fbp

Lots to think about

Revisado: 09-16-20

I’ll read/listen again. I was not ready for this in high school, it’s worth consideration once one has a little more mileage.

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A challenge

Revisado: 04-11-20

This is a difficult read filled with multiple allusions to science, natural history, geography, mythology, religion(s), multiple cultures... It is clearly a masterpiece that requires multiple reads. I did War and Peace last year and Moby Dick was a more difficult read. I looked up as many of the allusions as I could and this took time. I don’t know how people did it before Google, Wikipedia...I wasn’t required to read M-D in high school and know now that I couldn’t have done so effectively. How Melville put it all together is what made me appreciate his genius. I think I’ll read Nathaniel Philbrick “Why Read Moby-Dick.”

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Glad I did

Revisado: 06-04-19

Began reading the excellent and informative intro in a copy in the bookstore. Bought the book and read/listened. The introduction is long but enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of the subsequent text. I don’t have a classics background and can’t quibble about this or that translation but can say that I enjoyed this one. I found that having the book available helped me spell some of the names and places mentioned in the audio performance and allowed me to research them. I’ll return to the Odyssey in the future.

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well written and told

Revisado: 11-25-18

Eloquent writing and excellent narration by a reader who seems to understand the author's intent. I read this coming off of a recent read/listen of War and Peace (W/P). A Gentleman contains numerous references to historical events and characters in W/P-not to mention that the main character in A Gentleman is Count Rostov. One needn't have read W/P to enjoy this work. This book contains more bons mots than W/P. There are many historical events that required Google (at least for me) which was some of the fun of it. Highly recommended, I'll read/listen again!

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Worth the time investment

Revisado: 11-17-18

I listened on my daily commute and read at home. Working like this it took me 3 months. Listening to a masterwork during a commute is absorbing and really improves my patience with traffic. Also cant help but feeling that there isn't anything that compares on the radio. It took me 3 starts before I finally finished WP. Many lessons to be learned from this including the effects of evolution, life experience and maturity on characters. Also quite a bit of history that I wouldn't have otherwise thought to be interesting. Neville Jason does a great job and his involvement improved the experience for me. Overall a positive experience and Ill probably read it again some day.

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Circuitous enjoyment

Revisado: 08-17-18

Not what I expected but that’s a good thing. Jimmy has a way with the written and spoken word. Glad I listened.

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Arthur-another perspective

Revisado: 05-17-18

This is a grittier more realpolitik version of the making of Arthur. The first part of the book sets the tone of Britain at the time of the events and introduces the characters. Other reviews have described the first third of the book as boring but I did not find it so. I was transfixed by the end and plan to read/listen to the other 2 in the triology. The narration was superb. I usually get audible and Kindle versions so I can listen during my commute and read at home. They sync up pretty well most of the time, including bookmarks. There was no map with the Kindle version and I understand that there are maps with the print versions. There are numerous online maps pertaining to The Winter King and I looked at a couple for reference during the course of the book.

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Nelson DeMille at his best

Revisado: 10-10-17

This kept my interest from start to finish and I found myself researching some aspects of Cuban geography, history and culture that I wasn't previously aware of. The performance by Scott Brick is great. I wish there were about 100 additional pages but I realize it had to end somewhere! The conversation between Scott Brick and Nelson DeMille after the book is complete is worth a listen. I learned about the thought and work that Scott Brick put in to make this so enjoyable.

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As always, absorbing, entertaining., informative

Revisado: 06-13-17

I enjoyed this as I have London and Paris. I gave the story 4 stars instead of 5 because I felt that the continuity between generations was better in these latter two, especially Paris. I intend to read all of the works by this author.

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Best I've read/ heard in a while

Revisado: 03-08-17

The author has a rare mastery of language that is very pleasing to behold. The character speaks of having a better command of English than many native speakers. I believe that this statement in itself is like a mini roman a clef. I have marked up my paperback copy with reminders of so many phrases and insights... An example is (paraphrasing)" the Vietnam war is the first where the history is written by the losers" This book is but is not limited to an answer to this phenomenon. It is also an interesting character study exploring the duplicity inherent in human nature as people and peoples negotiate complex world. For me this is a work to savor and revisit.

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