Abi Memsahib

If you must have your Greek fix

Revisado: 10-19-21

If you haven't read a Greek story in a while then will probably satisfy you. The story is compelling, holds your interest. However, I think it is too long. It takes you all the way to Lavinia's death when she turns into an immortal owl. That was clever, unexpected. But it is the reader which I found way too harsh and inappropriate.

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Absolutely Astounding

Revisado: 10-17-21

The Man Who Lived Under Ground is a significant story by itself, and I recommend it to be read by everyone interested in the writings of black authors. However, it is the Memories of My Grandmother which reveals Wright's brilliance as a writer and an intellectual. His theories about writing, about abstraction, surrealism, and the conditioning of a a character or of a real person are visionary. Writers should study Memories of My Grandmother as a challenge to write. It should be studied as a tutorial. That will be my intention. I haven't heard ideas so powerful and overwhelming in a very long time. They are breathtaking.

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Hemingway Should Be Ashamed

Revisado: 06-26-21

What a waste of my time. I suppose that a rabid fan of bullfighting would like this book, but I had no appreciation for all the terminology, the list of bullfighters, bull breeders, etc. And the ridiculous conversation he put in to satisfy the fictitious reader. He was right about Faulkner being the best writer but the story he made up to imitate Faulkner was awful. I won't recommend this book to anyone. The narrator wasn't bad, however.

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Lost Opportunity

Revisado: 06-26-21

I was so looking forward to hearing about the exciting, colorful adventure of Helga and Clara's trek across the United States, but it was a complete disappointment. What an opportunity to learn about ordinary Americans and how they lived their lives, what they had opinions about, how they felt emotionally, etc at the end of the century. I don't know whose fault it was: whether it was Helga's limited ability to write about her experience or the person who may have helped her write about them, but there was not the excitement I expected it to be. The narrator didn't help: her voice was flat, emotionless. I was appalled by the lack of generosity of Americans to help them get back to their home as quickly as possible. In summary I'm sorry I wasted my time to listen to this sad tale.

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Laundry Lists

Revisado: 06-26-21

I own shares in racehorses and grew up on a ranch in MT so I was impressed by her knowledge of horses. She obviously owns horses herself. I expected to love this book and many of my friends said I would. However, I didn't. I could've quit listening before the half-way mark because I got tried of her many laundry lists of multiple things plus the alternative words she offered for the first word she used. The book could have been reduced to half its length but for her style. She's a brilliant dialog writer, and one sentence flows so smoothly into the next. She's a good writer, in general, but it was a terrible habit she got into by listing one thing after another in almost every category. Too many characters, but more than that the characters lacked depth. I didn't get snagged by any one of them. Sometimes I fell asleep but didn't like the story enough to go back and pickup what I missed. There's a limit to what you can write about racehorses, even for a big fan like myself.

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Not worth the...

Revisado: 08-08-19

There is nothing to crow about in this story. The most unattractive characters that ever existed. The professional reviewers were all blind or deaf and the author must have known someone at Penguin. This is just an ugly book. Period. There is practically no ending after a huge buildup. Eileen desecrates a perfectly good, Irish name. If you read this book, I GUARANTEE you will hate it. Reviewers thought the first chapter was the best. I think the second chapter is better. All the ugly characters, even the one who is suppose to be beautiful are selfish, manipulative, and downright awful in their behaviors. In fact, I'm asking you to do yourself a favor and NOT READ this book. If you are sucked in just because I say "don't" then you're a fool.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Not Good But Excellent

Revisado: 06-30-19

Neil Gaiman has an imagination second to none. Also a sense of humor. It's been awhile since I gut-laughed, but he's got some genuine winners in this book. The only problem is that, even as an anthropologist who knows a lot about mythical gods, I didn't like the story at all. As a storyline it has tremendous potential, but it's too weird and fragmented for me. The best stories are in the sections marked as Somewhere in America. However, the 10th anniversary edition is superb as a full cast production. I will always remember some of the characters because of their vocal quality and the way they fit the part. The Zoryia Sisters, for example, are unforgettable. For sheer entertainment, if that's what you're looking for, is worth the 19 hours you spend listening to it.

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