OYENTE

Kraig

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Crusty old men, suicide and slow melancholy

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-26-25

I did not enjoy this book.

This is my fourth Wendell Berry book. The most I can say for it is that is does further flesh out life in Port William. The chapters jump for person to person in the town. It’s slow, I think it’s best suited to someone whose life is quiet, someone in the twilight years of their life who is also remembering. Either that or someone who is driving cross country and has 12 hours to devote to a story that really doesn’t get anywhere. It’s melancholy and downright sad. But I didn’t even feel drawn into their grief. A young girl gets washed away in a flood, a husband/son is declared missing in action, and a man takes his life. The most recognizable thread throughout the narrative is one of old men running their mouths, and drinking.

Yes, Wendell Berry is a fabulous writer and the way he can let you know someone’s thoughts, and make you feel like you’re in Port William is masterful. But what he was actually trying to say was lost on me.

One of the few vignettes I did enjoy was the one about the couple that goes to check on the family that lost their daughter in the flood. It’s comical, and yet does make you want to cry from sheer frustration, or bittersweet sadness that at least someone cares enough to check up on them.

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Part of the Membership

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-29-25

Susan Denaker makes this book come alive. The story of Hannah draws you in, and you feel like for the span of eight hours, you’re part of the Port William membership. I didn’t grow up in an agricultural community, but listening to Hannah Coulter awakens the longing to belong to a place. To carve out existence from an untamed piece of land. There is also that welling up emotion that makes you want to hold on tight to those you love, the family and friends that God has placed in your life. I loved the words of Lydah Branch to Hannah, “We have done so much sewing together that she says we have sewn ourselves together.” It’s those kinds of relationships that I want to continue to cultivate in my life. This is my second time listening to Hannah Coulter, but I am quite sure it won’t be my last. So many different thoughts and emotions this time though. The first time I wasn’t married, and was looking forward to the day I would belong to someone. In this season I’m thinking about caring for my husband and family, and those around us. Working hard to lean into the “yoke” of my life. What it means to be faithful where God has planted me.

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Required reading books for a liberal arts school?

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-09-25

I listened to this because it was on the book list as inspiration for a book I love, “Mending Life.” And, because it was free and under two hours on audible. This feels like one of those required reading books for a liberal arts school, with very little to offer the average person.

It felt like the author tried very hard not to talk about God. Everything in the book is in praise of the simple, natural state of things. Harmony and balance, and all these things are of the Creator God, but this is not seen from an atheist / Japanese perspective. It’s a heavily cultural treatise, going in depth about tea ceremonies and historical nuances. I gleaned very little. I think the most interesting story was about a group of artists who made their art of of natural elements that would soon decompose so their art could never be owned or put in a museum, rather appreciated for a short while then left to meld back into nature.

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Ok, but not as good as Little Women…

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-30-24

I did enjoy this sequel much better than the first book, “Little Men.” I find the stories of childhood often a little dull, and I have hard time staying focused. This one was more engaging as you followed the lives of the boys as they got married and made their way in the world. I felt exceedingly sad though that Dan didn’t marry. And also later reading about the real live sister Amy, and how she had passed away before this book was written, thus Louisa rarely speaks of Amy in the book. I felt annoyed that the boys were constantly running to confess to Mother Bhaer. I suppose it can’t be helped seeing as how it’s written from Jo’s/Louisa’s perspective. But still you feel like they should have also had a strong relationship with Professor Bhaer or Laurie. Also, it felt like too many main characters. It worked in “Little Men” because it’s a story of children, but I would have preferred that this one honed in on two or three main boys and followed their threads. Rather than seeing them mature and become adults, you still feel like you’re looking at them through the eyes of grandparents - who view even 20-somethings as “children.” Anyways… needless to say “Little Women/Good Wives” is still her crowing work!

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The slithering snake is a villain!

