Maureen McDaniel

Memorable characters, irresistible story

Revisado: 04-19-24

I have seldom encountered a book with so many intriguing, fully drawn characters. James McBride shows tremendous respect for the complexity and individuality of each person, and every character and instance seems essential to the story.

There is an extraordinary sense of place and time, in a setting that was completely new to me.
I’d be eager to read more from this amazing writer.

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Impressive, valuable, enticing read

Revisado: 02-24-23

I was deeply impressed by the amount of thought that Michelle Obama has given to the position of women, the human condition, our society and politics — really, life’s most basic and universal questions. She has taken her time to dive deeply into issues and dilemas to which most of us don’t give our deep attention.
Michelle is a highly skilled writer with a gift of communicating directly and with crystal clarity. I very much appreciated her observations, her intellect, her compassion and her generosity in sharing them.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Compelling and illuminating books

Revisado: 02-06-23

I couldn't stop reading this memoir, and was grateful to have found it. Dr. Paul Kalanithi's story is told in frank and detailed precision, with sometimes startling descriptions of surgery and medical treatment from the young surgeon's perspective.
I was inspired to think more deeply about work, life, health, purpose and love. Sometimes through tears, I've experienced this book as uplifting and expansive, and I've gained a richer appreciation for the precious, transient nature of our existence.

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Couldn’t stop listening.

Revisado: 01-15-23

I was bowled over by this multi-layered memoir. The detail, the frankness, and Harry’s confident reading all worked beautifully together.
The descriptions of his experiences in Africa bring you right there, I was drawn into the vivid depictions of the land and the anti-poaching expeditions. Equally intriguing were Harry’s stories of other adventures around the world.
Those stories are worth the read for sure, but along with the account of his years as a soldier were absolutely riveting — again observed an illuminating detail.
Then, of course, there is the core story of being a royal, quite eye-opening. I also found it unusual for a young man to be able to share such profound stories of love and heartbreak and especially his ongoing delight with his wife.
I hope Harry continues to tell his story.

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Enjoyed this at Increased narration speed

Revisado: 12-06-22

This turned out to be a great lesson. The story is well constructed and bold. I love the focus on a group of older women with an unusual occupation! Also, the honest dealing with issues of aging without a shredder patronizing.

I almost gave up listening early on, because, while the narration was expressive and clear, it was just too slow. So, for the first time after what seems like thousands of audiobooks, I increased the speed to 1.1 and then it was perfect.
Highly recommended.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Straightforward, vivid. Couldn't stop listening

Revisado: 08-13-21

There is a lot of in-depth news here, underscoring the value of reading beyond the news reports to the unfolding of events and the people who move them forward. The authors are amazingly well-sourced, and they report differing accounts of events and conversations in several instances. They must be terrific interviewers, as they've managed to convey vivid character portraits through descriptions, use of language and deft unearthing of values and motivations.

As with "A Very Stable Genius," the authors create an important historical account that's also an absorbing and rewarding page-turner.

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Fresh and personal; insightful

Revisado: 08-13-21

Summary: Enticing memoir, intriguing insights, best in 2nd half, and use the 1.2X speed.

The choices, expectations, worries and dreams of women about romance, love, marriage and famly life are the core of the story here. The setting is undeniably promising, centered on Kate Nason's -- and the media's -- discovery that her husband had been a lover of his student, Monica Lewinsky, during their marriage. Nason's keen observations and insights kept me interested, even though I found the first half slow to get going, with much daily minutiae described in more detail than I appreciated.

I suggest a reading speed of 1.2X. While the author/narrator has a pleasing voice and spot-on expressiveness, her reading pace is annoying slow. I do this rarely in many years of listening, but for this book, 1.2 was just right for me.

The memoir is compelling for universal themes and learning that the author shares, and she's brave in her self-revelations as she describes her growth as she meets shocking challenges. Her physical and character sketches of both men and women are truly vivid. The main story is handled well: the upheaval that follows to Nason and her family when her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky is brought out in the context of the Clinton scandal, along with her reaction to these profound and pervasive betrayals. It is an account of collateral damage arising from public events, from a perspective that I certainly didn't catch at the time, and this point of view is well handled even though the outcome is known.

It's not clear why Nason would give a pseudonym to Monica, though I can see why she does that for other women who were involved with her husband, but it doesn't hurt the story. This memoir is a solid, reflective and well-written account with an original and thoughtful approach.

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Promising premise; heroine disappoints

Revisado: 02-26-20

Protagonist Emira is a sweet, child-loving, loyal young woman whose character changes and develops very little during the course of the story. It's hard to get that crucial sense that she wants something out of life , or that she's given it any thought. Her aimlessness sets her apart from her more ambitious posse of girlfriends.
We understand that Emira is broke and hard-working, but her implied intelligence is not put to work in achieving much for herself. She's wonderful with children, but it doesn't occur to her to go into education or other child-related work as a profession.
Alix, the white employer, is given more background to which we can trace, if not justify, her bad behavior, and she's truly a conniving and neurotic villain. The men are mostly cardboard, in my opinion, and there's not much here about their true motivations. The author does do a good job of describing many intriguing inner conflicts, situations and thoughts. I might read more from this writer, as I did like her overall vision as well as her bolder scenes and dialogue.

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Jaw dropping; reads like a novel

Revisado: 01-21-20

I had to keep checking to make sure this was a memoir and not a wild fiction tale. Adrienne Brodeur's keen observation and brave story-telling kept my ears glued. Her insights on her narcissist mother, the gentleness of the betrayed spouses, and especially the insidious damage of long-kept secrets -- no, especially the corruption of the mother-daughter relationship when mom decides to abscond from her maternal responsibilities and turn her 14-year-old daughter into an audience, co-conspirator and confidant.

I started to give it only 4 stars but then I realized that the book was so real, it had me reacting negatively to the selfish, destructive actions portrayed. Within the near-horror is so much humanity , humor and insight that this work deserves full stars as art and memoir.

It would be understandable if Adrienne Brodeur had come to be a corroded cynic, incapable of love or friendship, but somehow her exquisite, expansive view of the human condition has prevailed. I think she is a writer of tremendous character and I hope she continues to write about lives -- her own, someone else's, in fiction or memoir, or any way she likes.

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WOW! So entertaining; varied settings, characters

Revisado: 01-21-20

This vivid collection could not have been more enjoyable. Each story is a gem, and some featured continuing characters. Lots of humor and quirky characters, poignant human dramas, some truly scary scenes (one story takes us to war in the middle east) along with terrific, confident writing and of course, the narration . . . well, it's Tom Hanks! Every time one story ended, I missed it, but then I got a thrill knowing there was another one. The choice of the last story was perfect -- in this case it had several actors and lots of sound. Love this and hope he writes more.

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