Hailey

Suspenseful and ntreaguing story told by a soggy biscuit with an ending that left me unsettled

Revisado: 05-10-23

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book. It was well written, and Alex North brought the events to life with his descriptive and engaging writing style. I have Aphantasia, and I often struggle to visualize what is happening in the book while listening or reading. But I didn’t have any issues with this one. The way North spins his stories makes it easy for someone like me to feel like they are watching a show or like they are a passive viewer of the events as they unravel in front of them.

On the other hand, Christopher Eccleston was nearly insufferable to listen to. ThiN book is full of suspense and intense emotions; Eccleston delivers every line as if he is reading through a particularly boring article in a magazine he only has partial interest in; he truly brings the whole experience down. The fact that his miserable performance doesn’t detract from the story truly speaks to how talented North is and how exceptionally this story was written.

I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships of the narrative and appreciated that relatable and gut-wrenchingly real characters carried the story. I loved the raw everyone was and how North did not rely solely on suspense, gore, or supernatural elements to keep you intrigued. Instead, he reels you in by making you fall in love with every one of the protagonists. Your heart aches for them, you root for them, and you see yourself in certain aspects of them. It is rare that a suspenseful true-crime novel allows the crime portion of the story to take the passenger seat and allows the story to be driven by the interpersonal dramas of its characters mainly.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

I found the end of the book to be darker than I hoped. I shouldn’t be surprised since the book features a serial killer who brutally murders children. But I wanted an ending where the evildoers face harsh and unforgiving justice. I wanted every villain to reap what they sowed. I wanted the new and old murderers to be punished. When that didn’t happen, I was left feeling unsettled. It is a reasonably realistic ending that leaves one protagonist dead, a tragic villain dying viciously at the hands of their lifelong tormentor, and the true menace of the story getting everything they wanted in the end. When you peel back the main villain’s unsung victim, you see a heartbreaking story of unresolved trauma and mental illness; you hate this person for killing a child, but you also want to see them find redemption along with their comeuppance. Instead, all you get is a gut-wrenchingly sad ending to a gloomy and trauma-filled life of a victim of abuse that fell through the world’s cracks. The main villain has a utopia in jail; they are popular and have everything they need. However, they never pay for the vicious acts of child murder they so gleefully partook in. I was disappointed that the darkest of evils in this story not only got exactly what they wanted in the end, but they got to thrive and flourish for the rest of their lives.

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The movie is so much better, save a credit and go enjoy that instead.

Revisado: 10-12-22

This book could have been good if it ended much sooner than it did. How many times can a person have their skull crushed before they die?? Nevill went way too hard with the suspense before he got to the actual summit of the plot, so he had to keep upping the ante to try and continue the story, and it ended up falling flat. I only finished it because I loved the movie so much and hoped it would turn around and have a good ending. The main character is literally the worst; I wanted him to die the whole time. Nevill leaned too heavily on The Satanic Panic and created a story that had no meat and bones; it fully relied on gore and suspense to keep it going, which means it was empty and rambling. Watch the movie on Netflix and save yourself the credit, this is not worth your time.

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what the heck was that ending?

Revisado: 09-13-22

This book was funny and campy and had some fun mind games. But the ending left much to be desired. I was frustrated with the ending and felt a little cheated. I wanted the mystery to be resolved and felt like I was left hanging. Overall, it was very well written and the narrator did an amazing job. But I'm not happy about the ending.

Major spoiler ahead, so stop reading now if you don't want any spoilers.

Spoiler ahead.

Seriously, there's a spoiler.

If you're still here you either don't do well with directions or you're chill with spoilers.

I'm not kidding, I will spoil this book for you.

If you haven't read it, turn back now!

Do you want the book spoiled? Really?

Ok, I warned you.

The ending literally just cuts off mid sentence. We don't find out if Elenor was dead the whole time, if she was hallucinating because her cancer spread to her brain, or if she was actually the ghost of Ms. B. Why was Ryan sleeping with Ms. B? Was Gregory real or was he a demon? Was anyone real? Who's ashes did Gregory spread around the room? Literally not a single question was answered. I'm so frustrated. I guess the cover art was foreshadowing the ending, the word "novel" isn't finished and this novel is technically not finished.

