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winecellarlibrary's Reviews (657)
This book is available for free on Amazon for a limited time. I first heard about this book thanks to Online Book Club. Below is my honest review.
I am not a distance runner, or a runner at all for that matter. However, the point of this book is something that is relevant to anyone who pushes themselves to the extreme in any sport. I've read so many accounts of women who compete in bikini and body-building competitions who have finally come to realize that the strain they put on themselves both physically and mentally is killing them slowly. This book has the same message for cardio-holics. However, the author's execution was a turn off for me. If you decide to read this book (it's short, with only a couple sentences per page, and can be read in about 30-40 minutes), read it for the message and try to ignore the redundancy. The author also comes off as self-important, but I suppose he would need to if he is going to attempt to change the minds of those who are dead-set on running marathons.
I am not a distance runner, or a runner at all for that matter. However, the point of this book is something that is relevant to anyone who pushes themselves to the extreme in any sport. I've read so many accounts of women who compete in bikini and body-building competitions who have finally come to realize that the strain they put on themselves both physically and mentally is killing them slowly. This book has the same message for cardio-holics. However, the author's execution was a turn off for me. If you decide to read this book (it's short, with only a couple sentences per page, and can be read in about 30-40 minutes), read it for the message and try to ignore the redundancy. The author also comes off as self-important, but I suppose he would need to if he is going to attempt to change the minds of those who are dead-set on running marathons.
This review pains me. Juliet Marillier is my favorite author. When I found out that she had released a new book that was only available on Audible, I just had to find a way to listen to it. This book is not at all what I expected. Part I is like a fairy tale and gives the feeling that it could have been written as a stand-alone short story at its conclusion. It reads like a book that could be read to children, especially with all the repetition in the language. After reading Parts II and III, it became clear that it would be better classified as a Young Adult novel, as there are more mature themes in these sections. Overall, I was not a fan of the narrator, and I was not much a fan of the tale. It seems underdeveloped and predictable in comparison to her other works. I really tried to like this book, but there was nothing about it (save for a bit of magic at the end) that I enjoyed. Even so, I will continue to read everything she publishes, for each one of her books brings a little magic into my own life.
