Kenneth B. Sizer II

Glorious events retold by a great story-teller

Revisado: 03-20-19

Delightful and wonderful. Each chapter is a more or less self-contained retelling of an amazing (miraculous?) adventure or series of events taken from Fr. Oleksa's amazing (miraculous?) life. Venues span the globe: Pennsylvania, Alaska, Bulgaria, Russia and more. The listener can't help feeling that he's sitting around a cozy fire, listening to a master story-teller holding everyone in the room transfixed. While listening to this book, my commute went by so fast I was almost wishing for a traffic jam.

The only imperfection is the recording quality (e.g., abrupt volume and tone changes at recording session breaks), but this is a small price to pay to hear Fr. Oleksa tell his own story.

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Fantastically Entertaining

Revisado: 02-21-19

A delightful romp through the amazing (and beautiful) physics behind common daily experiences. If Richard Feynman were alive, he'd give it two thumbs up and a bongo salute!

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Great novel; spectacular narrator

Revisado: 11-18-18

To say the story is good seems a superfluous waste: I mean, it's Hemingway at his best. Duh.
What blew me away was the narrator. John Slattery nails it: American accents, English accents, Italian accents, males, females -- unreal. At times, it was difficult to believe this is all one person.

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five stars because I couldn't give six

Revisado: 10-05-18

Listened to this on a long drive. So entertaining, I almost got lost. Tyson is on his game and Black brings out the very best in him with great questions. Top of my Christmas list: An ultra-extended 6 hours director's cut of this interview.

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A little biased, in a great way

Revisado: 05-23-18

In a world in which everyone seems to feel that the proper treatment of any serious subject must be even-handed, ambivalent and noncommittal, it was a delight to learn orthodox church history, practice and theology from someone who unapologetically embraces it.

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Intense

Revisado: 03-21-18

What made the experience of listening to Everything Happens for a Reason the most enjoyable?

The best and most challenging thing about the book is Bowler's ability to convey her state of mind, angst, uncertainty and stress. Definitely the most intense book I've listened to in years. NOT light reading.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Mennonite in-laws. More than anything else, the book made me want to move to Canada and live with these beautiful, close-knit people and experience their joy born of minimal expectations!

What about Kate Bowler’s performance did you like?

I always enjoy a book read by its author: The one person who knows exactly where and how she wants emphasis.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

That's the only downside to the book: There are so many deeply-moving, gut-wrenching moments that it's exhausting. On the other hand, I suppose it speaks to the author's ability to convey her experiences vividly. In the extreme.

Any additional comments?

The book (and especially the appendix) should be required reading for the family and friends of someone battling cancer.

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Brilliant writer, brilliant narrator

Revisado: 11-01-17

If you want a quick answer to "why is Hemmingw ay a big deal?" this is it. Within a few minutes, you're sucked in and you MUST know what happens next. Not the ending - that too, of course - but the next hour. The next minute.

One man. One little boat. And, yet, an epic battle bigger than anything else.

And Donald Sutherland: So perfect for this story.

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sublime

Revisado: 10-30-17

Sublime. In the truest sense of the word. And the narrator is perfect for this book.

The entire book is great, but the Glenn Canyon vignette is some of the best writing (and narration) I've ever experienced.

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very surprised

Revisado: 10-10-17

had been on my list for years as one of those books that well read people have read. I fully expected it to be drudgery... some of the speeches do go on (and on and on), but there was a surprising amount of action and plot and character development.

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Stunningly Good

Revisado: 05-11-17

Purchased on a whim (to listen to on long commute)... hoping for a chance to learn something and not be put to sleep.
Expectations wildly exceeded: magnificent story teller, great first-hand sources (e.g. letter from 20-something George Washington to his mother), enlightening perspectives on how the modern world came to be the way it is.

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