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I wanted it to end differently, but I think it emd

Revisado: 09-09-22

Backman has become my favorite author. his stories have helped me process difficult emotions and to connect with a softer part of myself that I like to pretend isn't real. I enjoyed watching Brit Marie heal from past wounds, and I enjoyed meeting the characters of Borg. This book is not a happy one, though. It has happy moments, but it is very realistic and painfully human. i think everyone alive needs to read this book so that they can learn from Brit Marie how to be human.

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another masterpiece

Revisado: 08-15-22

I can't sing praises high enough for Frederick backman, I was skeptical of this book, as the premise seemed a little weird. I also did not see how he could top himself from a man called uva an anxious people. He did talk himself though, because this book this book was incredibly unique. He did talk himself though, because this book this book was incredibly unique. I'd like to think that all of his books live within the same universe, and that may be the Leonard from this story is also the Leonard from anxious people. Just old. Just many many years later. I also liked to think the uva may have lived not far away. Maybe Granny terrorized him a time or 2 before they died.

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JK Simmons makes a great story even better

Revisado: 07-21-22

I first read A Man Called Ove about 7 or 8 years ago, give or take. It charmed me endlessly and showed me how wonderful books about the mundane lives of not-so-mundane people can be. Before reading this book, I had opted for mysteries, fantasies, thrillers, horror, and suspense novels. But Ove taught me that you don't have to run away to the fantastic in order to escape the every day. Sometimes all you need is a grumpy old man who's heart is secretly bigger everyone else's to slip out of your every day life and escape the world you're living in.

Fredrick Backman is far and away one of my favorite authors. I'd put him in the top 5. Maybe even the top 3. I have loved every book of his that I have encountered, each one surprising me because I was convinced nothing could top the last. JK Simmons takes this wonderful story and makes it so much better. Reading this book was awesome, listening to it added a whole new layer of goodness.

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Frederick Backman Does It Again

Revisado: 07-14-22

It's official: everything Backman touches turns to gold. There isn't a single book he's written that I haven't loved. Not a single book that stirs my soul and teases out reluctant tears. I had thought nothing could top A Man Called Ove, but I was sorely mistaken. Anxious People now sits atop the throne of "Lorraine's favorite book". It's funny, charming, witty, heart-breaking, introspective, gut-wrenchingly real, and beautifully quirky.

I think everyone reading Anxious People will be able to see themselves in at least one character. For me, it was simultaneously Nadia the therapist, Estelle the just-crazy-enough lady, and Zara the cold-hearted bank boss.

I envy the people reading this book for the first time because I want to experience it for the first time over and over again. This will be one I return to often, but the mystery and intrigue will never be the same as when I read (listened) to it the first time.

If I could give this book 10 stars out of 5, I would.

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Another fantastic adventure with Don Tillman

Revisado: 05-11-22

Very few authors can deliver a story as charming and heart warming as The Rosie Project and then deliver two more installments to that story that rival the quality and charm of the first book. Don Tillman is a quirky, loveable protagonist who helps the reader view the world through a different lense. in each of these books, Graeme Simsion holds our hands and gently guides us through complex social issues while also offering bountiful entertainment and relatable scenarios. Once again, Graeme Simson knocks it out of the park with an overwhelmingly lovely story about an overwhelmingly unique man going about his everyday life. The tag line really sums it up: an extraordinary man navigating an ordinary world.

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Better than most mommy porn, but still obnoxious

Revisado: 05-09-22

Overall, I liked the story. But would it kill people to write a story that *doesn't* involve the unrealistically hot interloper who, surprise, falls for the main character even though he's way out of her league? Can we get a book that doesn't involve smoldering, swooning, panting, moaning, or all the other smut-novel-tropes? This book was sweet and charming, but would have been made a million times better if the plot wasn't centered on what's-her-face's love life. Nick's character was so unrealistic that it felt like listening to a 12 year old talk about their imaginary boyfriend. Maybe it's the aesexual side talking here, but the best books are the ones without the sex scenes and sexual tension and relationship drama. Where are the books where the main character finds themselves in themselves, not in the mind blowingly hot interloper?

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Makes me love the movie that much more

Revisado: 04-07-22

I first watched the silence of the lambs over a decade ago and was hooked right away. Dr. Lector is my most favorite villain and the silence of the lamb is a movie I will continue to go back to. I was excited to read the book but nervous it would cast the movie in a dimmer light as books are so often better than movies. This is not the case here, I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that reflects the book so well. It was awesome to listen to this book and see the movie playing out in my minds eye. I now have a new favorite book to add to my list and will probably come back to this one as I do the movie.

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