My first DNF for the year. Exercising my "100 pages of nothing and I am out" rule.
I enjoyed the first book I read by Hadley, but this one is absolutelMy first DNF for the year. Exercising my "100 pages of nothing and I am out" rule.
I enjoyed the first book I read by Hadley, but this one is absolutely not for me. I don't care what happens to Phyllis and Nicky...maybe they will get their just desserts, but I am totally unwilling to stay around for another 200 pages to find out. ...more
When do I learn? This was recommended to me by a very close friend who absolutely loved it. I knew it wasn’t likely to be my style, but I wanted to shWhen do I learn? This was recommended to me by a very close friend who absolutely loved it. I knew it wasn’t likely to be my style, but I wanted to share this with her. I cannot do it. 86 pages in and I am out. Second DNF this year already and I am pledging to myself that if I am not interested in a book for my own reasons I will just pass.
My sincere apologies to all my wonderful GR friends who loved this book and rated it 5-stars. It is likely just me. Just got a Kate Morton from the wait list at the library…off to read it....more
Picked by my IRL book group and I won't read it, even for them. It opens with a chapter in which a camp worker details how he has sex with all the DNF
Picked by my IRL book group and I won't read it, even for them. It opens with a chapter in which a camp worker details how he has sex with all the wives of the men he works with, except a black man's wife and he wants to "sample" her because he wonders what it is like with a black woman. The other women invite him to dinner and knock the dishes off the table when their husbands leave so they can indulge, while the babies suck sugar tits in the crib next to them. The least of my objections is WHAT is the crib doing in the kitchen? Chapter two began the same. I am out.
I found this both unrealistic and offensive. Not spending any more time with it at all. If there is a good historical story in here somewhere, which the blurb implies is so, I do wish Everhart would have presented some of that before she introduced me to this man's sexual exploits....more
I made it four chapters in, one of which was a detailed description of the senseless killing of a possum. This is meant to be humor, and initially I tI made it four chapters in, one of which was a detailed description of the senseless killing of a possum. This is meant to be humor, and initially I thought it would be, but by the time I bailed, I was positive I would not find anything humorous about this foray into the dregs of society and human depravity.
It is sad, because the author can write obviously and there were moments in which I connected with both the driver and his fares. The old man he takes home from the hospital and leaves, reluctantly, alone in a trailer without help or food, was touching for me. But, I find it hard to wade through the excessive crude language or the abusive behavior to get to those moments.
Written for someone with a different sense of humor.
Another DNF for me. I am not a fan of detective/crime fiction, so I might have known not to even try this one if I had done a bit more research beforeAnother DNF for me. I am not a fan of detective/crime fiction, so I might have known not to even try this one if I had done a bit more research before borrowing it. I am gradually coming to the conclusion that I ought to stay with books written before the 21st Century, because too often I feel the subjects are unpleasant for me, the writing is sparse and uninteresting, or the major means of expression for the author is a plethora of violence and cursing.
But, here’s the rub–I have read some marvelous books that are violent in nature, I can endure cursing if it truly adds to the understanding of who a particular character is (hardly ever works if every character curses), and I could name you a dozen writers from this century who have knocked my socks off. Generalizations just never work, so I will just have to keep sampling the books as they come along and deciding at some point, as I did with this one, that they are not for me. I have a personal rule–if I’m not engaged by 100 pages, I have the option to just bail. So, bye-bye Razorblade Tears…I am going to go open a Victorian novel and indulge in a little Trollope. ...more
Sadly, today I decided to DNF this book. I have enjoyed so many of Paulette Jiles’ books that I really pushed myself to keep reading this, hoping it wSadly, today I decided to DNF this book. I have enjoyed so many of Paulette Jiles’ books that I really pushed myself to keep reading this, hoping it would begin to connect for me. It did not.
I so admire authors who step outside their comfort zones and write books that are unlike their usual fare. I will often give a lot of latitude for such bravery, but this venture outside the norm was not a good departure for Jiles. This book is dystopia, with all the most common and cliche hallmarks that go with that genre. There is nothing new here and, beyond that, there is nothing being said. It is just a “this is how horrible it could be” novel. I could not help comparing it to one of my favorite dystopian series, the The MaddAddam Trilogy: Oryx and Crake / The Year of the Flood / MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood, and finding it sorely lacking. Atwood was constantly making us see that hubris and technology in the wrong hands could lead to destruction and sorrow. I found none of that awareness here, just a premise that man is so evil at his core that he will delight in exterminating his own kind. Perhaps that is true; I hope not. Perhaps it has just all been said before.
