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klparmley's review against another edition
1.0
I have completely lost interest. I do not care what happens to any of these people.
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
5.0
This was wonderful. So suspenseful, and well-written.
toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
The more I think about this book, the more I feel as if my head will explode. There is just so much to think about, connections to make (the point), even though there are also a lot of loose ends (also the point). I really should write a review, if only for myself. I'd need to read it again, though. I'm sure that many details and sentences would pop out, on second reading, as more significant or telling than they at first appeared.
sujuv's review against another edition
3.0
A real page turner, no doubt, but I can't say that it stuck with me. Every character turns out to be connected to every other character - which is something I often like - but in this case it all felt a little too planned out, almost. I know that sounds silly - because of course the writer plans what he's writing - but sometimes it felt like they were connected because it seemed cool to connect them. When as I read I discovered their connections, I didn't feel the thrill of discovery, instead I thought, "yeah, of course." But I did breeze through it and I was interested in what would happen next, which is something.
cheysbookishbrain's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing! The concepts in it really got you thinking and I really enjoyed the formatting of it!
randybo5's review against another edition
3.0
A series of interwoven stories that finally come together in the end, I enjoyed this book but found the switch between chapters and viewpoints jarring. I would just be totally absorbed by a character and then that storyline would be totally dropped for another. My favorite quote, "...what we comprehend about this wold may always be called into question."
hcothran's review against another edition
4.0
It's like A Visit From the Goon Squad with less rock-and-roll and more Jewish mysticism. This is not usually the type of book I get that into...I have a low "weird and confusing" tolerance, but it sucked me in, like a dream. Made me think deep thoughts, question my place on the planet, all of it. Plus it's got a fair amount of page-turning plot, without which the lyrical dreaminess may have been too much for me. Definitely interesting and a book I will probably continue to think about for a while.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
"...I promise you that nothing, in the end, will seem conclusive. Stories are like dreams in this way. They happen. They do not happen. They are right here. They exist in some other place entirely."
This book has an unconventional format and may be mistaken for a short story collection, but I assure you it is a novel. The strange format is what kept me glued to the book, and I polished it off within 24 hours.
It's best to be mostly clueless going into this book, so I suggest avoiding reviews that might set up expectations before you start. With that in mind, my review will be deliberately vague.
Each chapter is narrated by a different character who describes an experience or series of events in his or her life. All of the events are in some way connected to the experiences of all the other characters, but this is not readily apparent. Finding out how all the people's lives intersect, and how those meetings alter outcomes, is the fun of starting each new chapter.
The book is a mystery, but not in the traditional sense. More like a mystery of life, and how a random event in your life could lead to a major change in someone else's life. Might even make you think about woo-woo stuff like the six degrees of separation and the nature of what we choose to call reality. As one character puts it: "...what we comprehend about this world may always be called into question."
Outstanding writing quality throughout the book. There's a lot of interesting Jewish lore sprinkled here and there. Some of it no doubt went right past me, goy that I am. There's also a bit of an exotic wildlife theme---not central to the story but I really enjoyed reading about the various animals. The first chapter made me want to go swim with the manatees!
This book has an unconventional format and may be mistaken for a short story collection, but I assure you it is a novel. The strange format is what kept me glued to the book, and I polished it off within 24 hours.
It's best to be mostly clueless going into this book, so I suggest avoiding reviews that might set up expectations before you start. With that in mind, my review will be deliberately vague.
Each chapter is narrated by a different character who describes an experience or series of events in his or her life. All of the events are in some way connected to the experiences of all the other characters, but this is not readily apparent. Finding out how all the people's lives intersect, and how those meetings alter outcomes, is the fun of starting each new chapter.
The book is a mystery, but not in the traditional sense. More like a mystery of life, and how a random event in your life could lead to a major change in someone else's life. Might even make you think about woo-woo stuff like the six degrees of separation and the nature of what we choose to call reality. As one character puts it: "...what we comprehend about this world may always be called into question."
Outstanding writing quality throughout the book. There's a lot of interesting Jewish lore sprinkled here and there. Some of it no doubt went right past me, goy that I am. There's also a bit of an exotic wildlife theme---not central to the story but I really enjoyed reading about the various animals. The first chapter made me want to go swim with the manatees!
misterwonders's review against another edition
4.0
The cynic in me wants to be disappointed. Although the stories weave together effortlessly and the complexity of the telling is what I love about Frederick Reiken, everything comes together with too neat a bow. However, I'm ignoring that side of myself because from the outset the book pretty much tells you that the bow isn't really the point. Everything else is. Frederick Reiken has been a long time favorite of mine and although Day for Night falls short of the beauty that is Lost Legends of New Jersey, it is still an excellent and compelling read.
kbyanyname's review against another edition
2.0
Let me begin by saying that I did not intend to read this book in one day. It was more that once I started it and realized what it was, I figured I might as well push through to the end. I utilized some convenient insomnia to finish up, which was pretty easy to do at a little more than 300 pages.
This also makes the second book this year about the Holocaust that I feel I've sort of been tricked into reading (the first was [b:Beatrice and Virgil|7176578|Beatrice and Virgil|Yann Martel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275621211s/7176578.jpg|7627945]) and there's nothing wrong with reading on that subject or anything, but it definitely colors a reading.
Not that I think a book needs to let you know that up front (insert comment about books and covers), but it would be nice to be able to emotionally prepare for such a horrific subject.
What's more is that Reiken doesn't exactly do anything that I haven't already (and recently) come across with this subject, except humanize both sides of the action. Not to cheapen it in the least, because it's an important subject, but the story is not going to change, and the only thing that we can come away with is either going to be despair or hope. Reiken's writing still drew me in during several parts, and I have to admit that I was sad and upset at all the right places, but it probably would've gone over better if there wasn't as much allusion to some long-hidden family secret or such for several characters.
The book is billed as a web of short stories bringing several unsuspecting characters together through life events and relationships they never thought to consider. I was continually frustrated through the book looking for a surprise connection, but only finding several people who might've come into contact with each other for any number of meaningful reasons. The speaking cast is almost all women, almost all Jewish, from the same places and families. Some parts of the book came off as a Hebrew rendition of The Joy Luck Club to me.
I really, really hate to be the "gender studies" guy, but there are so few men in this book. Only four get their own stories (out of about 12 in the book, I think), and only three of them have names. With the exception of one or two both speaking or non-speaking, they are either inept or maladjusted, and almost all of them die. By contrast, the women are brilliant, emotionally involved, bond together and reach out and are put into danger and grow as people and, as before, a web of humanity bringing hope. The "superhuman" character in the book is even female, though I don't have an issue with that in general, just in terms of the huge imbalance in the stories. I'm not certain it was an intentional writing choice, but it hampered the reading for me.
The most frustrating part of the whole thing for me is that the early stories in the book hit such high notes and brought up genuinely interesting characters and conflicts, and we have to move on without almost any resolution. Reiken gives us a glimpse into some stories and events that draw us in, and then abandons them and drags us along the rest of them as his stories begin to get a more and more narrow focus on Israel. I feel as if Reiken started a few really interesting short stories that were great on their own, and then an editor sparked a few connections between them and promised it would sell. I would love to see these first few stories expanded into their own worlds, and maybe a little less connected to the rest of this web of history.
This also makes the second book this year about the Holocaust that I feel I've sort of been tricked into reading (the first was [b:Beatrice and Virgil|7176578|Beatrice and Virgil|Yann Martel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275621211s/7176578.jpg|7627945]) and there's nothing wrong with reading on that subject or anything, but it definitely colors a reading.
Not that I think a book needs to let you know that up front (insert comment about books and covers), but it would be nice to be able to emotionally prepare for such a horrific subject.
What's more is that Reiken doesn't exactly do anything that I haven't already (and recently) come across with this subject, except humanize both sides of the action. Not to cheapen it in the least, because it's an important subject, but the story is not going to change, and the only thing that we can come away with is either going to be despair or hope. Reiken's writing still drew me in during several parts, and I have to admit that I was sad and upset at all the right places, but it probably would've gone over better if there wasn't as much allusion to some long-hidden family secret or such for several characters.
The book is billed as a web of short stories bringing several unsuspecting characters together through life events and relationships they never thought to consider. I was continually frustrated through the book looking for a surprise connection, but only finding several people who might've come into contact with each other for any number of meaningful reasons. The speaking cast is almost all women, almost all Jewish, from the same places and families. Some parts of the book came off as a Hebrew rendition of The Joy Luck Club to me.
I really, really hate to be the "gender studies" guy, but there are so few men in this book. Only four get their own stories (out of about 12 in the book, I think), and only three of them have names. With the exception of one or two both speaking or non-speaking, they are either inept or maladjusted, and almost all of them die. By contrast, the women are brilliant, emotionally involved, bond together and reach out and are put into danger and grow as people and, as before, a web of humanity bringing hope. The "superhuman" character in the book is even female, though I don't have an issue with that in general, just in terms of the huge imbalance in the stories. I'm not certain it was an intentional writing choice, but it hampered the reading for me.
The most frustrating part of the whole thing for me is that the early stories in the book hit such high notes and brought up genuinely interesting characters and conflicts, and we have to move on without almost any resolution. Reiken gives us a glimpse into some stories and events that draw us in, and then abandons them and drags us along the rest of them as his stories begin to get a more and more narrow focus on Israel. I feel as if Reiken started a few really interesting short stories that were great on their own, and then an editor sparked a few connections between them and promised it would sell. I would love to see these first few stories expanded into their own worlds, and maybe a little less connected to the rest of this web of history.