Review:
I really enjoyed this coming of age story. The characters developed well and their odd adaptations to an odd reality was done very well. The cliff hanger, however, is going to drive me crazy for a year. ARRRGH!
Review:
This is an odd book. The story is rife with character development and the double entendre of "matrix" being a mother, a complicated situation, a way of looking at the labyrinth, and as a reference to the Virgin Mary makes the book rich. There are interesting perspectives (e.g. man is made of dust, but woman is made from bone) and it is interesting to view the miracles, visions, and church plans from the view of practicality and how these might be used to create a mystique that helps provide a supernatural grandeur to simple practicalities. I also really like the way that Groff has demonstrated how each character comes into her own and deals with the situations that each character faces becoming oddly religious as a result of their own failings.
Review:
Schiff humanized himself immediately by putting a dad joke in the dedication. He clearly has a great editor.
This book explains a lot of the behind-the-scenes work on the first impeachment. It also explains some of the thinking behind how Schiff and others dealt with the former president. This is not a comprehensive query, but it is a real-time effort by an active participant to start building the historical record and to start identifying what we need to do for the future.
Review:
OK, so not really a biography of Washington, though it does sort of stroll through parts of his life. It seems like I get to know Philbrick's dog better than Washington. Philbrick even identifies himself as a bore recounting his harrowing sailing story, but he put it in the book. So, this travelogue is boring and it needs to be enhanced with something. I'm just not sure it is Philbrick's dog, lovelorn wife, or even his 5th great uncle. I was hoping this would be more of a book about how Washington's trips brought the country together and while this is addressed, there is no compelling case that says it worked--heck it is unclear that this was Washington's intent (instead of trying to just get away from the daily obligations of governing--Washington seemed happiest on the move).
What is Washington's legacy, the purported purpose of this book? Maybe Washington, DC...that is about the best conclusion I could reach from what I had read. I knew that Washington did not travel with a dog. I knew that the president had a number of myths around his life (e.g. the "just a man" statements) and that he had taken a difficult journey while trying to stay at taverns (so that it did not seem like a trip taken by a king to his court members' houses). But of his legacy? Little. I cannot recommend this book in any way.
Review:
The story of the stone is an odd red herring throughout the novel. I don't really think it helps tell the story beyond an encounter toward the end of World War II. I found it to be a non-innocent addition to the story as though it is much more meaningful then it is.
There is an odd repeated sense of decimation and loss (odd because it seems that there is no bottom). It seems that horror and loss are components required for a Pulitzer prize. I had not wanted to read this book partly for that reason. There is little doubt that Doerr is gifted and builds characters, places, and addresses issues of large moment artfully. It would be nice, however, if that could all be done without the fear of imminent death. Maybe, also, I'm a little tired of coming of age stories.
Review:
Some of the ideas that Klune addresses are truly novel. This take on ghosts is really wonderful and I enjoyed the new ideas that are brought out. The look at the nature of death--as the ending of one step in a journey and the beginning of another is comforting. Frankly, such an approach is part of why so many religions do what they do. This take on change and finding one's self is really quite good and well explained. The book is good and I enjoyed it.
Review:
These were interesting stories, but they all depended upon the reader already knowing the story of King Arthur. Fair enough. The problem, however, is that characters tend to end up in ruts. Maybe that isn't a fair critique, but it is mine. I just couldn't finish it.
