This book is just a piece of pop fiction. It's entirely forgettable and any one who thinks it's literature hasn't read literature before. It belongs oThis book is just a piece of pop fiction. It's entirely forgettable and any one who thinks it's literature hasn't read literature before. It belongs on the same shelf as any Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts and whomever else like that I only read as requirements to satisfy my book club. It's not memorable (unless one has never been exposed to the horrendous life that Afghan women go through) and it's over-long. A couple more edits would be required for me to give this mediocre book anything above 2 stars. ...more
*GROAN* Someone talked me into reading this... I guess if you are 14 and haven't read any literature, then it's great. But it's not for me. Although..*GROAN* Someone talked me into reading this... I guess if you are 14 and haven't read any literature, then it's great. But it's not for me. Although.... how many of you are going to name your next cat Katniss? It's a great name.... But I am not jumping onto that train........more
My experience with this audiobook is that if I were British or Scottish, I probably would have understood this book better... so this book might be a My experience with this audiobook is that if I were British or Scottish, I probably would have understood this book better... so this book might be a better book for reading in print. It also would have benefited from a male reader in addition to Ms. Kellgren. Every male voice sounded the same and every female voice sounded the same except for a small part of an American woman. I don't think I would seek out another read by Kellgren, but the story kept my attention....but the directing and production left much to be desired....my book even skipped in quite a few places, especially on the 3rd part, but the story was so convoluted, it did not much matter. I enjoyed the 3 main characters, but many of the background players were just so much noise. If I were to read Susanna Kearlsey again, I would do so in print, especially if it is set in Ireland/England/Russia again.
Overall, an enjoyable story, but one that didn't make much of an impact on me. I doubt I would ever give it a second thought.
Until I came here, I did not realize there are companion books, and I quite liked the relationship between Nicloa and Rob. I might check out more of these if they are by a different reader. ...more
Wow, am I glad I got the flu and was too uncomfortable to sleep and had to spend 2 days in bed. This b"Ingenious novel or biography? Hard to tell...."
Wow, am I glad I got the flu and was too uncomfortable to sleep and had to spend 2 days in bed. This book is GENIUS...the narration is perfection (sometimes multiple casts don't work for me, but this one is done brilliantly) and I have always wanted to know more about the man who wrote Catcher in the Rye, as it has so much significance. I know there is a documentary (that I hope will not be overlooked in favor of Anchorman, Spiderman 10 or some such drivel) coming out this fall and I wanted to read the book first, as the only book of JD Salinger's I have read is "Catcher". Now, I want to read everything...and this book suggests that there are 5 completed manuscripts that are going to start being released in 2015. These books are currently in the custody of his son. JD just did not want any more publicity in his lifetime.
He reminds me of a male version of Harper Lee, only he had more than one book in him.
It is an amazing blend of narrative, insights, real letters (never before published) and voices of those who loved the beloved writer who just wanted to be left in peace, but made pilgrimages to his house anyway, just to be blessed or given direction or were his lovers. Mr. Salinger kept saying "I am a fiction writer...I have nothing to offer you" to the many pilgrims. He participated in D Day and lived through WWII....which is an amazing feat in it's self.... But he was obviously shell shocked (or what we would call today PTSD) and just wanted to live a peaceful life and write. He never wanted our adoration.
We get to hear from his first true love, Oona O'Neill, the saucy daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, who married Charlie Chaplain over JD and had 8 kids and flaunted their sexuality in JD's face. (that happens early on in the book, and I shall not reveal more)
We get to hear from the few fans who were able to break through his impenetrable wall-o-silence life and exchanged letters with him or published articles about the reclusive author.
Probably most of the facts could be looked up on Wikipedia, but then you miss the chance of listening to one of the greatest books ever recorded!
Five stars isn't enough for this wonderful audiobook.... I would need a whole constellation of stars to do it right...
