Royster

Morally repugnant

Revisado: 02-24-25

Does female empowerment really mean multiple murders, including the murder of a completely innocent person? If the protagonist of this story really is a writer, then she should have realized that her story was fair game to anyone who wanted it. That’s how fiction works. Welcome to the club. The idea that her killing might be justified because people “stole“ her story is absurd and, without this angle, the entire action of the book is nonsense. That said, a few good plot points, some decent description and dialogue, but this book had no reason to exist. The thought that still more books in this “series” will follow is profoundly depressing.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Curmudgeon time

Revisado: 05-15-20

I like memoirs, and I especially like Jewish-y New York-y family memoirs. This one left me absolutely cold. The main character -- Kalb's grandmother -- is not only not very interesting, she's actually kind of an obnoxious person: self-centered, a snob, a fat-shamer, a name dropper, materialistic, dictatorial, and opinionated (but not in a funny way). I cringed a lot, and I don't think that was what the author intended. Sure, grandma loves her granddaughter, and granddaughter reciprocates the feeling, but is that a story that really needs telling again? And the central family arc, from shtetl to middle (or in this case upper) class prosperity, has been told a hundred times and in more endearing ways. Unless author Kalb knows a publisher or editor really well, or was due a favor, I'm not sure why this book got made. I'm glad it was short.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Breathless!

Revisado: 08-21-13

The narrator takes deep, audble breaths every few sentences, and I found the cumulative effect very distracting -- to the point that I couldn't concentrate on the material, and ended up returning the book after just about an hour or so (this is the first book I have returned in over 50 Audible selections). I don't know exactly what the problem was with this recording, since I have listened to several other books narrated by Robert Fass with no similar issue.. And I was really looking forward to the content of this book, so that's not a factor, either. I encourage you to listen carefully to the preview of this book, with the volume at your normal level in your normal listening environment (something I, unfortunately, did not do before purchasing). If you don't hear what I'm complaining about, or it doesn't bother you -- well, then it won't be a problem. (A word about the low "overall" and "story" ratings I have assigned: I didn't listen to enough of the book to form a true basis for judgment in those areas, but Audible requires a rating before it will let you move on.)

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

The real Founding Fathers should sue

Revisado: 09-12-11

The part of this book that deals with the creation and aftermath of the dictionary -- roughly the second half -- is moderately interesting. But the rest of Webster's story is not especially compelling, and the man himself comes across as quirky, at best, and a miserable human being, at his worst. Compared to the traditional Founding Fathers, Webster was simply lacking in impact, spirit, temperament, outlook, optimism, complexity, generosity -- you name it. Kendall convincingly conveys the "obsession" part of Webster's life, and he repeatedly asserts that Webster created an American culture, but the latter claim is essentially undocumented and, therefore, unpersuasive. The narrator makes the most of the material he has to work with but ultimately, I'm afriad, it's much ado about very little.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña