Den her bog handler for det første meget lidt om bakterier. Det virker mest som noget, der er presset ned over bogen for at få den til at skille sig lDen her bog handler for det første meget lidt om bakterier. Det virker mest som noget, der er presset ned over bogen for at få den til at skille sig lidt ud. Sommers forskning i bakterier bliver nævnt flere gange og brugt som springbræt til at tale om andre ting, men det har absolut ingen reel indflydelse på, hvad der bliver talt om. Det kunne lige så let være blevet udeladt, og er i sidste ende blot et gimmick.
Derudover er bogen ikke specielt interessant. De pointer, han har, er ikke originale eller unikke, og har du læst bøger om samme slags emne - livsforbedring, at finde mening, at bruge din tid bedre o.l. - så har du formentlig allerede hørt det, han har at sige.
Kort fortalt så skal du: - Tænke over hvordan du bruger din tid - Tænke over hvad dine værdier er og forsøge at leve efter dem - Hele tiden forsøge at udvikle dig - Ikke give op selvom dine omstændigheder ikke er optimale
Pointen er egentlig bare, at du skal tænke mere over dit liv og hvordan det ser ud. Det kommer desværre ikke med de store åbenbaringer, og jeg fik ikke vildt meget ud af at læse den.
Der er desuden en lidt uheldig undertone et par steder. Hans kone går hjemme, og har gjort det i al den tid, de har haft børn. Dette bliver aldrig rigtig påtalt eller diskuteret som en faktor i, at hans liv kan være, som det er. Han oplever på et tidspunkt, at han tit kommer hjem efter en travl arbejdsdag, og er irriteret på sine børn, fordi de ikke lige er klar til kvalitetstid med ham. Han vil ikke ændre på sin arbejdsdag, så han beder sin kone stå for at irettesætte dem, så han kan være den flinke forælder. Det bliver ikke diskuteret yderligere, selvom denne konstellation, i min optik, nok har fortjent lidt mere kritisk refleksion.
På et tidspunkt snakker han også om, at vores værdier ofte påvirkes af vores omgivelser, at det kan være svært at finde ud af, hvad du faktisk gerne vil, og hvad du er blevet påduttet af dine omgivelser. Fin, omend lidt generisk, pointe alt i alt. Eksemplet, han bruger, er at da de flytter fra USA (hvor de fik deres første to børn og hvor hun gik hjemme) til Danmark, begynder hans kone at overveje at ville ud på arbejdsmarkedet, fordi det er mere normalt i Danmark, at begge parter arbejder. Det opgiver hun dog, da de tager tilbage til USA, og møder gamle venner og bekendte, hvor de oplever et mindre pres for at hun skal ud og arbejde. Problemet er bare, at det jo så ikke er HENDE, der har besluttet, hvad der er rigtigt for hende. Det er stadig omgivelserne. Det er ikke fordi hun afprøvede arbejdslivet, og besluttede det ikke var for hende. Så som eksempel på at man ikke skal lade omgivelserne diktere ens værdier og handlinger, så fungerer det ikke rigtigt.
Der er flere af den slags steder, hvor det falder en lille smule fra hinanden, og bare ikke er så gennemarbejdet en bog. Har du aldrig nogensinde læst en bog om at forandre og forbedre dit liv, så er den nok et fint sted at starte. Han trækker på stoicismen, filosoffer, religioner, og alle de sædvanlige områder. Men har du den mindste forståelse for den slags i forvejen, så kan denne bog ikke gøre så meget for dig. ...more
Unfortunately it's rather messy and meandering, with storylines that don't intersect in any meaningful way until the very end. And even then, it's jusUnfortunately it's rather messy and meandering, with storylines that don't intersect in any meaningful way until the very end. And even then, it's just not that interesting....more
I have no stake in this series at all, I simply found it on Libby because my favourite guy, Jacques Roy, is the narrator of the audiobook and where heI have no stake in this series at all, I simply found it on Libby because my favourite guy, Jacques Roy, is the narrator of the audiobook and where he goes, I follow.
The initial crime, the murder of an exonerated convict, turns into several more crimes and finding the true culprit twists and turns until it is, at last, finally resolved. The solution is somewhat tepid, it's not bad per se, but it was never truly exciting. However it did feel very realistic, which I appreciate and do, in most circumstances and certainly in this one, prefer over cheap thrills. And while it may not have been high on mystery, it was well plotted and allowed itself to be slow when it needed to be slow, something I like in a novel. I had an inkling who the culprit might be, but I was engaged enough to keep listening till the end nonetheless.
This is also the 19th in a series, and it felt a little like it was written for people who would simply enjoy seeing these characters together and not pay too much attention to the plot itself. I never felt cut off from understanding the characters or their relationships, despite 18 books of backstory. Lescroart does a deft job at making this an easy read for both returning and new readers, something I found genuinely impressive.
And I quite genuinely liked the primary characters. They never acted in stupid ways, which I absolutely loved, they had good, measured conversations about the law and the justice system, and each presented their own view of the world. I imagine Lescroart's attention to detail when it comes to solving crimes and prosecuting (or defending) criminals mixed with his ability to write sympathetic and likable characters that have actual opinions on things is what makes him a popular writer - and deservedly so, at least so far.
I doubt this is his finest work, but it was certainly good enough that I'll probably return to the series, perhaps even start from the beginning. It seems a nice comfort-food sort of read. ...more
Truly just a very tedious and longwinded affair. It ramps up somewhat in the second half (if you manage to make it that far, the first half is very dull), and the action is not bad, but it never had me on the edge of my seat. Mostly because the characters are flat and often obnoxious stereotypes. Brilliant Cop with a Sad Past. Beautiful Ex-Wife with a Flourishing Career (she's seriously described as "a fit woman who embraced her feminine features", whatever the hell that means). Cop Side Characters Who Mostly Do Sexist Banter. Evil Criminal Addicted to Drugs. Authority Figures Who Won't Listen to Reason.
Well, I picked up a book called Megalodon: Bloodbath, so I'm obviously not opposed to those things. It's just that Cole clearly doesn't himself think these characters suck ass. They're not parodies, although that would have worked better. They're stereotypes presented as people, but you never root for anyone, because you cannot bring yourself to care. There's nothing to care about. If it had been non-stop shark action no one would have noticed, but it's not. We spend so much fucking theme with these fucking ghosts of real characters before anything exciting happens.
They don't even know there's a shark for 40% of the book, and our time is instead filled mainly with "getting to know" our main characters (you'll wish you knew less as time goes on), and reading about random people's random lives just before they get vaguely eaten. And there's a dumb B-plot with some criminals that are portrayed as just Pure Evil, and yet we have to spend page after page seeing them do Bad Criminal Things and be Bad People Worthy of Death. Give me more shark!!
The real problem is that this book tries to be a serious book rooted in realism, but first of all, it's a book about a giant shark eating people, so what the hell are you doing that for, and second of all, Cole clearly is not a competent enough writer to sell it, and he's not incompetent enough to make this accidentally hilarious.
I never had any desire to read another page and yet I kept going. Fortunately (spoiler alert!), they manage to defeat the shark by making it eat 9 kilos of cocaine, so you know, that was something at least. Even if that was just after Brilliant Cop and Beautiful Ex-Wife got back together. Christ. ...more
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