BRAVO! This is the best book I have heard in a very long time. Totally captivating. But I have to wonder.... is it a novel (as listed here and other places) or a clever biography. You choose. I could not find the audio book in this section of Amazon, but they have it at Audible. I also could not find it here, in audio version, on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. ...more
I have been interested in reading this book for a long time since I live in Seattle, my company did work on Cobain's Lake Washington home, I saw NirvaI have been interested in reading this book for a long time since I live in Seattle, my company did work on Cobain's Lake Washington home, I saw Nirvana in concert and I attended the candlelight memorial at Seattle Center when Courtney Love read Kurt's suicide note.
I did not like the narration of the book because I was confused nearly every time the pronounced "Kurt", but to me whenever the narrator said "Kurt" it sounded like "curb", 'curd", "quirt" or any endless varieties of that name. It was very distracting. I think the author should have referred to him by 'Cobain" more than once in a while.
Also, unless I fell asleep, my favorite Kurt Cobain story was not in the book: the one where a crowd of people at a concert are screaming for "Teen Spirit" and Cobain famously says "If you wanna hear that song, ask Tori Amos. It's her song now". I am a huge fan of the Amos cover and was blown away that wasn't mentioned.
For what a bright, shining anti-star he was, with his various demons: the drug addiction, the bad "love" between Kurt and Courtney and his never-ceasing stomach disorders, I think the author kind of skimmed the surface. I waited so long to read it, for I still grieve for him...not so much his death, but for how much he suffered while he was alive. Cobain was brilliant and he's been gone for nearly 20 years, and it still makes me sad. Also, none of the conspiracy theories surrounding his death are mentioned, and although I do believe it is a straight forward case of suicide....a lot of people do not, and that should have been at least touched upon in the book....more
This is a quaint historical novel about the abolitionist John Brown, who's deeds and follies set the stage for the American Civil War. At first, I hadThis is a quaint historical novel about the abolitionist John Brown, who's deeds and follies set the stage for the American Civil War. At first, I had a hard time listening to the chortling of "The Onion" a 10 to 12 year-old boy who was put into a dress and apparently lived as a woman for 17 years. After a couple of hours, I got into the voice...and the book is quite hysterical in some areas. I had to look it up to see if John Roberts was a real person or not, just because his escapades seemed so unrealistic. But, John Roberts did live, although I doubt the boy/girl nicknamed "The Onion" is a real person. But Onion is the perfect vehicle for telling this story. He is a child whom everyone treats as a girl, and for that reason, he could get into places and do things that a boy could not have been able to.
I enjoyed this book because it was funny and the voice actor was really quite good...after I got used to the sound of his voice. Audible makes a mistake when reading the introduction, because you think it is going to sound like that the whole way though. They have done that with other books that I did not appreciate.
Through the eyes of The Onion (so nicknamed because John Roberts hands the kid this rotten/petrified onion he kept as a good luck charm, but The Onion doesn't understand why he has been given this hideous rotten piece of crap masquerading as an onion, so he eats it. Then John Roberts always protects him, proclaiming that "She's my lucky charm" (I guess because s/he ate the onion instead of putting it in his/her pocket).
There are lots of funny scenes where the kid's true identity is almost unmasked, but while reading the bible on evening on a porch in Virginia, the boy realizes that a body, male or female, black or white is simply a shell and who one is inside and the outer shell doesn't make a bit of difference. I was touched by that, and it is true, IMO.
I don't like to reveal much of a book's plot points or the way it ends....but I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes a farcical historical novel. I read about it on the NPR's website and went straight to Audible and bought it and I'm glad I did. It is witty, not too gory and I quite enjoyed it. It's a bit like Tom Robbins meets Edward P. Jones to write about a part of American Slavery and one man's feverish desire (driven by the Lord!) to bring an end to slavery. Oh...and we get to meet Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman in a way that we have never met them before.
