Good Benito
by Alan Lightman
published
1998
by Random House Value Publishing
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binding
Hardcover
isbn
0517267659
(isbn13: 9780517267653)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 254)
Read in September, 2008
recommended to El by:
Josiah's bookshelfrecommends it for: Clovis
Bennett Lang is a physicist who has used science throughout his life; in fact, science has been his life, and everything else has been secondary. This is most evident in his realizations throughout time that he just does not understand his surroundings - his family is filled with contradictions, intelligent people let their mind go to mush, solid friendships dissipate with time - and he uses scientific theories as a way to try to make sense of the world.
This was a quick read with sho...more
This was a quick read with sho...more
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recommends it for:
perky wallflowers
This book gets three stars, but one the stars is a nostalgia star. From age 16 or so, when I first read it, this was my favorite book. Namely because I didn't read very many books at that point in my life. It resonated with my angst- and love-ridden soul because the main character, Bennett Lang, sometimes got to go to bed with women.
Upon reading it now, 10 years after the fact, the book is wanting in a several departments. None of the characters are fleshed out. Dramatic events whose ...more
Upon reading it now, 10 years after the fact, the book is wanting in a several departments. None of the characters are fleshed out. Dramatic events whose ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in February, 2001
recommends it for:
smart folk (see, you want it now, right?)
I feel almost guilty recommending this book SO highly, because I feel that my personal connection to it is so dependant upon some personal correlation - to throw in the (non-dramatic) spoiler: the scene in which the protagonist has a FLASH moment of 'break-through' clarity while in the shower..... how more personal can that moment be?? and YES, I felt the writing EXACTLY captured the nature of such a lightening bolt breakthrough, which I think relates to ANY creative person - science, mathematic...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
people who don't mind an ending that isn't necessarily happy.
This novel explores the life and mind of a physicist. Themes range from isolation to love and the building of a relationship to its end.
A juxtaposition of the search for truth and beauty in nature with the tragic effects of the seeker's obsession on his relationship with those closest to him.
A juxtaposition of the search for truth and beauty in nature with the tragic effects of the seeker's obsession on his relationship with those closest to him.
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Read in June, 1998
It didn't become clear to me until I went to Alan Lightman's reading at the BU bookstore in 1999 the extent to which this novel chronicles the main character's stages of disillusionment. The story is one the best insights I received about the nature of adulthood. The mindset of the main character is not universal, but I think the types of experiences he has will be very familiar for most readers.
P.S. I would say that the Red House Painters album Ocean Beach may be the best possible soundt...more
P.S. I would say that the Red House Painters album Ocean Beach may be the best possible soundt...more
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Read in November, 2002
recommended to Jen by:
Andyrecommends it for: geeks for fine prose, physics geeks
A surprisingly complex portrait of a single character, rendered in Lightman's deceptively minimal, elegant language. Rather than developing in a linear way, its chapters are more like vignettes: pointed, evocative, and all the more powerful for their sparse, simple language.
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Read in June, 2000
i remember greatly enjoying this book. but honestly, i don't remember anything about it other than the perspective/voice from which it was written.
i'd still recommend it. i was never able to finish 'einstein's dreams' however.
i'd still recommend it. i was never able to finish 'einstein's dreams' however.
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Read in July, 2008
This was a sweet book. Very easy to read and quite engrossing. I liked reading about a scientist who was passionate about his work.
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Read in July, 1999
I picked up Good Benito because I'd loved Einstein's Dreams so much. GB isn't nearly as good, but its still a sweet book.
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