R. Bellerose

Perhaps it related to me

Revisado: 11-13-23

I lived in Boston in the 70s, so I am often drawn to Dennis Lehane. The busing controversy played a smaller part than I had expected. At the time, when Louise Day Hicks got knocked into the read of her convertible by a well-pitched apple, I thought it funny. I feel ashamed about it today (but I swear I did not throw the apple). The people of Southie had every reason to complain. Judge Garrity's busing decision was among the greatest legal flaws in our history. We still suffer for it. And though the author did not tie the decision to the plot of the story, the connections are not well hidden.

In a world of intractable problems, this novel showed how governments can make mistakes that tumble on for decades.

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I don’t get it

Revisado: 10-10-23

Reads like an ad…or a job application. I cannot find an excuse for five stars. I would have preferred to simply return the book, but that seems impossible.

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Dense

Revisado: 05-16-22

Some chapters of this are more detailed and technical than one can absorb in an audiobook, which made the listening a little longer than I might have liked, but it held my interest and has changed my view of language for the better, I hope. Professor Pinker’s disdain for fuzzy reasoning is always appreciated.

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Compelling

Revisado: 06-22-18

I found this story, common as it is in Western Culture, to be riveting. In fairness, being a gay man, the love between two young men was a plus for me, but others may be turned off from such a story, not because of explicit sex, but because such relationships are of no interest.

Reviewers who were eager to express their discomfort amid hundreds of favorable reviews are brave—one even imagined the narrator having a sibilant "S" in Mr. Douglass's perfect English. Helpful reviews should not be about personal prejudice.

The writing is clear and the imagery simply wonderful. The reader embodied the various voices flawlessly, expressing Patroclus's timid adoration of Achilles in quiet gratitude and the Achilles voice being confident, cool, and unsentimental.

The Song of Achilles will thrill any listener who wants to be transported to another time with this classic retelling.

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Too many great ideas

Revisado: 07-23-17

What did you love best about Algorithms to Live By?

There were so many useful ideas in this book, I bought the Kindle version to review them.

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Ok, notwithstanding lack of objectivity

Revisado: 11-27-14

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It's rigid point of view.

Has One Summer turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

What about Bill Bryson’s performance did you like?

Always.

Did One Summer inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

Bryson bolsters his prejudgment about the authorship question with straw dogs and suppositions, but while he has added nothing of value to that scholarship, there is much to enjoy in this book about the period.

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Sexy, insightful, funny, and informative

Revisado: 06-08-11

This talented woman can both write and read with a skill that makes me want to be reborn—to try again.

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Worst reading on an Audible offering

Revisado: 12-07-09

This is a wonderful novel. How on earth did Audible accept this reading of it? The reader has absolutely no talent for this task.

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Important thoughts

Revisado: 12-06-09

I agree with those others who were offended by the sarcasm, which is designed for the converted and less so for the open-minded. This is my only negative: I though it patronizing.

The ideas in the book are worth anyone's interest. Unfortunately, he American system of open bribery, where corporations blatantly pour money into government, is structured to favor reckless spending. This book does not examine closely why our system is is corrupt, nor should it, but the reader might be cautioned that half-steps could be more destructive than regulation.

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Masterful language

Revisado: 03-31-08

Thickly spread with self-reflection, this story seems to move slowly, but each aside engrosses the reader and moves the story along. Filled with social commentary that will sparkle for decades.

The reader is tireless and without error. He renders the first-person Charlie in a believable and consistent voice.

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