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fbroom's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it. It is such a Paul Auster classic. Paul Auster has his ways of luring you in with his words. He is a natural story teller and once the story starts, I find it very hard to just let go or stop reading / listening. You never know where the story is going with Paul Auster. There is always some new start where anything possible. There is mystery and there is also adventure. You can tell I’m a huge fan already, it’s getting ridiculous. But seriously though, I loved it.
I’ve listened to this on audible and Paul Auster is the perfect narrator to his books. It was awesome to be able to listen to this narrated by the author himself! I made sure to only listen for hour a day and not anymore so that it doesn’t end quickly!
I’ve listened to this on audible and Paul Auster is the perfect narrator to his books. It was awesome to be able to listen to this narrated by the author himself! I made sure to only listen for hour a day and not anymore so that it doesn’t end quickly!
kjellouise's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alsal29's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
signes's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
adburman's review
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sandygx260's review
1.0
May 20th: Oh Lordy, another book with no "" around the dialog. Sigh. At least the story seems intriguing. Yes, this book is another in my "Reading NYT Bestsellers" crapshoot game.
May 23: Intriguing turned into a ramble. I told my partner, "this book is like listening to someone describe his cross country trucking experiences since eventually something strange will happen. He will reach the punchline but one sits and sweats to the reward."
This book rambles, peaks, rambles, peaks, and then, yes, gasp, peaks, bores, and drags before the tale slaps on the dramatic conclusion thirty pages before the ending.
What pretentious bullshit. Does this author not have an editor? This is his tenth book. Are the first nine that much worse? Or is he one of those strike it lucky in the beginning authors who has no where to go but down?
After ten books an author should understand the simple concept of attention to detail. There were six major points when the author made no sense.
I'll conclude with the least offensive detail: describing how a bag of frozen peas were STILL frozen after sitting in his hammered by the summer sun truck for at least five hours.
That's a mistake from a man who has never shopped for himself. His editor suffers from the same problem.
And a collection of little details and overblown rambles defeats this book. It's an exercise in nonsense.
May 23: Intriguing turned into a ramble. I told my partner, "this book is like listening to someone describe his cross country trucking experiences since eventually something strange will happen. He will reach the punchline but one sits and sweats to the reward."
This book rambles, peaks, rambles, peaks, and then, yes, gasp, peaks, bores, and drags before the tale slaps on the dramatic conclusion thirty pages before the ending.
What pretentious bullshit. Does this author not have an editor? This is his tenth book. Are the first nine that much worse? Or is he one of those strike it lucky in the beginning authors who has no where to go but down?
After ten books an author should understand the simple concept of attention to detail. There were six major points when the author made no sense.
I'll conclude with the least offensive detail: describing how a bag of frozen peas were STILL frozen after sitting in his hammered by the summer sun truck for at least five hours.
That's a mistake from a man who has never shopped for himself. His editor suffers from the same problem.
And a collection of little details and overblown rambles defeats this book. It's an exercise in nonsense.
groovybagel's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
foofers1622's review
5.0
Wow..they weren't kidding when they put this on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. I never wanted a fictional charcter to be more real then Hector Mann. The style of Auster's writing is what sucked me in. I felt like David Zimmer was sitting across from me the whole time retelling his story. Can't wait to read it again a few years down the road.
Merged review:
Wow..they weren't kidding when they put this on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. I never wanted a fictional charcter to be more real then Hector Mann. The style of Auster's writing is what sucked me in. I felt like David Zimmer was sitting across from me the whole time retelling his story. Can't wait to read it again a few years down the road.
Merged review:
Wow..they weren't kidding when they put this on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. I never wanted a fictional charcter to be more real then Hector Mann. The style of Auster's writing is what sucked me in. I felt like David Zimmer was sitting across from me the whole time retelling his story. Can't wait to read it again a few years down the road.
juliasilge's review
3.0
Silent film, mystery, family tragedy-- a unique story that I enjoyed quite well. I really liked the setting for part of the story in early Hollywood, and the destruction of film/story/art moved me.