Greyson

One of my favorites

Revisado: 09-15-23

This is the book I wanted “American Gods” or “The City We Became” to be. The cosmic horror hits just right.

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This book..

Revisado: 12-08-21

This book ripped me open, invited itself in then gave me a tour. Thrilled that it was read by the author.

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Powerful, meaningful

Revisado: 07-29-21

Lower ratings are likely from readers who came in with different expectations for what this story is. It is not a cheerful holiday tale, and the happiness of the ending is one-sided, at the expense of a would-be protagonist.

Sometimes metaphor tells truth more clearly than plain words. This short story shook something deep in me, I am so grateful to Rowell for putting words and imagery to what had up to this point been vague gut feelings. I think about this story often.

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I didn’t know I needed this book

Revisado: 01-16-19

Storr gave me a lot to think about. Highlights for me were the concept of confabulation and our brains as unreliable narrators, the examination of neoliberal ideals setting the bar on the worth of an individual, one of the better explanations for the impact of social media on our sense of belonging and safety, and thoughts on what it means to be a neurotic person.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Childish and Clumsy

Revisado: 08-27-18

When the moral of the story is “sometimes you’re right when you find foreigners and minorities revolting or dangerous,” your political satire might be a touch off-base. Croshaw can turn a phrase, make fun jokes, and do silly accents with style, but that doesn’t make up for the abundance of sloppy strawmen and caricatures.

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esto le resultó útil a 23 personas

Fascinating, Helpful

Revisado: 08-17-16

I am so grateful to have this new understanding of individual needs and feelings, as well as how they can best be communicated to reach solutions and clarity. By reframing the goals and perspective one has while talking with others, we see that it is possible to connect with others at a deeper level, ensuring that both participants' needs are met and their feelings are addressed.

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Good, but Repetitive

Revisado: 07-07-16

This book does a great job of revealing the failures of standardized testing and the education system that supports it. It is not as helpful for suggesting alternatives/solutions. Overall, it was worth listening to, but by the end it felt a little lacking in substance.

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Eye opening, compelling

Revisado: 07-04-16

Educational, impactful, and important. This book will reveal not just the depth of inequality in America but the forces that drive it. Highly recommended for anyone, but Especially for anyone who thinks race isn't or shouldn't be relevant today.

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Not as great as I hoped

Revisado: 04-23-16

I've heard a fair amount of praise for this author, and this was supposed to be his best. I had tried starting with his first book (Consider Phlebas) and it failed to grab me, to the extent that I gave up around halfway through. Disappointed in that, but thinking that 'Hey, an author's early work is usually poorer,' and knowing Banks' books to be more episodic than not, I thought I would give him another chance, but alas.

It's hard for me to describe why I grow so easily bored with this author. I can say that some of it stems from feeling unattached to most of the characters, the main protagonists especially. Gurgeh, the main for this book, was too close a Mary Sue for my tastes. I cared very little as to whether he would succeed or fail, especially after some rather cartoonish efforts were made to make his opponents (a whole civilization) out to be thoroughly vile and contemptuous.

Spoilers (sort of?) from this point on.

The fact that Gurgeh was shown to be obviously capable of breezing through every obstacle in his path, yet still had to be manipulated into doing "what needed to be done", and therefore was not so much the glorious hero as a selfish but useful buffoon, didn't make him any more interesting or respectable, it just made me feel all the more disappointed for giving *his* story any attention. The perspective of his handler(s) might have been more interesting, but on the whole, the lack of any real conflict/challenge means it would likely feel stagnant either way.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Relevant, Incisive

Revisado: 04-20-16

Puts many a hurdle into perspective with important advice and a great attitude. I would be proud to call Monteiro my mentor

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