Kipoon Hostler từ Yuvalı/Siirt, Turkey

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11/05/2024

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Kipoon Hostler Sách lại (10)

2018-08-25 11:30

Năm Dần Nói Chuyện Về Ông Ba Mươi Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Hoàng Nghĩa

** spoiler alert ** Awesome premise. There's a wealth of material in the Depression-era circus setting. In the hands of a different author, I think this could have been really amazing, but I didn't love the way Gruen handled it. I did like some of the descriptions of the setting and I could see the crew setting up, eating in the makeshift tents, tearing everything down to move on to the next town. The idea of "red lighting" was absolutely terrifying. Throwing someone off a moving train? Who could be so cruel, besides maybe mob bosses? The characters and plot, though, kind of fizzled into mediocrity in the midst of this amazing setting. Jacob was ok. He was a sweet kid and then in his old age becomes this crotchety bastard, and I had a hard time with the discrepancy. What made him that way? It's not a given that everyone becomes crotchety once they pass a certain age and it didn't seem in his nature to be so. Plus, he pretty much got everything he wanted...the girl with her husband out of the picture and the exciting life he wanted, so I wasn't sure where all the animosity came from. And how was a 90 or 93 year old going to function when he joins the circus at the end? Who's going to take care of him/feed him/get him medical care? Marlena was too much of a Mary Sue for me to like her. All she has going for her is that she's pretty and apparently fairly nice if not a little dull. And Jacob seems to fall for her right away, but I didn't understand the appeal. For a novel's main love interest, she was horribly underdeveloped. August, Marlena's husband, has mood swings and is prone to violent bouts of anger. At first, I felt bad for Marlena being in that situation, but then it is revealed that August has schizophrenia (or some severe mental disorder), which I think was Gruen's big mistake. Giving him a psychological disorder he couldn't control and which they didn't have medication for during that time period makes August, in my opinion, more sympathetic. Then he gets squashed by the elephant and dies, with Marlena rushing into Jacob's arms. This had the opposite effect on me then I think was intended, where I felt really bad for August. It would be different if he was just a jerk, but the dude had a mental condition beyond his control. He did not deserve that end. Finally, I wished there'd been more development when Jacob's parents die at the beginning of the novel. It's never told in great detail what his parents were like or whether Jacob was even close to them. His only reaction to this grief is being a little dazed and not being able to focus on his exams, and then he runs off to join the circus which I found unbelievable given the situation. Maybe if I understand the family relationship more, I could understand this launch into the circus. Not a bad book. I enjoyed the pictures and I liked how she incorporated her historical research of the time period. With a better-flowing plot and livelier characters, this could have been excellent. 3 stars.

Người đọc Kipoon Hostler từ Yuvalı/Siirt, Turkey

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.