Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Its a book of stories and some of them are pretty good... some of them are really weird. Che Guevera only appears in one story, but the underlying theme is some kind of revolution.
It’s hard to rate a short story book. Do you rate your overall impression of the collection? An average among your would-be ratings of each separate story? If one story alone deserves 5 stars but all the other didn’t catch your attention, does the overall rating increase?
I really liked the last story and found the first one quite interesting. All the other ones didn’t catch my attention. Overall, I suspect I won’t be remembering this book much in the future.
I really liked the last story and found the first one quite interesting. All the other ones didn’t catch my attention. Overall, I suspect I won’t be remembering this book much in the future.
I heard about Ben Fountain from Malcom Gladwell's latest book and WOW, I was impressed. I was easily engrossed in each of his stories and Fountain's writing is descriptive, yet effortless. One of the best books I've read in a long time, for sure.
I agree whole-heartedly with the NYT Book Review that says, "Rather than glamorize his protagonists through their ties to troubled lands, he humanizes the troubled lands through their ties to his unpretentious protagonists."
I agree whole-heartedly with the NYT Book Review that says, "Rather than glamorize his protagonists through their ties to troubled lands, he humanizes the troubled lands through their ties to his unpretentious protagonists."
There is an awful lot to like here. Engaging from start to finish. I'm miserly with my five stars - this gets one!I really like this book!!!
Excellent short story collection with a varied cast of fully drawn characters.
An interesting collection of short stories spanning the globe, although I didn't like his choice for the final story about the pianist. It felt out of place in the collection.
An interesting look into another life in another part of the world.
These are all good stories. I thought the last one didn’t fit a theme as well. There is an overarching theme of ethical dilemmas—usually from illegal activity or the problem of navigating power dynamics and corruption—the characters face. The stories shine with a sense of irony as the characters confront their situation and often make either unexpected or conflicted choices.
This book was hit and miss. Some of the stories were excellent (particularly "Near-extinct birds of the Central Cordillera" and "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers") while many others did not capture my attention.
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes