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brendamn's Reviews (370)
There is nothing about this book that I enjoyed. All of the main characters (save maybe the young bull fighter) were just horrible people. I started out just not liking Robert Cohn, as how pathetic the others call him really does show through his actions. But in the end, I wouldn't say he ended up being who I liked the most, but who I disliked the least. He was still a pitiful person, but when he ended up fighting and knocking out some of the other miserable characters I did feel like he gave them what they deserved.
The thing is I am not even able to get satisfaction out of disliking these characters, because from what I understand this is all based on real events and therefore subject to severe bias. The book feels like Hemingway just trashing on all his friends, maybe some is well-founded, but I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of it is exaggeration.
I think if you took all of the lines which referenced searching for drinks, drinking, and just being drunk you'd end up looking at a sizeable chunk of the book. I mean it does the job of hitting the point home that these are a bunch of alcoholics, but at a certain point it becomes overkill. It adds nothing to the narrative, it is like reading the same thing over and over again, and could definitely been woven into the story much better. Every time a character drank Hemingway made sure to record the whole long, drawn out process, which becomes quickly boring given how each repetitive time provides the reader nothing else other than a reminder that they are all a bunch of drunks. It wasn't a matter of disgust or disapproval that made this stand out negatively to me, it was just how mind-numbing and boring it was.
As if that was not enough though, I have never seen more repetitive dialogue in a book ever before. There are several cases where a character will go on in a manner similar to "So-and-so is such a swell guy. Aren't they just so swell? Wow what a swell person. Hey, do you also think so-and-so is swell? That is one swell person right there." So many times this happens, someone expressing the exact same opinion or observation over and over and over.
At least it was a simple read. I would definitely be much more upset if this had commanded more attention to detail while still providing nothing but overwhelming disappointment in return.
The thing is I am not even able to get satisfaction out of disliking these characters, because from what I understand this is all based on real events and therefore subject to severe bias. The book feels like Hemingway just trashing on all his friends, maybe some is well-founded, but I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of it is exaggeration.
I think if you took all of the lines which referenced searching for drinks, drinking, and just being drunk you'd end up looking at a sizeable chunk of the book. I mean it does the job of hitting the point home that these are a bunch of alcoholics, but at a certain point it becomes overkill. It adds nothing to the narrative, it is like reading the same thing over and over again, and could definitely been woven into the story much better. Every time a character drank Hemingway made sure to record the whole long, drawn out process, which becomes quickly boring given how each repetitive time provides the reader nothing else other than a reminder that they are all a bunch of drunks. It wasn't a matter of disgust or disapproval that made this stand out negatively to me, it was just how mind-numbing and boring it was.
As if that was not enough though, I have never seen more repetitive dialogue in a book ever before. There are several cases where a character will go on in a manner similar to "So-and-so is such a swell guy. Aren't they just so swell? Wow what a swell person. Hey, do you also think so-and-so is swell? That is one swell person right there." So many times this happens, someone expressing the exact same opinion or observation over and over and over.
At least it was a simple read. I would definitely be much more upset if this had commanded more attention to detail while still providing nothing but overwhelming disappointment in return.
"Okay. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okayokayokayokayokay okay okay." The most frequent line of dialogue spoken in The Road, the boy or man telling the other "okay" is coincidentally exactly how I would describe this book. It was okay.
The dialogue overall was very laconic, which frequently can be done quite well. Though the repetition of identical exchanges between the two main characters proved to be rather boring. Constantly saying they need to hide, that they need to make a fire, constantly saying they were scared or cold, constantly saying "okay". When you are trying to survive in a barren post-apocalyptic world these are things that you of course are forever dealing with on a daily basis, but all the same hearing the same thing over and over again gets dull quickly. I just wish that upon describing the process of building a fire on the seventh or eighth iteration McCarthy could have found it finally enough, but he just kept describing that same process over and over again.
What I found that was done considerably well was McCarthy's ability to immerse you fully in the world he built for The Road. How the setting was described as well as the overall tone made it very easy to project yourself into what this post-apocalyptic scenario looked and felt like. Given that none of us live in such a world we of course cannot know for sure if it will be like he describes, but all the same after reading this it feels like the most accurate scenario.
If they let you do halves, this would ultimately be a two and a half star book. It wasn't overly bad, though it wasn't overly good either. It was okay.
The dialogue overall was very laconic, which frequently can be done quite well. Though the repetition of identical exchanges between the two main characters proved to be rather boring. Constantly saying they need to hide, that they need to make a fire, constantly saying they were scared or cold, constantly saying "okay". When you are trying to survive in a barren post-apocalyptic world these are things that you of course are forever dealing with on a daily basis, but all the same hearing the same thing over and over again gets dull quickly. I just wish that upon describing the process of building a fire on the seventh or eighth iteration McCarthy could have found it finally enough, but he just kept describing that same process over and over again.
What I found that was done considerably well was McCarthy's ability to immerse you fully in the world he built for The Road. How the setting was described as well as the overall tone made it very easy to project yourself into what this post-apocalyptic scenario looked and felt like. Given that none of us live in such a world we of course cannot know for sure if it will be like he describes, but all the same after reading this it feels like the most accurate scenario.
If they let you do halves, this would ultimately be a two and a half star book. It wasn't overly bad, though it wasn't overly good either. It was okay.
The core concept covered by this book was very intriguing and thought-provoking, but everything about the approach was awkward and absurd. Remainder provides quite a compelling analysis on the idea of authenticity: what qualifies and experience or feeling to be authentic, the inherent significance of authenticity, and the frustration of when that sense of authenticity is lacking. Though the philosophical aspects of the book was sound, the elements upon which it was delivered were plain bad.
The main character to me was incredibly solipsistic. I get that on a certain level his disregard for those around him is intentional, but the extent of his attitude gets to a point where it is completely unrealistic. The only way that what unfolded in this book could happen is that if it was in a universe where the purpose of everything really did stem from the main character's existence.
Other than that, I just really was not a fan of all the re-enactments. I do admit I enjoyed how the final re-enactment played out and helped deliver that message of authenticity, but the lead up was dull to read through.
I enjoyed the message the book attempted to make, but just found the majority of the book ridiculous. In the end I am just glad that I at least got something out of it, because until the last 50 or so pages I had resigned myself to not having anything redeeming to say. Overall the book itself was not good, but it at least provided some sort of value in the end.
The main character to me was incredibly solipsistic. I get that on a certain level his disregard for those around him is intentional, but the extent of his attitude gets to a point where it is completely unrealistic. The only way that what unfolded in this book could happen is that if it was in a universe where the purpose of everything really did stem from the main character's existence.
Other than that, I just really was not a fan of all the re-enactments. I do admit I enjoyed how the final re-enactment played out and helped deliver that message of authenticity, but the lead up was dull to read through.
I enjoyed the message the book attempted to make, but just found the majority of the book ridiculous. In the end I am just glad that I at least got something out of it, because until the last 50 or so pages I had resigned myself to not having anything redeeming to say. Overall the book itself was not good, but it at least provided some sort of value in the end.
