I got this download from Audible.com and it is brilliantly read by James Lee. I was completely captivated and transpoAmazing, Breathtaking, Beautiful!
I got this download from Audible.com and it is brilliantly read by James Lee. I was completely captivated and transported to the world of Edmund Dantes and 17th century France. I did consult spark notes every 5 or 10 chapters, because when listening to a book of this magnitude where aristocrats are changing their names (and sometimes needing aliases) and getting titles, it could be easy to get lost and hard to keep track of who is who. But I never felt lost or dragged down by this story that must be the blueprint for every romantic, adventure or character study novel that came afterwards. The novel is rich with sumptuous prose and unforgettable characters and is on par with other masterpieces like Lord of the Rings. It has everything and feels surprisingly contemporary. The language is not stilted at all and I found it to be extremely witty at some points. With Monte Cristo the first superhero is created by Dumas as he seems (to characters in the book) to posses superhuman strength, wealth beyond imagination and can always see 10 moves ahead in this very intriguing game of revenge chess he is playing with the people who falsely imprisoned him. James Lee is an amazing reader, so if audible books is your thing, go for it. I was never bored and was sad when it all, finally ended. It could have even been longer for me. I can't imagine being satisfied with an abridgment of this novel...it is too rich, and why let someone edit it for you when you can have the whole, glorious tale. And if you prefer print books, then I really don't see how you could go wrong. The Count of Monte Cristo is a hell of a good ride and deserves every single recommendation it gets. This is one of those once-in-a-decade books that deserves a whole constellation of stars instead of just five. Fantastic! Bravo!...more
Words cannot express how much I hated this book. It is so unskillfully written that it's laughable. The author viBy Far the Worst Listening Experience
Words cannot express how much I hated this book. It is so unskillfully written that it's laughable. The author views his subject as manna from heaven (like it's so adorable when Mortenson shows up 10 days late for an important meeting) and the hero-worship is awful. Top that off with the world's worst narrator and you have the trifecta that makes this the world's worst audio book of all time. I am not faulting the work being done by Mortenson. But it could have been told in an interesting way that didn't make me want to run over my ipod in sheer frustration. If you MUST read this book, I would suggest that you get it in print because the print copy does have some interesting pictures. Or better yet, if you want to learn about the organization, read the webiste. You will understand everything perfectly from that. What an absolute horrible grating waste of time and a perfectly good Audible credit.
I give this book ZERO stars!!!!!!!!!!! The only good thing I can say about it is that our book club laughed more that night than any other night in the history of our club. We all hated it. Except for the woman who nominated it... she dropped out because we all hated it so much! It's ok... we don't miss her....more
I listened to this book and then followed along every 2 or 3 chapters on Spark Notes, which for me with listening to classics is a good way to make suI listened to this book and then followed along every 2 or 3 chapters on Spark Notes, which for me with listening to classics is a good way to make sure I am paying attention. I really liked it (even when Bob kinda spoiled the ending for me) and intend to read more Tolstoy. ...more
The first half of this book blew me away. It was my first foray into Toni Morrison (I have since read 3 or 4 other books and intend to read everythingThe first half of this book blew me away. It was my first foray into Toni Morrison (I have since read 3 or 4 other books and intend to read everything) but the second act fell flat for me. The women are so memorably written and I loved them so much. Milkman left something to be desired and the ending was confusing. I'm really glad my book club read this book because it led me to Beloved, which is probably my favorite book, ever. ...more
I thought this book was a bit silly until our book group sat down and discussed it. It came together for me a lot better after hearing other people taI thought this book was a bit silly until our book group sat down and discussed it. It came together for me a lot better after hearing other people talking about it. I'm sure this book has a very wide audience. ...more
This is such a bad book that I actually laughed when I read it. Since I know the author I was forced into reading it, but it is awful and doesn't beloThis is such a bad book that I actually laughed when I read it. Since I know the author I was forced into reading it, but it is awful and doesn't belong on anyone's book shelf. Is it possible to give a book ZERO stars? I guess I am about to find out. If you see one star it's just because there is no zero star option....more
This book is absolutely hands down the best piece of non-fiction I have ever read. I think I love it so much because the 4 main chapters (the apple, tThis book is absolutely hands down the best piece of non-fiction I have ever read. I think I love it so much because the 4 main chapters (the apple, the tulip, cannabis and the potato) are related to the human desires for sweetness (the apple) beauty (the tulip) changing consciousness (cannabis) and control (the potato). Linking in these human desires and expressing them through plants is just an ingenious way to captivate the reader. I have read this book twice and much to my delight PBS just recently came out with a special on the book (with bonus material~~mostly conversations with Michael Pollan~~available on the PBS website) and that just enriches the whole experience even more. I got to meet Mr. Pollan at an author's event at Third Place Books and he is just an amazing speaker...funny, caring and so, so smart.
