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kcbas1's review
1.0
Very odd...Had to skim most of it to see if it got better/easier to understand. I don't know if he really made any points or if this was just one big stream of consciousness that tried too hard to be intellectual. Had high hopes for this and left the book confused and disappointed. I don't think this book is worth the time unfortunately.
boitevide's review
4.0
I'm not sure I've ever read anything by Adam Gopnik that I DIDN'T like, and "The Real Work" doesn't buck that enviable trend. What could have been a rather trite gimmick, a neophyte apprenticing himself to masters of various arts and metiers, becomes, in Gopnik's hands, an exercise in wonder. The humility with which he approaches these endeavors is endearing, and the deep respect for the mastery he finds all around him, not just in his tutors but across the folds of society, is contagious. Throughout the arc of the book, the reader may start to see the world a bit differently, noticing the care and, yes, mastery, in the execution of some of the things we may take for granted every day, and appreciating for perhaps the first time how our lives are made more beautiful, more interesting, and even possible at it's most basic level through the carefully honed accomplishment of others.
At a juncture in our collective lives when felicity is in short supply, Gopnik's effortlessly gorgeous writing, his keen but sensitive perspicacity, and his unfaltering admiration for his subjects make "The Real Work" a tender jolt of joy.
At a juncture in our collective lives when felicity is in short supply, Gopnik's effortlessly gorgeous writing, his keen but sensitive perspicacity, and his unfaltering admiration for his subjects make "The Real Work" a tender jolt of joy.
rsmits's review
2.0
I heard Gopnik talk about this book on a podcast. His interview was fascinating, charming, and funny. He weaved together stories of his own attempts at mastery while explaining what goes into mastery all the while. Unfortunately the interview was a grab bag of the best parts of the book, and the book was a series of digressions that missed the mark (for me) most of the time. Just when something was getting interesting Gopnik would veer left and leave me wishing for something wholly different.
I finished the book because every chapter had something great about it. But, unfortunately, there was something about his stream-of-consciousness style that did not land for me.
I finished the book because every chapter had something great about it. But, unfortunately, there was something about his stream-of-consciousness style that did not land for me.
kristinj1's review
informative
reflective
4.0
I can't really talk about plot here, because this was not a novel, a fiction. This was a book about how we think about and find mastery in our lives. Honestly, I think what kept me from totally leaning into this book was the writing. A lot of unnecessary or oddly placed, complicated words that I had to look up to make sure I understand what he was saying, just generally it felt like he was trying to show up how smart he was. I think that got in the way of me fully getting into this. The content was really interesting, the execution was not as smooth.
allie8973's review
This book has gotten me over some writers block. It's like, detailing all this work goes into being good and great for these hobbies I have no desire ever to attempt and it reminds me that even one my worst writing days in still having so much fun and it's so engaging and enlivening. It reminds me that I'm choosing to do this thing, this amazing thing that I love so deeply and that our bad days are still better than what I was before I made writing a part of my life
One form of mastery is selectively blind prudently indifferent. One form of mastery is the mastery of not seeing too much - I think this really helps for when I'm bogged down by the sentence structure l..figuring out what is wrong. Figuring out why something doesn't work. Maybe I need to step back and look at the whole of it. Is it really not working? Is there a level of blindness I need to get back into the flow, the noodle of it
Skimmed the last half, because I lost some of the grasp of what the point was.
One form of mastery is selectively blind prudently indifferent. One form of mastery is the mastery of not seeing too much - I think this really helps for when I'm bogged down by the sentence structure l..figuring out what is wrong. Figuring out why something doesn't work. Maybe I need to step back and look at the whole of it. Is it really not working? Is there a level of blindness I need to get back into the flow, the noodle of it
Skimmed the last half, because I lost some of the grasp of what the point was.
dmturner's review
4.0
Meandering, at times convoluted, often brilliant, and not really about mastery but about audience and adventure, this odd book was a great read. Often when I was about to give up on him he would say something so perceptive a jeweled that I wanted to dog-ear that page.
I know something about art, so was amused and less than impressed by the traditionalist artist he chose to study with. I know something about combat sport, too, and he got a lot more right about that.
The spine of my copy misspells his last name, mirabile dictu. Oh publishers.
I know something about art, so was amused and less than impressed by the traditionalist artist he chose to study with. I know something about combat sport, too, and he got a lot more right about that.
The spine of my copy misspells his last name, mirabile dictu. Oh publishers.