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thegreatmanda's Reviews (459)
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this audiobook. It was my first encounter with David Sedaris, and I knew absolutely nothing about him or his writing other than having heard his name. Being so clueless, it took me a little while to realize that the essays I was listening to were nonfiction and autobiographical. Once I caught up, my confusion gave way to non-stop enjoyment.
An added note about the audio edition - the version I have is read by the author, and there are a few segments that were obviously recorded during live readings with an audience. If you are at all inclined to try out audio versions of books, definitely listen to this one. Sedaris's life experiences and amusement at himself and at life in general come through so clearly in his voice; it is a delight to hear him telling his own stories.
An added note about the audio edition - the version I have is read by the author, and there are a few segments that were obviously recorded during live readings with an audience. If you are at all inclined to try out audio versions of books, definitely listen to this one. Sedaris's life experiences and amusement at himself and at life in general come through so clearly in his voice; it is a delight to hear him telling his own stories.
This is my favorite installment so far in the Vorkosigan saga. Miles is a thoroughly irresistible character. You just have to love a guy who is so often greeted by old acquaintances with, "YOU!!!"
Science fiction as a genre gets a great deal of criticism from me, and I think it must be one of the most difficult types of fiction to write. At times Bujold's universe fails to capture my interest, with its interplanetary military intrigues and space combat. In light of that, I was very pleasantly surprised by The Vor Game because it held my interest throughout the book. Often my primary interest in the series is the intensely lovable Miles Vorkosigan, but this one deserves four stars all on its own merit as well.
Science fiction as a genre gets a great deal of criticism from me, and I think it must be one of the most difficult types of fiction to write. At times Bujold's universe fails to capture my interest, with its interplanetary military intrigues and space combat. In light of that, I was very pleasantly surprised by The Vor Game because it held my interest throughout the book. Often my primary interest in the series is the intensely lovable Miles Vorkosigan, but this one deserves four stars all on its own merit as well.
OK, I know I almost never read books that require serious notations, but Gillen D'Arcy Wood equals EPIC FAIL. As I read this crappy Barnes and Noble paperback, I encountered three separate end notes that have pretty significant spoilers in them. By "pretty significant" I mean these events still have not happened, so they weren't, say, right there on the next page, and they're all things that seem like major plot points to me. I'm still REALLY upset about this! Everyone has to read a classic for the first time, for crying out loud. If Dickens had wanted us to be whacked over the head by the fact that such-and-such imagery was foreshadowing of so-and-so's later death, he would have just said that on the freaking page, instead of, you know, the IMAGERY AND FORESHADOWING.
And then when I was about two-thirds of the way through, I made the mistake of idly turning the book over and reading the blurb on the back. It completely ruined the entire plot. Completely. All the best things that you're supposed to realize about certain characters for yourself over the course of the novel . . . RUINED.
Other than that, what can I say that hasn't already been said. Masterful and amazing. I marked a couple of my very favorite passages. The only one I will not quote here is the entire last page of the book, which one must arrive at for oneself, having read and absorbed all the other pages immediately before.
"In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?"
"Mr Cruncher himself always spoke of the year of our Lord as Anna Dominoes: apparently under the impression that the Christian era dated from the invention of a popular game, by a lady who had bestowed her name upon it."
"Steeping the towels in the water, and partially wringing them out, he folded them on his head in a manner hideous to behold, sat down at the table, and said, 'Now I am ready!'"
"Two or three times, the matter in hand became so knotty, that the jackal found it imperative on him to get up, and steep his towels anew. From these pilgrimages to the jug and basin, he returned with such eccentricities of damp head-gear as no words can describe; which were made the more ludicrous by his anxious gravity."
"The stone faces on the outer walls stared blindly at the black night for three heavy hours; for three heavy hours the horses in the stables rattled at their racks, the dogs barked, and the owl made a noise with very little resemblance in it to the noise conventionally assigned to the owl by men-poets. But it is the obstinate custom of such creatures hardly ever to say what is set down for them."
"O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father's face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!"
"'Commence,' was Monsieur Defarge's not unreasonable reply, 'at the commencement.'"
"And as mere human knowledge can split a ray of light and analyse the manner of its composition, so, sublimer intelligences may read in the feeble shining of this earth of ours, every thought and act, every vice and virtue, of every responsible creature on it."
And then when I was about two-thirds of the way through, I made the mistake of idly turning the book over and reading the blurb on the back. It completely ruined the entire plot. Completely. All the best things that you're supposed to realize about certain characters for yourself over the course of the novel . . . RUINED.
Other than that, what can I say that hasn't already been said. Masterful and amazing. I marked a couple of my very favorite passages. The only one I will not quote here is the entire last page of the book, which one must arrive at for oneself, having read and absorbed all the other pages immediately before.
"In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?"
"Mr Cruncher himself always spoke of the year of our Lord as Anna Dominoes: apparently under the impression that the Christian era dated from the invention of a popular game, by a lady who had bestowed her name upon it."
"Steeping the towels in the water, and partially wringing them out, he folded them on his head in a manner hideous to behold, sat down at the table, and said, 'Now I am ready!'"
"Two or three times, the matter in hand became so knotty, that the jackal found it imperative on him to get up, and steep his towels anew. From these pilgrimages to the jug and basin, he returned with such eccentricities of damp head-gear as no words can describe; which were made the more ludicrous by his anxious gravity."