Read this book! It's Pollan's masterpiece. I have read his other books, but they are much heavier and this book is so wonderful. I can't recommend it highly enough!...more
This book is a beautiful mess. Yes, it is deftly written. Yes, it has no plot. So, if you can stand that for over 550 pages, then read it. But if you This book is a beautiful mess. Yes, it is deftly written. Yes, it has no plot. So, if you can stand that for over 550 pages, then read it. But if you need a plot, then I would not recommend it for you. I went to see Mr. Gold at an author's appearance and he's charming and funny. I have not read his other book, but I think it is much more loved. Sometimes I can handle a beautifully written book without a plot (The Stone Diaries comes to mind in this category) but because this book is so long and goes off on so many tangents, it's a brutal read....more
I loved this book...with one HUGE caveat. Do not read the hastily thrown-together epilogue that rings phony and feels tacked on. When the book ends, sI loved this book...with one HUGE caveat. Do not read the hastily thrown-together epilogue that rings phony and feels tacked on. When the book ends, stop reading. If you MUST... then wait at least 2 or 3 days after your have digested the main part of the book, because the epilogue is something that her editors or publishers made her tack on.
But what a great book. I do give it 5 stars... but it should have gotten six with a demerit because of the epilogue. It has been many years since I read it, but it still stays with me. ...more
I literally just finished Yann Martel's new book Beatrice and Virgil (B&V for brevity's sake) about 10 minutes ago. I am shaken with rage as the book I literally just finished Yann Martel's new book Beatrice and Virgil (B&V for brevity's sake) about 10 minutes ago. I am shaken with rage as the book is one of the most hateful and ghastly jumble of horrors I have ever finished. At least it is mercifully short. In fact, it is so short, it can hardly be called more than just a long short story. The main story clocks in under 200 pages, there is tons of white space and the last 8 pages are "games" that feel lifted from works about the Holocaust ranging from Roman Polanski's The Pianist to Sophie's Choice.
I read Life of Pi when it first came out and then again last week. It will always stand as one of the best books of my reading life.
Beatrice and Virgil is a jumble: a writer who's book has just been rejected, a play that is occasionally exquisitely written that vibrates with beauty and life, a coming-to-terms with the Holocaust, the revealing of a Nazi war criminal who somehow escaped detection who is allowed to live a silent life of peace, a hungry donkey and the scream of a Howler monkey.
But what does it mean? I don't know. I think Mr. Martel had terrible writer's block after Pi (the dreaded curse of the sophomore book, even though Pi is really his second novel) and he wants to write about the Holocaust in a new way. But he overreaches. And the book references waaaay too many other works of literature. Many are mentioned by other reviewers, and even Mr. Martel quotes a story by Flaubert in long sentences, so it is hard to really even hear Martel's own voice. B&V reminds me so much of Ian McEwan's The Comfort of Strangers in that it is so short, has a bloody graphic ending that comes out of nowhere and takes place in an anonymous European city.
When it does shine through it is lovely, especially early in the book (read the 3 page description of a pear) during the play that comes to him in bits and pieces by a struggling writer (also with writer's block) clothed as a taxidermist. Both protagonists are named Henry, but usually the elder taxidermist is simply called "the taxidermist". His wife is immediately repulsed by him, the waiters down the street treat him like a leper and he gives everyone except Henry extreme cases of the willies. Henry sees brilliance in the taxidermist's play and wants to shepherd it. But the terse, oblique, removed and socially awkward taxidermist is afraid that Henry will steal his material... and as a reader, the deeper we got into the play, the less I wanted to see it.
