Ellen Weinstein

The best narration!!!

Reviewed: 10-15-24

Even if you think that you don’t like Dickens—like me—it’s so worth the time. The narrator voices all of the characters. It comes alive—not the purgatory it was in high school.

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Raw, beautiful.

Reviewed: 05-29-24

This is a beautiful authentic coming of story. Vuong is poet andcwrites with a poet’s eye for detail. His perceptions about the unspoken communication between people are almost uncanny. .There is much love and cruelty as we follow the lives of Vietnamese immigrants after the Vietnam war living in Hartford. Little dog the main character comes to the US as a child with his mother and grandmother. The women are survivors with the trauma that thst entails. Little dog is a good and loving son as he tries to navigate living with two adults with PTSD. He endures the ravages of being other in school. He finds comfort in a relationship with a boy that sustains him until he leaves. Vuong is insightful about what it means to survive.

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Complex and moving

Reviewed: 05-10-24

I am white so I hesitate to presume anything about the black slave experience. To show my ignorance by saying that it captures a reality. I do not know. But Mr. Everett conveys the cruelty and dehumanization of slavery and one man’s outrage and need to be known. James’ need to excercise his intellect and find his family are at the core of the story. For most the novel I was tense—afraid for that the main characters would be brutally punished. I was able to enter the book’s reality and care about Huck and Jim. I read Huckleberry Finn in 1973. Maybe I will try it again.

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1 person found this helpful

Slow start then amazing

Reviewed: 03-30-24

Meg Mason’s style is deceivingly simple. She writes with an economy that surprises in its depth of understanding of marriage, family, siblings and mental illness.
I recognized dynamics that rung true in my own life, like the spectacular implosion of a marriage and the gut wrenching reflection to understand your part and your spouse’s. She shows the limits of support and yet the resiliency of certain connections. I am moved by this story and will miss each character.

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Brilliant storytelling

Reviewed: 03-17-24

I love Nathan Hill’s work. The theme of the Nix can be summed up by this quote: “Seeing ourselves clearly is the project of a lifetime.” All of his characters move on the spectrum of self discovery. Some are stuck in the struggle, some are becoming more self aware and some are dedicated to self deception. And it is a hellava yarn. There is a parade of characters with each one contributing to the story. I was so sad when it was over. I highly recommend listening to it!

The narration is terrific. The narrator with subtle very changes represents each character’ s voice differently. He did not simply read the story.

I highly recommend.

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I wish I could give 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-03-23

Rabbi Leder is a brilliant writer and I imagine a powerful force for love and good for his congregation. The book is both an explication of Judaism’s brilliant psychologically complete understanding of what the grief stricken need and a memoir of his relationship with his father. My only criticism is what becomes a labored recitation that relationship in the epilogue. I felt an impatience in the way hearing it already in many ways throughout the book. It was unnecessary and in some ways diluted its power. I still would recommend.

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If you can be patient there are rewards

Reviewed: 03-03-23

This is a safe read. Comforting like a throw blanket. The reader sees how Lucy Barton in all of her self absorption manages the pandemic. The novel’s pace matches the pandemic—slow, ponderous, uncertain. There are nuggets of insight, moments revealing family truths AND a very brave look at the complexity of infidelity. The reader sees how the impact and meaning of infidelity on a marriage shifts as the couple moves through their lives. And Strout even shows the legacy of affairs for the children.
While at times I thought that the narrator sounded annoying and yet? She was interpreting what she had to work with. I appreciate her effort.

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Gorgeous narration. Intense storyline

Reviewed: 02-14-23

O’Farrell appears to be drawn to tragic historical stories and the sense dread looms large over the narrative. Her characters based on real people and some real events. They are well drawn. Her writing is full of description and details that lends itself to the audible format. There is suspense and social commentary sometimes in the same sentence. I highly recommend this book.

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Brilliant and disturbing

Reviewed: 01-28-23

Read this book! I bought this book on the strength of Noah Hawley’s name. If I knew what it was about I would not have read it and that would have been unfortunate.

The plot: in the near future three youths, one innocent, one world weary and one spiritually driven escape a residential treatment facility for anxiety and go on a crusade of retribution. Through their journey he addresses child abuse and sex trafficking, climate change, obscene wealth, hypocrisy,love, the nature of empathy, the bonds of family and the power of human connection. His breath of knowledge about world events past and present and insights about these events creates a textured and nuanced world . He writes about these heavy subjects with a light touch somehow making it accessible. His dystopian near future world captures the angst of our current times. He writes about these weighty concerns with clarity and perspective.

The characters are well developed and the action palpable.
I will be thinking about this book for long time.
Enjoy!

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Brilliant entertainment

Reviewed: 11-29-22

Ian Mcewan writes the story of Roland Banes. In doing so he explores world politics, family relations and secrets, sexual abuse and the obsession of the artist.
His writing is flawless—descriptive full of subtle observations that create full well drawn characters. It took a little while to get into it, but it was well worth it.

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