Paulette Jiles is a marvelous writer of historical fiction. One of the things I most admire about her books is the way she carefully researches them and the way she rescues real-life characters from the past and sheds light on their lives. She is quite skilled and adept at this. I hope she will return to that genre. This experiment outside the box was a true failure for me....more
I cannot rate this book, nor can I finish it. I'm sure it is the important work that it is always billed at--one that influenced other writers, includI cannot rate this book, nor can I finish it. I'm sure it is the important work that it is always billed at--one that influenced other writers, including Charles Dickens. I tried several times to step away and come back, but that didn't make it any more palatable for me. Timing is everything, and the timing might be very bad for me to tackle this, but it is also just not the kind of humor or story that appeals to me. I felt compelled to force my way through Tom Jones, but I am unable to exert the same discipline for this one, even with the erudite guidance of Erich and the Dickensian group.
So, to those of you who endure the entire 735 pages, my hat is off to you! To those who found the magic I am told is hidden here, congratulations indeed....more
I have found it impossible to continue with this read right now. It is so boring that I literally fall asleep every time I pick it up. My mind is not I have found it impossible to continue with this read right now. It is so boring that I literally fall asleep every time I pick it up. My mind is not at its best for focusing right now, so it may not be entirely the fault of the book.
In any event, I will put this one aside, unread, perhaps forever....more
I cannot remember ever bailing on a book after putting in 265 pages and making 56%. I would have certainly stopped sooner had it not been Pat Conroy aI cannot remember ever bailing on a book after putting in 265 pages and making 56%. I would have certainly stopped sooner had it not been Pat Conroy and a group read. I regret to say, this book is garbage. I kept waiting for the good writing and meaningful story to kick in, but it did not.
I have loved Conroy. The Prince of Tides, The Water is Wide and Beach Music were all fine reads for me; I am totally happy I did not start with Santini, or I would never have gotten to those. This book is meant to be autobiographical, and I am closing it with admiration for Conroy if this is truly what he rose above. If I have ever encountered a less appealing, more appalling character than Bull Meecham, I cannot remember where it was. But it goes beyond that...I feel not the least bit of anything for a single one of these people, not Bull, not Lillian, and not any of the children, least of all the smart ass, Mary Anne, or pitiful "golden boy", Ben.
The book contains non-stop, pervasive vulgar language and coarse behavior. I do not think this is typical of Marines. I worked with military men for quite a long time, and I found officers were indeed gentlemen, and if this kind of language or attitude was common, it must have been reserved for times when no women were present, because it was never on display before us. I would find it very sad to think Bull Meecham typified our Marines.
In defense of myself, here is a sample of the kind of paragraphs that are repeated time and again, page after page:
So the Krauts fried a couple of Jews. Big deal. It was war. We fried Germans in Berlin and Dresden. We fried Japs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and I mean, sportsfans, we done fried ‘em like eggs there, no pootin’ around. In every war someone gets fried. The Jews got it from the Krauts. In war, there ain’t no morals. There are just winners, losers, and those that got their asses fried sunny side up.”
I do not find this to be clever writing and I believe there is only so much needed to illuminate how disgusting your main character is before we all get the idea.
”You have four fine children.” “I want the boys to become good soldiers and the girls to be fine pieces of tail for their husbands.”
No father who would say that about his daughters deserves to be read about. I’m out....more
Should have listened to my friend, Anne, and passed on this one. I had already picked it up on a kindle sale and thought a little Nevil Shute might beShould have listened to my friend, Anne, and passed on this one. I had already picked it up on a kindle sale and thought a little Nevil Shute might be a good thing right now. Too bad, this was a boring read and I dnf'd at 110 pages. Very much a description of planes, flying in the East, religions, and little else. There was never any sign of the development of a real plot that meant anything to me as a reader, and the writing is a very stilted first person, so that I never cared a whit for Tom Cutter, our main character.
The overall rating on this book is 4.5 stars, so not everyone feels as I do about it, but unless you have a real interest in flying machines (which Shute knows loads about) you would do well to skip this one....more
Just couldn't do this. I sometimes find it difficult to overcome things that are obviously repulsive but part of the time in which the book is writtenJust couldn't do this. I sometimes find it difficult to overcome things that are obviously repulsive but part of the time in which the book is written, but I can do that when there is something there that overreaches that. This book showed no promise that that was true. Again, drunkenness and prostitution are subjects I can countenance if they contribute to some greater meaning in the story...didn't see it.
I am bailing, after having several trusted friends tell me there wasn't going to be any improvement. Can't win them all, although this month I have really been having a bad run. I was disappointed, because I have previously always found the substance in O'Connor to overcome the flaws....more
Yikes! I would have liked to finish this novel, just so I could say I read all the books on my Women Writers Challenge, but it just ain’t gonna happenYikes! I would have liked to finish this novel, just so I could say I read all the books on my Women Writers Challenge, but it just ain’t gonna happen. A mere 100 pages in on this 522 page work and I have had to endure:
The souls of our dead need not the aid of Sandalphon to interpret the whispers that rise tremulously from the world of sin and wrestling, that float up among the stars, through the gates of pearl, down the golden streets of New Jerusalem.
and:
In delirious visions she saw her grandfather now struggling in the grasp of Phlegyas, and now writhing in the fiery tomb of Uberti, with jets of flame leaping through his white hair, and his shrunken hands stretched appealingly toward her, as she had seen those of the doom Ghibelline leader, in the hideous Dante picture.
