Michael Daniel Mortensen

First problem: Story - Second problem: Too long

Revisado: 09-25-21

Claire North is great at thinking up unusual world-changing scenarios, and sometimes she is able to write a book on the subject.

It is important to note that Story and Plot is not the same (though usually used interchangeably).
Plot: What happens. All of the events and scenarios.
Story: How it makes us feel. Why we care.
Claire is pretty good at the plots, but lacks any understanding of how to create story (the feeling), so when her plots aren't super amazing, the whole book falls apart.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope has a very interesting premise. Had Claire written a Short story, then I'm sure she would have written something amazing. But a Novel, nope. It drones and drones and drones, and seeing as there is no story (no interest for the character or their world, really) the droning isn't at all interesting. In fact, she has made the character quite unlikable. I want the main character to lose. I don't know if she does, as I was simply unable to finish the book (and believe me, I tried).

I absolutely loved her "Harry August" book, and while it also lacked story, the main character was very likable, and the plot and timeline in which it was written were amazing. So I'm not giving up on her books. But this one (Sudden Appearance of Hope) is poorly written.

Here's a trick: If you absolutely love the character after one hour of listening, then sure, listen on.
If you don't LOVE her, but only like, tolerate, or even dislike her. Then this book is not for you.

I have returned this title. And I only do this in the rarest of occasions where I have been thoroughly disappointed.

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if you start it, you should finish it

Revisado: 03-11-21

It doesn't take long for any reader to figure where this is going, and thus halfway through I sort of got bored of it. However, when I finally sat down and finished it, I found an ending which was wonderfully written, with amazingly steady suspens all the way through about all of the last third of the book.

Sure, you figure out the gist of what's going to happen, but it is the WAY it happens, the inner thoughts of the characters, the resonings, the results, and of course the b plot which all makes this a great book.

I haven't watched the movies. But the book is quite good. great ending

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Spoiler free review - Sure, it's worth a listen

Revisado: 12-09-20

First of all, it is indeed an enjoyable book as long as you liked the first one, but they Cline has rushed through all the parts that made the previous book interesting, and more or less ignored story and completely ignored character development. People changing is more so forced upon them through no real means, even though he starts put by making a great show of each character's stand point and reasoning behind these.

Also, honestly, this book is 50% Wade whining, and 40% irrelevant references to LotR and Prince, and only 10% actual quest and story.
I also don't think I've ever read about such hypocritical supposedly hero characters as in this book, I mean,,, wow (and not the good kind of wow).

If I ever re-listen to this book, I'll skip through it and only need two/two and a half hours to complete it, as that is honestly the amount of this story which is proper enjoyable, but then those two/two and a half hours are very enjoyable, as the premise is a very good one. would have loved to explore it further/properly though.

I do think Cline needs to read a couple of books on character development and how to differentiate speech patterns.

TL;DR
If you avsolutely love Prince and LotR and you liked the foret book, you'll like this book.
Can't imagine anyone enjoying all the whining though.

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SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Revisado: 08-26-20

A real feel-good story that doesn't get boring.
The reason this book is super difficult to review without spoilers, is because it has very little plot, making mostly everything a spoiler. The lack of plot is usually something that turns me off right away, but there's a feel-good essence about this book, and you're never bored with it either, even if it IS pretty darn slow in the beginning.

I feel like Ken Grimwood glanced over way too many things that would have been great to have been dived a bit more into. I feel like too many times was something started, but not concluded, and I feel like maybe Mr. Grimwood might have written this book without planning anything ahead, as it often seems to go a certain direction, only for that direction never to be explored again.
This honestly bothered me quite a bit (also the fact that, at one point, the difference between Cinema movies and TV is explained, and the conclusions he makes are dead wrong, but this is not a major thing in the book, it just really bothered me personally).

So why did I give it four stars Overall?:
Well, like I said, it's a nice feel-good book, and it does all seem like the exact thing someone might do, if he/she was granted this gift/curse of reliving ones life multiple times. It also explores, or at least touches upon, many interesting ideas and many emotions that one might have to go through, that are unique to an experience like this.
A very interesting read. A very thoughtful read. And it's funny how the ending almost has an ominous feeling to it, even though it isn't.

A similar (better?) book:
I couldn't help but compare this book to a somewhat similar book; "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August"
Replay came first, with almost 30 years. But this other "Harry August" book has a very specific plot, and a great story, so I suggest maybe checking both of these two books out and see for yourself, which one you think is better.
I will say, though, that I think these two books as very different in story, plot, and style, though extremely similar in concept.

Would I recommend Replay?:
Yes. Though it would never win any prices for outstanding writing, character development, or plot outlining. It makes sense that it won the "Best novel" at World Fantasy Award in 1988, as this was a great and somewhat groundbreaking idea and read back then. And like I said it really IS a nice read and has a very rare feel-good feeling to it, even though it isn't always happy.
I wish it had more relevant and thought-through conflict though, but oh well, to each their own, and it's still a great and wholesome read, written in a somewhat unique way.

