Cheryl

Fascinating look into life in Palestine

Revisado: 12-04-23

A stunning novella that will stay with me for a long time. The plot revolves around two different but intertwined incidents. The prose is succinct as it describes the life in modern occupied Palestine and that of early Israeli soldiers. The excellent reader is subdued and matter of fact like the writhing I had put off listening to it because of the recent horrors in this area. I'm glad I read it now.

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Humanized John Brown

Revisado: 10-31-23

Fabulous book. So enthralling. The narration was superb. I want to read more by McBride.

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Riveting story, great audio performance

Revisado: 09-19-20

This controversial book does not deserve the approbation it has received in my opinion. Artistic license should allow the author to tell the story of her characters even if the author has not undergone the same life experienced as the characters. I appreciate the author’s narrative style which she uses to tell a harrowing story without sentimentality and graphic details of violence. The performance was excellent.

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One of the best historical fictions ever!!

Revisado: 08-27-20

Just to let you know, I’m a literary snob. This book is extraordinarily well written and researched. The plot is an old one, the plight of the unwed mother, but the author’s protagonist gave a fresh and convincing take on it. I could not stop listening!

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Utterly predictable

Revisado: 01-05-20

Apparently hurriedly written because it was purportedly plagiarized from a book that was written before it and rushed to publication. Poor character development. I couldn’t figure out the motivation for most of the actions of the characters. Even the turning point plot twist had vague explanation. Stereotypical. I guess the author didn’t think her readers could read dialogue because she writes it out phonetically. This is supposedly about strong independent women but the author repeatedly calls them “girls.” The narrator did not have much to go on but she choose unbelievable accents for some of the people. The author writes cheesy little “happily ever after” epilogues for most of the characters. BTW: spoiler alert- photographs sent from India in the 30’s or early ‘40’s would not depict a red costume as color photography was so rare worldwide then that is was virtually nonexistent in India.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Ridiculous plot, author needs a map of her locale

Revisado: 02-04-19

Everyone in a child's large family moves out and leaves her alone in a cabin in the woods, even though many of them live nearby. Child protective services don't bother with her either after a brief encounter in which she is recalcitrant. She just is the weird kid who lives in the swamp and provides all of her own food and clothing. Of course she grows up into a beauty with intelligence beyond that of the rest of humankind despite the fact that she has had no formal education. Oh and she lives on the coast of NC buts goes to Asheville, 5 or 6 hours away to shop at Sears. Totally implausible.

If you would like to read a similar story that makes sense in its own twisted way because it is a true memoir, read Educated.
Fabulous page turner!

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

Great read! Astute snapshot of character and culture

Revisado: 08-13-18

Although some might find the detail with which the author describes her protagonist’s life extreme, I found it fascinating. Honeyman uses the outsider, Eleanor, to provide amusing and astute commentary on today’s post-pubic hair, Twitter culture. I did not want to read the book after reading reviews that called it depressing. As compared to actually depressing books, such as Lie Down in Darkness or the Doll Maker, book is very uplifting. But like those literary classics, Eleanor Oliphant is well written with acute descriptions of culture and excellent character development. Audio reading was excellent, also.

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Great author but Not this author's best

Revisado: 06-25-17

We all loved Life After Life in my book group. Several of the members suggested Atkinson's mysteries. I listened to Case Histories by her. It was fantastic. This one however was not interesting. None of the characters were likable.

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Disappointing after all the hype

Revisado: 06-26-16

I really wanted to like this book. Expecting a literary novel, it delivered a disjointed collection of short stories. The character development seemed to wear thin very early in the book. The motivation of most of the characters was unclear. The reader was not able to affect female voices so it was often hard to determine who was speaking until the sentences unfolded to include "she said." He also would lapse into an annoying cadence at times that was distracting from the stories. I recently read Gysai's op-ed in the New York Times and saw the strength of her writing. Although Homegoing was not all that I expected, I look forward to this author's future works.

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esto le resultó útil a 38 personas

Excellent editon takes audio books to new art form

Revisado: 06-09-13

Partner one of the best books, comedic or otherwise, ever written with stellar narration and you have the most entertaining audiobooks I have ever heard. The book has always been one of my favorites; this is the fourth time I have read it. This audio edition rivals my first reading due to the engaging reading. Pure joy!

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas