Lauren O. (LoMel) - , reviewed on + 134 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This book is almost structured as a series of short stories, each chapter told from the point of view of a different character who is in some way connected with the two who are supposed to be the "main" characters, Sasha and Bennie.
The writing is great, fluid and easy to read, which I think gives you a better-than-normal sense of the characters than you would get otherwise. Some of the chapters were a lot more interesting to me than others, but I think that's probably par for the course in a book that's structured this way. I guess my biggest complaint is the final chapter, which felt very out of place with the rest of the story and seemed like a meditation on communication in the digital age that the author threw in at the end to make a bigger point or give the story some deeper significance...you can just write a good book that's a character study, you don't need to make a bigger societal point to make it a good book! It really threw me out of the story at the end and I almost felt as though I was reading a different book, which was disappointing considering the chapter before it had been probably my favorite in the entire story.
Anyway, TONS of readers love this book, and it won the Pulitzer so obviously it has some merit to it. I enjoyed the story and found the read easy and interesting until that last chapter, so even though I wouldn't put it down among my favorites I would probably recommend it even with its flaws.
The writing is great, fluid and easy to read, which I think gives you a better-than-normal sense of the characters than you would get otherwise. Some of the chapters were a lot more interesting to me than others, but I think that's probably par for the course in a book that's structured this way. I guess my biggest complaint is the final chapter, which felt very out of place with the rest of the story and seemed like a meditation on communication in the digital age that the author threw in at the end to make a bigger point or give the story some deeper significance...you can just write a good book that's a character study, you don't need to make a bigger societal point to make it a good book! It really threw me out of the story at the end and I almost felt as though I was reading a different book, which was disappointing considering the chapter before it had been probably my favorite in the entire story.
Anyway, TONS of readers love this book, and it won the Pulitzer so obviously it has some merit to it. I enjoyed the story and found the read easy and interesting until that last chapter, so even though I wouldn't put it down among my favorites I would probably recommend it even with its flaws.
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