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Lacking suspense , but...

Revisado: 12-05-17

This first part should only be read by people who haven't read/heard the book before:
Agatha Christie's probably most well known story, this, Murder on the Orient Express, is pretty much like all of her other stories,,, Long and boring.
I know some people would lynch me for saying that, but it's true. Throughout her stories, including this, she manages to create almost no suspense. She is always lacking subplots, or even suspenseful moments that may put our hero in danger. Only at the end, do we get a little suspense, and even then, especially in this case, did it fail to give me any kind of joy.
A big problem here is, that this crime, could not be solved properly by the reader/listener, as surtain things are kept from the reader/listener, and only expressed at the end, when you recieve the solution. Only with Witness for the Prosecution did I ever feel joy by its conclusion (though it was also quite dull up untill the end).

New this part is for everybody:
I love this version of the book. It's kinda more like a radioplay, every character has their own voice (and their own voice actor, I think), and they've added sound effects and such.
Each performer is doing a very good job, finding none of them ill fit to be part of this production.
Now some people would dislike such a version of the book, to whom all I can say; just go check out one of the other version. If you're in doubt, then listen to the sample.

My low rating is due to the lack of suspense. I'm being open minded here, but I have yet to figure out what all the fuss about Agatha Christie is. She's just not a very good crimestory writer.

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Have you seen the movie? Well this is way better

Revisado: 11-13-17

I love the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio og Tom Hanks. But this book. Wow, just wow. It's even better, and not just by a little bit.

For those curious as to whether or not this book is really just the movie with a few extra details. Well, as it turns out the movie simplified a lot of things, and took quite a few liberties with how everything happened.

This book is a amazing. The storytelling is always interesting, never ever feeling long or even too short. It's always just the right amount of detail, and you'll be dropping your jaw several times over the balls this guy had in his youth. Seriously, at one point Frank swindles somebody a second time, even though they found out the got swindled the first time around, all the while an FBI agent is scheduled to walk in the door and expose him any second.

Getting real, warning:
The book doesn't end with Frank being arrested. It features a hefty chunk of how life in prison was, this can be pretty rough to listen to. I won't spoil what he has to go through, but I'll let you know that some of the people whom I've suggested this book to, I've recommended they skip his time in the french prison, as that is honestly perhaps the most grusome experience I've ever heard of someone actually having to live through.

The ending of the book is quite amazing, and the book is all in all the best thing I've ever "read". So check it out

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A must-listen for entertainment purposes

Revisado: 03-11-17

Would you listen to True Porn Clerk Stories again? Why?

I'll listen to it again, somebody, it's not vrey long, and it has a lot of interesting stories from work, which I personally can relate to alot, working with customers every day.

What was one of the most memorable moments of True Porn Clerk Stories?

Most memorable moment: When she started actually singing the Aqua song 'Be Happy', with great enthusiasm,, instead of just telling us what the lyrics were.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Porn from behind.... the counter.

Any additional comments?

The reason for four stars rather than five, is due to the quality of the microphone used to record this with, the sound is of very poor quality, and it clips every now and then, when the speaker gets a bit too excited.
The speaker though, also the person behind the book / blog, does a very nice job with her performance.

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Good, but not THAT good

Revisado: 11-08-16

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Unless the friend was quite a bookworm, I would recommend watching the movie instead, or perhaps finding another book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The way the story is written is quite unique, and I like that, but it can also get a bit confusing. It's probably best to read it in one go.
This book is a very very light Thriller, and is really more Drama based. I was expecting more Thriller and more Suspense, than I got. Like WAY more.
The first two hours is more or less just establishing the world, and it got quite boring, but I'm happy to say that after that, it didn't feel like it was dragging again, it actually keeps a pretty nice upbeat tempo after the initial world-establishment.
I would personally put in more clues for people to follow. Everybody's a suspect, and I love that, but I dislike the fact that it wasn't until the end that you were given key facts to solving the mystery. Quite a few of these facts could have been springled in earlier, without it being obvious who the killer is.
I'll say that I DO like that everybody is made out as potential killers. Props for that.

One thing I was hoping for, was more of a Hitchcock's Rear Window style Thriller. But alas, that was not the case.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any other performances by this narrator. But I was 100% satisfied with this performance, by all three of them.

Was The Girl on the Train worth the listening time?

I can't answer this. I don't think it was a waste of time at all, as I work with graphics while listening to books. But this would count as me least enjoyable listen so far. The great narrating made it enjoyable still though.
In short, I could have lived with just watching the movie.

Any additional comments?

If you would like a story that does not center around a male protagonist, like most other stories do. Then THIS is the story for you. It's still good, though it wasn't for me.
I do love that this story centers around three people, with whom you can't really sympathize with, BUT, you totally get where they are coming from. I think that's a nice new style of writing, that hasn't been done before (usually, there at least ONE sympathetic character).

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