In Pi we are caught up in moments of graphic animal violence, but it makes sense within that story and is balanced out by deep insights into spirituality. In B&V the graphic animal violence does nothing to serve the story, except to try to give a new voice to the Holocaust and it simply doesn't work. I don't want or need Martel to write a Pi sequel. But this book is so abstract and cluttered with images that it feels like Martel cut up a bunch of better books on the subject, threw the pieces up in the air, gathered them up in random order, added a hungry donkey and a monkey who howls and barfed them out in novella form. In the end, B&V was gigantic disappointment for me.
Maybe I should try to digest the book before immediately reviewing it, but I need a shower because it made me feel dirty. 0/5 stars.
UPDATE: This review has generated a lot of comments and I have actually bonded with some members of GoodReads over this review. (you know who you are). As you may tell from my statements, I was horribly disappointed with this book. But I finished it weeks ago and I saw Yann Martel speak on 4/18. I just want to put this entire episode out of my mind forever. I had pre-purchased 2 copies: one for me to have signed by the author I so admired to keep forever and one to sell in a few years if (hopefully~~at the time) it won a few awards. I have made book investments like that before and they have paid off. I had a leather bound re-issue of Bluebeard by Vonnegut that was signed and 3 weeks after his death I got $300 for it. I have some first edition Philip Roth (signed) books and a few others.. Because I despised B&V SO much I actually took the books back, even though I had read one of them. It took me less than 2 days to read it and I took the dust jacket off and handled it with such care that it could have be re-sold as totally new. I feel Karma nipping at my heels, because I have NEVER in my life taken back a book that I actually read and requested my money back. I don't like the way it feels and I have to live with that in my mind (and now out on GoodReads) forever. And my "investment" is also gone
I lately found out that I can give a book ZERO out of 5 stars, so I changed my review to reflect that. Art is so subjective: some people will look at a John Crapper toilet at the Smithsonian and say "ART" and others will say "GARBAGE" and they are BOTH right! What is the effing point of getting into an argument how someone feels about a book? Is this not why sites like this exist! They exist SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GIVE THEIR OPINIONS!!!!!! Not to fight!. So... with the exception of Douglass (who I sent a private message to contact me outside of this discussion) (Please contact me!) I have to divorce myself from this particular thread. I'm exhausted from being attacked, sucked back in, being asked questions I cannot answer and mostly, having to think about this horrible mess of a "book" again and again and again.
NEW UPDATE! I just found out that you cannot give "zero stars"..GR counts it as unrated. Even though I still despise this book, I'll give it one star, but only under protest!!!!...more
I read Pi in 2003 and I loved it then...so much. It was one of the best book club discussions we ever had. So imagine my delight when I discovered a nI read Pi in 2003 and I loved it then...so much. It was one of the best book club discussions we ever had. So imagine my delight when I discovered a new, first edition in my local bookstore where Yann Martel will be visiting later this week for his new book. This new edition is just as lovely as my original Winnie the Pooh book that I received as a gift when it was originally published in 1961 and was only available at Harrods of London.
The paintings are so beautiful... beautiful beyond description. They pop up in all sorts of unexpected places at just the right moment. All of the paintings are of what young Pi might be witnessing, so we get to look through his eyes, his perspective. The story made me laugh, made me anxious all over again, made me cry with both sadness and joy (both feeling were present as Pi, a devout vegetarian kills his first fish) and made me sigh with satisfaction and relief.
This book may not be suitable for very small children, but it does look suspiciously like a children's book. I would recommend it to any child who can deal with the moral life and death issues in Harry Potter, but not to a child who is so young that Winnie would really float their boat.
One can read all over the net what the actual story is about. That's not how I like to review books. But if you like graphic novels and art and adventure, then purchase this book now! It is deeply spiritual, funny, wise and will take you on a voyage impossible to ever forget. I do wish there would have been a bit more from Mr. Martel about the artwork, but you can see the process on the Amazon.com products page. So that is satisfying enough. 5/5 stars. ...more
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