K. Danielson

Disappointing on two levels...

Reviewed: 11-20-24

I've been with this series from the beginning. (If you are not familiar with it, go back and start at the beginning. You won't be sorry.) However, this title is a disappointment.

1. The new reader is not very good at different voices for different characters. (How did the Director miss this???) I appreciate the author's decision to bring in a French Canadian reader. He read the English at a regular pace, but when a French phrase came, he seemed to rush through it so fast that I couldn't even sound it out to attempt a translation in my head. This happened too often to be such an odd choice. (Again, where was the Director?)

2. Finally, the character of Inspector Gamache is the moral center of this universe. The previous readers clearly understood this in their reading interpretations. This reader's portrayal had him getting uncharacteristically worked up and shouting with the other people regularly. I'm not sure if this book was written differently or if it was just read differently. At times, the story seemed to border on "outlandish" and the main characters became "credulous" which also made me wonder if the author was taking the characters and books in a new and different direction. I hope not.

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Really Good Insights…except for the chapters on Grace

Reviewed: 03-02-22

This a (rare) example of a book that is well-read by the author.

As for the contents, she makes some great observations on the various aspects of paradox in Christian faith. I agree that we need to embrace these various aspects of life and faith.

However, I felt the author stumbled when discussing grace. It felt like a more “tortured” logic as she tried to hang on to expectations of good behavior. I don’t think we can have it both ways - grace and good works.

While much of the contemporary church tries to do that, Paul makes it very clear (esp. in Galatians and Romans) that the scandal of God’s grace is not what we might expect. It is simply God’s free gift. Of course, it is hard to accept that we don’t have to “earn” it.

And for generations, we have kept trying to sneak the idea of “earning” God’s grace into Christianity - which just drove Paul nuts every time it happened. (Sigh…)

The other sections of the book are well worth your your time. They are compelling discussions and examples of faith in action. I’m sure I’ll return to them in the future.

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Too Many Timelines

Reviewed: 02-20-22

I have enjoyed all of the Kate Morton stories I’ve heard. I really like her style and the characters and relational atmosphere she creates. But this one had too many timelines for me. As a result, each transition became a distraction- Wait! Which timeline is this? Who is person? What was their story? The previous books didn’t challenge me as much as this one. With each new chapter, having to recall prior people and their complex stories was made more difficult by the sheer quantity of people and details that had gone before. I had not had this difficulty in her prior stories that had a more limited number of prior timelines.

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Good story. "OK" new reader.

Reviewed: 08-12-21

Reader: I do realize the Ballerini is a top reader and I have enjoyed his reading of some past purchases. But I was surprised, while listening to this book, when there were frequent sections where he seemed to make no differences in the voices of two people in a conversation. A number of times, I had no idea which character said that last line. Was this his fault or should the director have caught that?

Story; This was a better Allon story than some recent ones. For me, that means there was less reviewing of previous books and I was often not expecting what happened next throughout the story.

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Could not get past the main character...

Reviewed: 06-25-20

Nope. Not for me. I really liked the mystery at the core of the tale, but I just got tired of the main character. He was an annoying person, sometimes kind of a jerk, sometimes deliberately making stupid choices. It all added up to make me decide to invest my time elsewhere. I got through more than half of the book and had enough of him. I found myself surprisingly relieved when I started a different book...which caused me to feel I made the right choice to just walk away.

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Our hero grew more unlikeable as the book went on

Reviewed: 10-20-17

No spoilers here.

The story was a good idea. It just wasn't carried out very well. When I realized I was sticking with this book solely to find out whodunit, I began to wonder if it was worth it.

I didn't like the main character. He had become less likable (or admirable, maybe?) as the book went on. His assistant was continually sexually objectified and left as a flat 2-dimensional person in spite of the amount of text given over to her. (...Quite an accomplishment!)

After I left a sex scene (described in technical detail) behind (that I'm pretty sure was intended to be passionate), I began to question why I was still sticking with this book.