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-30-24

I’m not a good enough book critic to articulate why “The Old Man” bothered me so much, only to say boy, he did! I love the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Sherlock, though full of his own faults feels like a man of character. He aids the law, and is a respectable man though eccentric. Also Orczy’s “Scarlet Pimpernel” is a courageous, chivalrous, noble character. The Old Man feels like a slithering snake. He sits back and winks at real villains going free… and then you find out he’s one of the worst villains himself! Oh, so cringy. I enjoyed listening to the twist and turns of the mysteries overall, but didn’t like that the bad guys seemingly “get away with it” and also I felt like there were too many names to keep track of in the stories. It felt tedious to listen to in ways that never seemed a stain with Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Though decent, I can see why these tales are not as popular as other mystery series.

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Sir Percy at his finest!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-05-24

This was my third book this year from the Scarlet Pimpernel series. It’s this book that the 1982 movie (starring Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney/the Scarlet Pimpernel, the protagonist, Jane Seymour as Marguerite St. Just, the love interest, and Ian McKellen as Chauvelin, the antagonist) draws from for the saving of the uncrowned king of France, Little Capet / The Dauphin and the betrayal and capture of Sir Percy.

Given that it is book #7 in the series, it alludes multiple times to the adventures that have taken place since book 1, and yet if you’ve read/listened to book #1 you can jump into this one. To me if feel like a Sherlock Holmes story. Even though it’s set in the midst of great tragedy, you know that nothing too terrible is going to happen to any of the heroes, and due to Sir Percy’s honor, chivalry, might and brains everything is going to come out alright in the end.

It’s an exciting adventure, full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it and was eager to listen through to the end. Baroness Orczy drives you mad with Armand’s reckless actions, and yet the dignity with which Sir Percy meets it all “as if he planned for it” is truly remarkable. You really do get the sense that God wants to open the way before him despite all odds just because he is so true, so just and upright. I only wish he truly had saved the Dauphin (who is actuality died in captivity).

I’m not sure why it’s called El Dorado, the title makes you think it has some connection to Spanish gold. The last chapter in the book is called, “The Road to El Dorado” which I think just means Sir Percy and Marguerite are once more on the road to a golden, happily ever after.

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A brilliant continuation of Sir Percy’s escapades!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-19-24

Brilliant, thoroughly enjoyed it! I only wish there were more of Orczy’s novels on Audible! Though Sir Percy is a vital part of the narrative, Paul Déroulède and Juliette Marny are the main characters. Though book 3 in the series, it really can operate as a stand alone.

It’s exciting, full of action and suspense. Of course you know where it’s headed, but not exactly how. As soon as Déroulède showed up at her trial I felt sure what disguise Sir Percy had assumed, the clever man! I wished that once safe, Paul and Juliette would have had more dialogue. It felt odd that it ends by him calling her his wife. Wait, I missed the wedding!? And poor Ann, it would have felt sweet if she could have found love too as part of an epilogue to the story since after all it is all fictional. I did miss the humour. I felt like that was one of the greatest things about The Scarlet Pimpernel is all the humour, and all the funny expressions of the day.

Overall a delightful listen!

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“1861 plus four means Abraham Lincoln and…”

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-10-24

“1861 plus four means Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” As each chapter chronicled the fervent hopes that the war would be over after a year of bloody conflict, then two… I kept thinking of that school-time rhyme, and four long years of war. When I think Civil War, thoughts always jump to the battlefield, but this story focused on the war at home. The starvation, the distrust, the emotions run high… all the things you never think of.

My temperament can’t take the tales of impending doom. Horrific things happen to men and women around her, but not Elizabeth. I like Chiaverini’s writing style in that it’s highly educational, great historical fiction. I learned so much about war time Richmond through the eyes of Miss Van Lew. I looked up her story online and was relieved to know that she made it through relatively unscathed, she was smart and used her position to great advantage.

The drawbacks were that I felt the union was over-glorified. Lincoln’s government overreach was not to be praised, and it’s due to ground lost at the time of the Civil War that we are in the political mess we’re in currently as a nation. The conflict was about state’s rights, and only late in the war did the question of slavery become a central tenant. But, with a broad sweep it’s painted that the North opposed slavery and the South clung to it, which is never wholly true.