"The stone faces on the outer walls stared blindly at the black night for three heavy hours; for three heavy hours the horses in the stables rattled at their racks, the dogs barked, and the owl made a noise with very little resemblance in it to the noise conventionally assigned to the owl by men-poets. But it is the obstinate custom of such creatures hardly ever to say what is set down for them."
"O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father's face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!"
"'Commence,' was Monsieur Defarge's not unreasonable reply, 'at the commencement.'"
"And as mere human knowledge can split a ray of light and analyse the manner of its composition, so, sublimer intelligences may read in the feeble shining of this earth of ours, every thought and act, every vice and virtue, of every responsible creature on it."
I've loved the movie based on this book since I was a very small child, and I was surprised to see how faithful the film was to the source material. Beagle's masterpiece has all of the best qualities about the film with none of that anatomically inaccurate animation or poorly performed music to detract from your enjoyment. Beagle's narration is seeded with vivid metaphors, and his characters breathe with life and energy. If you're under the impression that this is a book for kids, think again - The Last Unicorn is an enthralling fantasy tale that will entertain anyone in possession of a functional imagination.
I have a difficult time describing this novel. On the surface it is a very humorous plot involving superheroes and supervillains portrayed as actual people - you get a look at how annoying it can be to have to save the world when one's marriage is breaking up, for instance. You grow to understand how embarrassing it is to be a supervillain genius putting up with a misguided colleague's cheesy catchphrases and general stupidity. Beneath that highly entertaining surface is, I think, an intelligently written satire of the entire comic book milieu. A comic book fan can read Soon I Will Be Invincible and immediately pick out who is supposed to be the Superman, the Wonder Woman, and so on, and can instantly recognize the ways in which the author paints such characters against the backdrop of our own ordinary reality.
Some comic book fans who have written reviews of this book love everything about it. Others complain about the relative dullness of the hero characters, or about the fact that it seems to be a generic amalgam of all classic comic book stories with almost nothing new or innovative. These reviewers are correct in their cursory descriptions of the book, but they are also completely missing the point. If a comic reader picks up this book expecting to read a cutting-edge original tale of heroes and villains, he or she will inevitably be disappointed. The imagination with which its fans credit this book lies not in the plot or the characters themselves, but in the way they are used to tell an entirely unwritten story. Grossman is using his unillustrated prose to poke fun at the genre with the fondness unique to a genuine fan. Frankly, if he had merely set out to write a brand new comic, I imagine he would have grounded it firmly in the industry by writing in the usual comic book format instead of taking a chance on the readers of general fiction.
The reason for my difficulty in writing this review is this - I am a complete comic book dunce. I've seen the movies. I read [b:V for Vendetta|5805|V for Vendetta|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165548128s/5805.jpg|392838] because I wanted a few plot points cleared up, and apart from a few forays into Archie as a child, I don't think I've ever read any other comic books or graphic novels or anything of the kind. My comic-fan perspectives are only conclusions I have based on the words of those who know the genre. I wish to make this perfectly clear because it is the reason for my five-star rating - even though I have no interest in the world of comic books, even though I had to have the subtexts pointed out to me by my boyfriend after failing to notice them myself, I still quite thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is a comic book in novel form that manages to be universally accessible and enjoyable. The satirical overtones naturally add to the experience, but even without them, you'll have a very good time.
Some comic book fans who have written reviews of this book love everything about it. Others complain about the relative dullness of the hero characters, or about the fact that it seems to be a generic amalgam of all classic comic book stories with almost nothing new or innovative. These reviewers are correct in their cursory descriptions of the book, but they are also completely missing the point. If a comic reader picks up this book expecting to read a cutting-edge original tale of heroes and villains, he or she will inevitably be disappointed. The imagination with which its fans credit this book lies not in the plot or the characters themselves, but in the way they are used to tell an entirely unwritten story. Grossman is using his unillustrated prose to poke fun at the genre with the fondness unique to a genuine fan. Frankly, if he had merely set out to write a brand new comic, I imagine he would have grounded it firmly in the industry by writing in the usual comic book format instead of taking a chance on the readers of general fiction.
The reason for my difficulty in writing this review is this - I am a complete comic book dunce. I've seen the movies. I read [b:V for Vendetta|5805|V for Vendetta|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165548128s/5805.jpg|392838] because I wanted a few plot points cleared up, and apart from a few forays into Archie as a child, I don't think I've ever read any other comic books or graphic novels or anything of the kind. My comic-fan perspectives are only conclusions I have based on the words of those who know the genre. I wish to make this perfectly clear because it is the reason for my five-star rating - even though I have no interest in the world of comic books, even though I had to have the subtexts pointed out to me by my boyfriend after failing to notice them myself, I still quite thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is a comic book in novel form that manages to be universally accessible and enjoyable. The satirical overtones naturally add to the experience, but even without them, you'll have a very good time.
I won't offer up the tired old assurance that this book "changed my life," but it has provoked some very interesting thoughts and ideas. Reading about Gilbert's journey has led me to take a good look at my own trip through life, and my ideas about spirituality and religion. This is a very personal memoir written by a woman, and so it has very strong feminine overtones; however, I think the subject matter ranges far and wide enough that any individual can find threads to which he or she can easily relate.