Please, for the love of children everywhere, do NOT waste any of your valuable time on this book. DNF
For starters, the writing is simply bad. Reading Please, for the love of children everywhere, do NOT waste any of your valuable time on this book. DNF
For starters, the writing is simply bad. Reading this is akin to being stuck in an elevator with a blatherskite. But exponentially worse than the writing is the actual content.
Cook, quite literally, pulled this "book" out of her rear end. It's like she got a brief idea, convinced herself that it was revolutionary, and due to some delusions of grandeur, felt that it was worth publishing. Now, I'm sure Cook is convinced that what she is doing is for the "greater good," but she doesn't seem to be aware of the immense irony of her...skills..as an author. Profit. It's all profit.
Her mere ideas are entirely unsubstantiated. As a science & ed major (specifically regarding neuroscience) who tutors children with ADHD/special needs, I should have caught myself saying "Oh, wow, she's SO right! I've literally never thought of this like that before. Thanks, Cook, for enlightening me." But I didn't. And why? Because teachers and medical professionals aren't as unaware as she literally just made them out to be. Standards for educators have changed since she first started complaining about these issues. Not a single point she makes is new to me; I've heard them all before and I've heard all her arguments before.
She's confusing the disagreement of /informed/ individuals with her for sheer ignorance because she is convinced of her own infallibility.
Her argument and basis for creating this book could have just as easily been: "Huh...I wonder if the Earth is flat. Yeah, that sounds about right." *asks geologists, teachers, parents if the Earth is flat and majority don't think so* "Oh, it's not? That can't be true! I think it is, so you obviously disagree with me just because you've been brainwashed by Big Globalist! I should write a book about this...I would be a hero!"
Quite frankly, if you take this book for anything more than it really is (a huge logical fallacy meant to prey on the fear of care-givers and exploit them for money/publicity), then you are no better than a parent who immediately permits their child to be babysat by some random man they met at a gas station just because he once said he was good with kids. Because that's all that Cook is. A woman who has no credibility other than saying what some people already may want to hear. Sure, she works with children. Unfortunately for her, in a world where evidence matters, that isn't enough. As the saying goes, "Just because a child crawled out of you doesn't mean a PhD did." Although in this case it would be "Just because you have experience in caring for children with special needs doesn't mean you have all the information or ability to comprehend and analyze the information necessary to make your attempted argument."
Also, don't forget to boycott the workforce in general. Why stop at Big Pharma? What if guys, what if...gasoline actually puts out fires and Big Firefighter was just taking advantage of us this whole time?! And don't get me started on Big Mechanic- all a broken down car needs is some new wiper fluid. Seriously, stop with the asinine fear mongering, Cook, and maybe you'll be worth a read.
That said, there absolutely is an argument to be made concerning the relatively high levels of misdiagnosis in children and the tendency for doctors to often unnecessarily prescribe drugs (ex: opiate crisis), but that argument certainly won't resemble Cook's....more
Okay, hear me out: Grandmother is basically a darker version of Peggy Hill.
If you're not already aware, Peggy is the wife of the main character in thOkay, hear me out: Grandmother is basically a darker version of Peggy Hill.
If you're not already aware, Peggy is the wife of the main character in the adult cartoon King of the Hill. Her character is marked by drastically inflated self-worth, entitlement and overall narcissism. But she typically adds another element of comedy to the storyline of any given episode. Well, our grandmother here certainly didn't add humor to her "episode."
Anyway, this is supposed to be a story review and not just a character analysis, but the grandmother's blatant selfishness fuels a lot of the plot here.
We open the story to find a family discussing their upcoming trip: Everyone, except for the grandmother, is set on going to Florida. Grandma here would much rather go to Tennessee and she does everything in her power to change the destination. Everything from manipulative scare tactics to "reasoning" (specifically telling the CHILDREN about the Florida-bound murderer and telling the MOTHER about her 'education' argument).
The grandmother is also very much a relic of the past, specifically the aristocratic Southern past. To a point where she even feels the need to ensure that her corpse would be recognized as that of a high class "lady" should the family get into a car accident. This is obviously irrational; should the paramedics put her on a silken stretcher? Use solid gold defibrillation paddles? Save her first??? Seriously, in reality (which the grandmother is not very well attuned with) no one cares what a car crash victim is wearing. This is again reflected when the grandmother doesn't see the irony in her whining to her admittedly snotty grandchildren about how "people were more respectful in her day" right before referring to a black child with a derogatory term. And reflected yet again when she feels the best way to prevent her murder is to appeal to the "class" and bloodline of The Misfit.
That said, no character in this story is legitimately likable. The grandmother can also be pitied and sympathized with in some parts (namely before her death), even though she is ultimately responsible for the death of her whole family.
The Misfit is by far the best character- not because he is a good person, but because of what he represents and his place in the story.
All in all, O'Connor did a great job of developing The Misfit and the grandmother. She certainly provides a story worth discussing after it is read; however, I'm not sure that it is worth reading to begin with. It wasn't particularly enjoyable or entertaining, nor did it evoke many strong emotions....more
This story would probably be much better had I never read anything similar, but I have. And so this story feels rather predictable and.3.5 rounded up
This story would probably be much better had I never read anything similar, but I have. And so this story feels rather predictable and...almost tired. But it definitely isn't the fault of Faulkner.
In regards to the actual story, there is plenty of room for speculation and discussion on a variety of aspects: Why "rose" in the title? Emily and her house are basically one symbol; what symbol? What is the significance of Tobe's abrupt leaving? Is Homer gay, and what does that mean for him and the story? Etc There is a LOT to talk about, and it is quite enjoyable. In addition, Faulkner's writing style makes this for a pleasant read (relative to how you handle macabre stories and grittiness).
Was it worth reading? Sure. Was my time wasted reading it? Not really. Would I read it again? Probably not. Still, I could see myself recommending this to someone....more
This isn't the absolute worst short story I have ever read; there may be underlining messages concerning consumerism and feminism. However, whatever mThis isn't the absolute worst short story I have ever read; there may be underlining messages concerning consumerism and feminism. However, whatever messages there may have been are lost in the completely dull delivery that is this story.
To clarify, the work is descriptive enough. It contains relatively vivid descriptions of a few of the characters involved (mainly visual imagery). This doesn't save the story. In fact, it isn't even necessary. No aspect of this story seems to be.
Actually, this story feels lazy too. I mean, instead of specifically tying anything together to relate this story to consumerism, feminism, or literally anything else- there are only vague traces meant for the reader to find. In effect, all the work is left on the reader to give this story depth. Otherwise, it entirely lacks deeper meaning altogether. ...more
I was incredibly surprised with how horrible this book managed to be. I can typically find the best of books and enjoy ones that many others cannot. TI was incredibly surprised with how horrible this book managed to be. I can typically find the best of books and enjoy ones that many others cannot. This was not one of those times.
The "refreshing honesty" this book allegedly provides is nothing more than sugar coated ignorance. There's nothing refreshing about it.
All of the same, outdated misconceptions that have been touted in the rather primitive past are offered in this book, with little attempt at originality with them....more
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