I finally gave up when I was about 80% through the book. The characters and the mystery weren't good enough to hold me. I have read much better at Audible and I knew I had much better waiting for me in my library. As I've been writing this, I realized how many points of logic had to be ignored to stay with the story that I'm surprised I didn't give up sooner.

Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

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1 person found this helpful

PLEASE! Lose the sound effects!!!

Reviewed: 12-06-14

Publishers: Please drop the sound effects and music from future installments in this series. The readers are good enough and listeners' imaginations are good enough to supply those details. Those unnecessary sounds were distracting (and actually were pretty "cheesy" quality, too). Have some faith in the quality of your basic product: you have a good author, a good story, and some good readers.

I thought the story started a little weak, but it built in complexity and became more satisfying by the middle of the book. I listen to dozens of books per year and haven't decided whether I will grit my teeth and listen to any more of this series because the sound effects really set my teeth on edge each time they intruded. So, other listeners - let me know if the sound effects go away in future volumes. . .

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4 people found this helpful

Was this really the same author???

Reviewed: 12-01-13

I really enjoyed Mlodinow's "The Drunkard's Walk" and I do recommend it to anyone. So it was a big surprise when I listened to "Euclid's Window." This book was very uneven. There were good chapters and weak chapters. Also, I felt like he was trying too hard to be humorous or "folksy." As I listened, I got the feeling that this was a much earlier book than "The Drunkard's Walk" and when I checked the publication dates, it was true. Mlodinow's "voice" is much better in his later writing compared to this book. The material here is good, for the most part, but how it is presented needed the firm recommendations of a good editor who might have made it more consistent and confident.

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1 person found this helpful

Not Your Typical Bryson Book - Less would be More

Reviewed: 08-04-12

I was disappointed by this volume of Bryson's. I'm used to having him wander far afield, here and there going off on tangents and telling enlightening tales that become the focus of the book more than the stated topic. This book pretty much stayed with the topic of cosmology (origins of the universe, elements, life, etc...) and the interesting side-stories were minimal. Cosmology's not a bad topic and he certainly has some fun with it.

...but for nearly 18 hours??? ...Really?

I got tired of listening to all the different things he had to say about the beginning of the cosmos after a few hours and clicked ahead. It was more discussions of the specifics of another aspect of universe formation. Clicked ahead again; more of the same. And again...

My concern is that like some best selling authors, they reach a point in their career where they no longer listen to their editors. This book needed to be cut down. More isn't always better. An active editor could have made this a better "Bill Bryson Book." I enjoy his insights and especially his humorous asides, but at some point you need to let a topic go and move on to the next point. He didn't need to include ALL of his research.

For me, this bordered on being tedious. I know I'm in the minority here. People seem to love this book as much as his others. I liked his approach and style in other books much more. This volume was a letdown for me.

Perhaps, I would have liked the abridged version more. (One third the length and read by Bryson himself!) Perhaps cosmology is just not a topic that grabs me. (But other authors like Neil DeGrass Tyson have held my interest.) Either way, you may not want this book to be your first Bill Bryson book. Walk in the Woods or some of the others give you a better view of his unique perspectives on the world we inhabit together.

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One of the best "cat & mouse" thrillers.

Reviewed: 05-12-12

For those who are looking for a "classic" style thriller, this is one of the best of the genre. If you haven't heard this one, or are thinking about trying something from this style of mystery thriller, this is at the top of the class. Yes, the action takes place in the 1960's, but the story, characters, procedures, and tension are timeless.

Every step in the story keeps us interested. It is actually told as two parallel stories - one from the perspective of the cat; one from that of the mouse. Every step of the way, you are kept wondering, "How will he be able to do that?" The story-telling does not disappoint or lag anywhere.

This story deserves all of the fame is has gotten. (Look it up!) And Simon Prebble's reading is perfect, as always.

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