Finally:
Symmetrical and grand as that temple of Juno, in shrouded Pompeii, whose polished shafts gleamed centuries ago in the morning sunshine of a day of woe, whose untimely night has endured for nineteen hundred years, so, in the glorious flush of his youth, this man had stood facing a noble and possibly a sanctified future…
Well, you get the gist. It goes on and on this way and at no point do you care a pittance what happens to any of the characters introduced here. As a matter of fact, the heroine prays around page 25 that the Lord will see fit to take her from her woeful lot, and I devoutly wished he would.
I suspect the point in writing this book was to display for the world the author’s considerable knowledge of Classical references and demonstrate the extent of her Classical education. I can sympathize. What else was she to do with it? I will not read the rest of the book to prove this point--but I’m betting I could tell you precisely what happens to the main character and the gentleman that she finds so crude and unkind on first encounter. I don’t see much in the way of originality or creativity on display here.
I am calling the challenge done, writing this book off as a bad idea, and moving on to something I hope will be infinitely better. After all, there are William Gay’s and Lee Smith’s that I have yet to read! BTW, Amazon, I want my 99-cents back....more
I am sorry to say I have DNF'd this one. I resolve to give any book 100 pages to engage with me, and if it doesn't, I move on. Perhaps if I had not juI am sorry to say I have DNF'd this one. I resolve to give any book 100 pages to engage with me, and if it doesn't, I move on. Perhaps if I had not just pushed myself through Lolita, I might have pushed myself to finish this one because it was a group read, but alas I did not.
I have read McMurtry books that were wonderful, but this one left me not only flat, but thoroughly aggravated. I did not care for Aurora, I felt rather inclined to strangle her just to shut her up. Then it occurred to me that I COULD shut her up, all I had to do was close the book and not open it again.
So, on to something else and certainly hoping it will be a winner. I was on a roll at the beginning of the year and I seem to have hit a plateau of sorts--several horrid reads, some good reads, but no great ones. ...more
Got it from the wait list at the library and found it impossibly boring. I hated the premise and just could not get interested at all. It is most likeGot it from the wait list at the library and found it impossibly boring. I hated the premise and just could not get interested at all. It is most likely just not my genre and might be a good read for someone who is into Sci-Fi. I quit at about four chapters....more
This is my second attempt to read this for my Pulitzer challenge. I thought the first time perhaps I was just not in the right mood; I now believe thaThis is my second attempt to read this for my Pulitzer challenge. I thought the first time perhaps I was just not in the right mood; I now believe that I would never get into the mood that would tolerate reading this book. I understand that it is a condemnation of the world he describes--the reconstruction south, but it is just too heavy handed to wade through. I have come to not necessarily expect the Pulitzer's to represent the truly lasting and best novels of the year, but this one would have to get much, much better as it progresses--and perhaps it does, I will never know....more
In keeping with my new "rules", if it doesn't appeal move on to something that does. I was interested in the beginning, but that passed very quickly aIn keeping with my new "rules", if it doesn't appeal move on to something that does. I was interested in the beginning, but that passed very quickly and when the Somali issue arose I began to feel it was just too much like watching the news (which I promise I get enough of). I may not have given this a fair chance, but that is OK, I have limited time and I need to find those books that speak to me.
I have another Strout on my shelf and will give that one a go soon. I did like the two of her books that I have already read. So, this one might just be the exception for me....more
Does anyone besides me have a book that they mean to read, schedule to read, actually pick up from the library, and yet find every reason not to read Does anyone besides me have a book that they mean to read, schedule to read, actually pick up from the library, and yet find every reason not to read it, return it unread or push it backward on the shelf? That has been Midnight’s Children for me. I added it to my TBR in 2016, but I had it on my radar long before that. I’m not sure why I sensed I didn’t really want to read it, but 100 pages of torture later, I am dnfing this. I can now mark it off--stop looking at it, thinking about it, or feeling pressured to read it--I now know it is not for me. ...more
I guess I am a purist, but this seemed to run counter to everything I loved about Pride and Prejudice. I hated it almost immediately, but I kept thinkI guess I am a purist, but this seemed to run counter to everything I loved about Pride and Prejudice. I hated it almost immediately, but I kept thinking "wait for Darcy" and then he came and I was screaming "no, no, no." So, I have closed this book, sent it back to the library from which it was borrowed and promised myself to re-read Pride and Prejudice soon so that I can be cleansed of any memory of this sacrilege.
Note to self: You do not like it when other authors co-op characters from literature. Try to remember that in future....more
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