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Lives braided together

Revisado: 01-22-25

The book is filled with original and interesting characters. I enjoyed hearing about the curious lives of so many well-developed individuals.
It’s hard to know if some the characters strained credulity because of some irritating narration (some too saccharine in their kindness and others overly clueless and nasty). My sense is that some of these overwrought characters might have felt less like caricatures and more dimensional in print.
The plot jumped around in ways that can be confusing, but the connections between characters-- mostly—come together at the end. Resolutions rush forward at the end of the book. This felt hurried compared to the slow and detailed unfolding of most of the book.
The Cliffs is original, ambitious and Sullivan gives life to important facets of history. The steady emphasis on the lives of female characters is refreshing and engaging. Most of the male characters remain in the background. This choice made sense to me and is consistant with the central character’s life’s work.
I recommend The Cliffs — especially if you have time to read the print version.

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The protagonist is flawed.

Revisado: 12-19-24

I loved that the characters/ the twins are flawed and they have to struggle with blame, rage and other complex emotions inevitable between twins.
It is quite long but the writing is beautiful and very psychological. The middle of the book it lags a little but it actually suits the plot. I read it when it was first published and I enjoyed it more this time.

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Too short!

Revisado: 11-30-24

I love these stories. Unfortunately, I had read them or maybe listened to most (all?) of them on a CD I had forgotten. I wish I had checked the length of the collection before purchasing. I felt desperate for Sedaris’s inimitable humor post-election. My reprieve from this moment in history, November 2024, was waaaay too short!

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Lewis’s indomitable spirit and detractors. He is someone every child and adult should read.

Revisado: 11-21-24

Loved learning the details of his life! Greenberg did a good job exploring multiple facets of his life. I would appreciate a PDC with photos and

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Waste of Audible credits. It’s a very short book. Opens with such potential, but is just a glimpse natively traditions.

Revisado: 10-12-24

Said above. Oh I need to add more letters…. Hope this is is ix is enough. Enough. Enough!!!

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A relief to leave the country

Revisado: 07-08-24

This is fun and refreshingly gentle book.
The female characters are savvy, intelligent and lively. The narration also stays lively and engaging —so the narrator too is refreshing. (I have imagined many narrators on Audible are not trained actors and are simply reading rather than working to embody the characters.). A man narrates (performs) this book with a female protagonist and maintains his enthusiasm throughout.

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Important Untold Story

Revisado: 07-01-24

The narrator is great.
The book is very thorough. The author includes reams of detail to tell an accurate story. I was hungry for insight into the main character especially about her life post-war. After the war we mostly know her through her actions as opposed to her private feelings. Lots of repetition, but I have to assume this was the author’s intention.
The Women is an important part of the historical record of women in the military.

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Pulitzer?

Revisado: 06-10-24

I was eager to start this book. I thought it would be more historical fiction than simple fiction. I expected better writing and a more engrossing story. I don’t think of myself as a terribly harsh critic but I have no sense of what bumped this particular story into the Pulitzer category. The author’s unnecessary detail of the sadistic sexual abuse in the book is unjustified. There’s important potential character development and plot progression that is left out of the book. Hideous and specific rape minutiae was NOT what this reader wanted to hear.
The book is uneven and needed more scrutinizing editing. Disappointment.

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Ms. Clifton’s clear and powerful voice.

Revisado: 06-01-24

Wonderful. Beautifully written and narrated. Wish it had been longer. Interested in every word.
The narration and the writing feel fused.

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The Snide Narrator and the Smug Writing

Revisado: 06-01-24

I tried to ignore the off-putting narration because I read that it was a worthwhile conjuring of life during the pandemic. Maybe the writer’s point is that the pandemic ruined everything: imagination, outlook on life, a writer’s ability to create a work that is not self-centered and deadly dull. If that was the point, the author achieved her goal. The protagonist is a superficial, name-dropping, lifeless character with zero appeal. And, again if that was the point, a short story would have sufficed and have been less agonizing.
Do not bother to read this book — even if someone recommended it to you because you are a writer. I am not sure why I finished it. It never becomes interesting. The characters are flat and the narration makes them irritating and deadly! Was THiS the point???

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