All and all, a very enjoyable read. I can see it as a movie...maybe directed by the Cohen Brothers....who would be perfect for the tone of the book....more
I remember seeing this book sitting around on my parents book shelves and when the movies came out I was old enough to see them. The book is great...aI remember seeing this book sitting around on my parents book shelves and when the movies came out I was old enough to see them. The book is great...and I think it's fantastic that Puzo worked with Coppola on the second film to make both a prequel and a sequel to his original work. I'm glad I read it as the movie goes by so fast that it's sometimes hard to follow. The book made everything clear....more
I did enjoy this book. It is written very beautifully about a barren place. The author describes bland things like snow, qI read this in audio format:
I did enjoy this book. It is written very beautifully about a barren place. The author describes bland things like snow, quiet, boredom, water very, very well. I wish I hadn't seen the ending coming for miles...but if you enjoy good writing, it's a good book~~especially for commuting since each chapter is a short bite... something like 53 chapters in about 11 hours. No real violence, so it could be a good YA read as it has just enough fantasy to satisfy a teen. I did not love the voices...they were simply acceptable. Overall 4.5 Performance 4 Story 4.5...more
Ian is a complicated guy: He is in love with the extraordinarily beautiful and smart Angela, is studying Near Death Experiences and trying to rescue hIan is a complicated guy: He is in love with the extraordinarily beautiful and smart Angela, is studying Near Death Experiences and trying to rescue his beloved parents from Hell after they saved his life when they were in a car accident together. Author Glenn Kleier has given people who enjoy tense thrillers a reason to celebrate... The Knowledge of Good And Evil is imaginative, taught, tense and enough narrow escapes just to keep it real.
Angela is the type of heroine we all love: she is bright, smart, listens to her own, interior panic button and saves Ian more than once from heading into straight folly. I'm not sure a book exactly like this has ever been attempted before. For one thing, the reader gets about 30 prompts to a web page to show the readers a particular painting or a scientist in the world of certain esoteric sciences. The reader doesn't have to wonder why a special church in Europe is so distinct.... instead of wasting 2 pages on trying to describe it, Kleier just takes the reader to a special website that has all the photographs on it. This gave the book extraordinary depth.
Even though I tend to gravitate to literary novels and have recently been on a tear reading very old novels, The Knowledge of Good And Evil was a fun break from the more formal books and go on an old-fashoined (dangerous) treasure hunt that takes us all over this world and into others....more
Ian is a complicated guy: He is in love with the extraordinarily beautiful and smart Angela, is studying Near Death Experiences and trying to rescue hIan is a complicated guy: He is in love with the extraordinarily beautiful and smart Angela, is studying Near Death Experiences and trying to rescue his beloved parents from Hell after they saved his life when they were in a car accident together. Author Glenn Kleier has given people who enjoy tense thrillers a reason to celebrate... The Knowledge of Good And Evil is imaginative, taught, tense and enough narrow escapes just to keep it real.
Angela is the type of heroine we all love: she is bright, smart, listens to her own, interior panic button and saves Ian more than once from heading into straight folly. I'm not sure a book exactly like this has ever been attempted before. For one thing, the reader gets about 30 prompts to a web page to show the readers a particular painting or a scientist in the world of certain esoteric sciences. The reader doesn't have to wonder why a special church in Europe is so distinct.... instead of wasting 2 pages on trying to describe it, Kleier just takes the reader to a special website that has all the photographs on it. This gave the book extraordinary depth.
Even though I tend to gravitate to literary novels and have recently been on a tear reading very old novels, The Knowledge of Good And Evil was a fun break from the more formal books and go on an old-fashoined (dangerous) treasure hunt that takes us all over this world and into others.
I read it a while back, when it first came out and then didn't review it right away (serious case of being tongue-tied....it lasted a month) and I am delighted that so many people have read it! Glen... promise me to have dinner at our place when you are in Seattle for book signings.
I thought this was the weakest of the three books...but if there had been more coming, it may have led onto something world-wide since they kick SwedeI thought this was the weakest of the three books...but if there had been more coming, it may have led onto something world-wide since they kick Sweden's butt in this book. But it's over, it was a great ride and I accept that. It's just that creatures like Lisbeth Salander don't come along that often... and I could have read book after book about her. Too bad there won't be any more. ...more
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