J. L.

One of my favorites

Revisado: 01-26-18

Hope Jahren is a triple threat, 1. a scientist who 2. creates lovely, heartfelt, accessible, funny prose, and 3. can read her own work better than any actress. Hope, if you see this, I’m planting trees on the hill behind my house and carving Bill’s name in them!

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Disappointed

Revisado: 01-26-18

Doctors are people too, and they can be off the mark. I was hoping this would be more soundly researched, but she lost me when she talked about pre-antibiotic history as though people didn’t suffer from terrible disease. Plague anyone? And I’m grateful I was vaccinated for whooping cough. She lost me after that.

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Disappointing

Revisado: 09-03-16

The character Mara was so narcissistic. I couldn't understand why any of the other characters liked her, unless it was her illness that made her so icky. But if that was the case, it would have helped to see who she was before her symptoms kicked in. Similarly, the supporting character, Laurie (sp?), in the other story was depicted in a way that garnered no sympathy. Then suddenly at the end, both women have these turn arounds that come without any development. And why are there two stories? There isn't enough to hold them together. And then the men were portrayed as saints to their wives shrews. Really dissatisfying.

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Funniest sex scene ever

Revisado: 11-21-15

Love these characters! Quirky doesn't begin to describe them. A wonderfully funny and poignant story exploring the themes of loss and connection. Pitch perfect narration. Deeply satisfying.

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Wow. That was a ride.

Revisado: 01-22-15

Very satisfying read/listen. I don't want to say too much. The story is well crafted, themes are intriguing, and narration excellent.

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Good, once you get into it

Revisado: 08-07-14

It took me a little while to find my way into the book. I think this may be more of a problem with the audio version, though I haven't read it in print, so I'm not sure. The narration shifts between characters, but remains in third person. Once I got used to that, I enjoyed the story. It's a little formulaic, but I like the formula - all turns out well in the end. I wish the author had written each perspective in first person. My guess is that in doing so, the characters would have developed a little more. Still, it was very enjoyable, and that's what I was looking for.

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Love and redemption on a very long walk

Revisado: 03-06-13

Sometimes magical thinking works. Harold sets off to save a friend in a way that makes his wife question his sanity, but his quirky quest leads to more being saved than either could have imagined. Sweet, funny, moving. Loved it.

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Great story. Great narration.

Revisado: 03-06-13

Just the right pacing, great exploration of a precocious kid's perspective. Love the quirkiness of Bernadette, the exploration of "crazy" vs. eccentric, the rejection of norms that keep people boxed in to small lives. Great tale of personal and artistic freedom in a world where most people cling to security.

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Kingsolver is so masterful

Revisado: 03-06-13

The writing is pitch perfect. The characters are so well painted. You can hear their voices. They are real - not villains or heroes, but people struggling to do their best, given their live's struggles. As always, Kingsolver weaves these individual perspectives against a backdrop of the social, environmental and political aspects of climate change - allowing us, through fiction to see the potential losses heading our way.

In some ways, this is one of her sadder stories. But she brings hope into the picture as well, and a touch of redemption too.

Normally, I'm wary when an author reads their own work, but she did an amazing job bringing her story and characters to life.

Ultimately, a very satisfying listen!

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Slooooow

Revisado: 03-06-13

Would you try another book from Abraham Verghese and/or Sunil Malhotra?

Probably not.

What was most disappointing about Abraham Verghese’s story?

It takes forever to get going. Interestingly, there is a passage when an adult is reading a story to the kids, and the narrator comments on how slow the story is, and how they need to adjust to the speed of it. Is this meant to be an instruction for us too? If so, it just doesn't work for me.

What about Sunil Malhotra’s performance did you like?

Great accents and conveyance of emotion.

Did Cutting for Stone inspire you to do anything?

To buy another book instead ;-)

Any additional comments?

I know a lot of people LOVE this book, and I know there are times when I read something and it doesn't work for me, then a few years later I read it again and it does. So take my review with a grain of salt. It's not a bad book in any way. I'm just not into a slower moving story right now.

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