Too much time was given to troop movements and campaign details. It felt like aspects of the story kept repeating, same song different verse. Which, I know that was the reality of it, but my interest flagged. Also, I hated that the stories of different men in the prisons would be introduced but then not finished. Like the men whose names were chosen by lot to stand awaiting the death sentence if men captured by the North weren’t freed.

Overall, it was an excellent narrative. I liked how realistically Elizabeth was portrayed. There were many moments when I could picture myself in wartime Richmond, facing the despair, and starvation, the utter cruelty. The bravery of men and women - particularly those in the black community - was incredible. They took a stand knowing they would face a torturous death if caught. Well worth a listen.

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More academic report than enthralling novel, but…

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-13-24

After listening to so many WWII books, it was fascinating diving into one about WWI. I knew nothing about the “Hello Girls” before this book. Jennifer did an incredible job researching and weaving together the stories of the courageous women that answered Uncle Sam’s call to serve their country in France. This book feels far more like a report than a historical fiction novel. The story is highly secondary to the in-depth look you get at the process of becoming and serving as a switchboard soldier. On the one hand I liked the academic approach, it didn’t feel as nerve wracking as say, “Lilac Girls” or the “Testament of Youth” movie (both WWII stories). But on the other hand it did feel pedantic at times. And also, while many different love stories were introduced, none of them really went anywhere. Marie searches for Giovanni throughout the war, and then in the final moments gets reunited with him, no explanation of why he never tried to contact her? And Grace, good grief why did you not marry Captain Mac? Visit your family and then marry the man! The epilogue tells you she married a Eugene and had four kids… but man, I really was rooting for the handsome Australian. There just felt like too many broken love stories… Hilda (Valerie’s Sister) dumps her man, then Inez, then Grace… I kept waiting for someone to lose their sweetheart or brother in the war, but no.

Knowing at the end that Grace (and Inez, I looked that one up) was a real person, while Valerie and Marie were fictional made sense. More liberties were taken with their stories. Overall it was excellent, just good to know what you’re getting yourself into. More spoilers, the brothers Eugene and Henry survive the war.

Maybe these things were spelled out in the book, but I missed them… “Ersatz” coffee is from German, literally meaning “replacement.”

And “Dough Boys” from History.com: According to one explanation, the term dates back to the Mexican War of 1846-48, when American infantrymen made long treks over dusty terrain, giving them the appearance of being covered in flour, or dough. As a variation of this account goes, the men were coated in the dust of adobe soil and as a result were called "adobes," which morphed into "dobies" and, eventually, "doughboys."

And finally, I tried to look up the Switchboard Girls song, but apparently that was also sadly a work of fiction. There should be a song though!

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It’s a porn novel set in Scotland… did not finish.

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-20-24

We’re both so extremely good looking, how long do you think it’ll be before we sleep together?

At five hours in, I decided to break down and actually read some reviews to figure out where this story was headed. I found the information I needed to go ahead and decide to stop here. While I’m disappointed I won’t get to complete the story, I really don’t need to hear another paragraph about Arianas supple breasts bursting in her wench dress, or Connor’s cock. It’s a porn novel, such a disappointment. I really enjoyed Madeline’s WWII books, “The Last Bookshop in London” and “The Librarian Spy.” They felt tender, heartfelt. They were well researched historical fiction. You felt like you could see it, feel the heartache and fear. And I appreciated that in those books the love stories were chaste. Had I seen the other covers in this series I would have known the genre and not even started the book. But I thought (mistakenly) that I could trust Madeline and so dived into this one after only reading the summary.

From the get go, the author tries hard to let you know Conner is not a pimp, and Ariana is not being whisked away to a brothel, yet the scenario has all the same earmarks. The only difference is these women get trained on how to stab the ones they lead on with their beauty before they get dragged off to bed.

Just be clear on the genre of the novel before you dive in. And, don’t expect good historical fiction either. I felt like I learned nothing about the era… just the usual, oh it’s dank cold castle… and look were in a pub where everyone is intoxicated and staring lewdly at the bar maids. Sigh…

As for the narrator, at first I thought I would enjoy him but the accent is hard to listen to for a long period and after awhile I felt really over it.

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