with the chronological context of this story, and I can tell you that the underlying premise of this novel is all too real. As a white northerner who did undergraduate study in Washington, D.C. during the mid-1960s, i experienced then a level of culture shock that this story portrays so vividly.

I highly recommend this book, not only for the story it tells so well, but maybe even more so for the history it so accurately recounts. I would rate this novel in the Top 10 of the hundreds of novels I've ever read or listened to.

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A very weird book. I think...

Revisado: 01-05-24

Let me start by saying that if I hear the phrase "I think" one more time, I'm liable to scream. I think... Read or listen to the book. You'll know what I mean. I think...

I should know by now that I just don't like weird books, no matter how highly they are reviewed by the experts. Of course the experts don't warn us that it's a weird book. I think it takes a literary afficionado to appreciate this kind of literature, and I am not one of those. I think... It's like music critics who love atonal compositions because they appreciate the technical expertise of the composer and the skill of those who bring the music to life, rather than whether the music sounds good. There are those in the field of art who seem to think that if it appeals to the masses, then it's just not real art. I disagree. And I digress. I think...

More power to you if you appreciate and enjoy this kind of literature. I didn't, and I don't. I won't presume to tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I wish I didn't do. No, I'll let you guess. I think...

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??? IMHO

Revisado: 09-07-23

I had a really hard time following this epic storyline. I got to the end, and all I could say was, "Huh?" I was glad it was over. I can now get back to listening to something that will catch my imagination and my interest. To be clear, it was not all bad; otherwise, I would not have hung in there to the bitter end. I just could never quite get into the world of Kvothe. I know that other reviewers have put this story on the same level as Tolkien, C. S. Lewis and others who have created worlds of their own that draw readers in to their magic. This was not my experience. I kind of liked Kvothe, but for all his smarts, he did some really stupid things. The story itself wove Kvothe in and out of a dizzying merry-go-round of in-the-university-out-of-the-university, in-a-relationship-with-a-woman and out-of-a-relationship-with-a-woman (did he ever get women figured out?) on and on and on. Although the story had its moments, all-in-all I did not like it. If your experience is/was/will be better, that's great. A word of the wise to anyone just entering this world of Patrick Rothfuss: You will run into a character called The Chronicler. Pay attention to him.

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New insights for me

Revisado: 08-16-23

as a Caucasian American, I realize how profoundly ignorant I am about the Black experience in this country. This book gave me many new insights as to what my Black brothers and sisters have experienced and continue to experience. Thank you!

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Best Narrators Ever!

Revisado: 12-23-22

This is a great story. Yes, it does drag in a few parts, but it is still a compelling listen. I made a point of listening to it whenever I could, including when I sat down to eat--a time that I usually reserve for reading periodicals.

What really made this story come alive for me was the quality of the narration. Numrich and King were superb, giving each character a unique voice and being consistent with those voices throughout the narrative. I've listened to many audio books over the last 20 years, and I think that the narration of this book was the best I've ever heard.

Is the story an allegory? I'm not literarily astute enough to answer that with certainty, but I think it might be. Read or listen to it and decide for yourself.

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Triumph, Tragedy, History

Revisado: 12-12-22

Although I often rate the books I listen to, I don't usually take the time to write a review. This book is so well done that I just felt the need to say so. It's really two stories in one. It's about a tailgunner who falls four miles inside the severed tail of his B-17 over Germany and survives, and it's about the author's own life, getting to know this tailgunner, winning his trust--and then dealing with a tragedy in his own life. No spoilers here. Read the book!

There is one minor downside: The narrator is really pretty good, but he definitely did not do his homework to try to get pronunciations right. As a couple of examples, he pronounces "commandant" in a way that rhymes with "commandment", and he pronounces "archivist" with a "ch" sound as in "chair", rather than the "k" sound that is used in both American and British diction. He also consistently mispronounces some Wisconsin place names, most notably Viroqua (at least he's consistent!) It's pronounced vr-OW-kwuh. I guess these aren't big things, but they are somewhat annoying, and it seems to me that a narrator should take the time to look these words up and get them correct. (It's just lucky he didn't have to pronounce Oconomowoc!)

As I said, read (or listen to) the book! You will not be disappointed.

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Compelling on many levels

Revisado: 03-13-22

This book is not a page-turner in the usual sense, but I truly looked forward to every opportunity to listen--a few minutes while preparing a meal or getting ready for bed, an hour while driving to an appointment. The author has great empathy for the simple but profound elements of being human, and he communicates this with great sensitivity for his characters and how they deal with the challenges of life and relationships.

As a Catholic priest I am particularly appreciative of the way he deals with matters of faith. Too many authors seem not to understand religion in general and Catholicism in particular. Dugoni is not afraid to allow his characters to be angry with God--or even reject God, but he also is not afraid to let them find God, even in the mess and struggles of life. Unlike some authors, he never portrays Catholicism from supercilious loftiness or gratuitous condescension. I think he's honest. It's not easy to let God be God.

To be clear, this book is not about religion. It is about people. It is about pain. It is about loss. It is about war. It is about love. It is about good. It is about evil.

It is about life.

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I'm an old guy

Revisado: 02-24-22

Okay. I'm an 80 year-old man, and I like chick flicks. So humor me.

Right. I must be just a sentimental old fool. Yes. That has to be why I loved this book. I have been listening to audible books for almost twenty years now, and this has to be one of the best.

Whether I was driving or brushing my teeth or putting drops in my eyes before going to bed, I listened as the people in this book came alive. I felt like I was there--almost part of the family.

Oh, there were twists that sort of pushed the limits of credibility, but they never quite crossed that line. In the end, I learned a lot about love. Maybe you will too.

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See Beyond the Premise

Revisado: 01-19-22

Granted, there may be some readers who are uncomfortable with the premise of this story. After all, the main protagonists are two young men who are in their last year of high school, and they're madly in love with each other. They kiss a lot, but to the author's credit, their rather cautious sexual relationship is portrayed quite obliquely. It's implied, but not explicit. and that's great, because it doesn't distract from the many messages that probe so much deeper into the wonderful--and sometimes painful--mysteries of life.

This book is not a page-turner in the ordinary sense. I'd say it is more of a "page savorer". Well, at least I savored pretty much every page. Even in the midst of human awfulness, the author has managed to beautifully portray the delicious triumph of human goodness. The story doesn't deny the awfulness; it doesn't omit the reality of tragedy and sadness; it just gently and with wonderful grace shows the winning power of real love.

The Greek language has three words for love. There's "eros"; since we get our English word "erotic" from that, it's easy to see what kind of love "eros" describes. Then there's "philos", which is brotherly--or sisterly--love (hence Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love). Then there's "agape" (pronounced "AH-ga-pay", not "a-GAYP"), which is essentially unselfish love that seeks the good of the other. This story honestly recognizes the reality of each of these "loves" in the human experience, but the one that stands out beyond the others is agape.

I really liked this book for its sensitive portrayal of those things in life which really matter.

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Who's talking now?

Revisado: 11-14-20

In my opinion this sequel to "Call Me by Your Name" was interesting, but not quite so compelling as its antecedent. I enjoyed the story--really, it's stories plural, but my enjoyment was compromised by my frequent inability to know who was talking in any given conversation. I really think that the narrative could have used more than one narrator.

All in all, some who enjoyed the first book will like this one, others will not. I thought it was okay, and I don't feel that I wasted my time listening to it.

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