Sign in with FacebookReeka (BoundbyWords)'s Reviews > Giving Up the Ghost: A Story About Friendship, 80s Rock, a Lost Scrap of Paper, and What It Means to Be Haunted
Giving Up the Ghost: A Story About Friendship, 80s Rock, a Lost Scrap of Paper, and What It Means to Be Haunted
by Eric Nuzum (Goodreads Author)
by Eric Nuzum (Goodreads Author)
Reeka (BoundbyWords)'s review
bookshelves: netgalley-advance
Sep 12, 12
bookshelves: netgalley-advance
Read from August 19 to 31, 2012
As seen on my blog:
When I initially requested this title from Netgalley, I was under the impression that it was a work of fiction, and needless to say, I was disappointed when I realized that it was not. I had yet to read a "scary" novel, and I somehow thought this might be it.
With that said, as I actually started reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found there. Nuzum recounts his life, alternating from past to present-eventually settling on the present towards the end. I had a few laugh out loud moments, and got my fill of scary when he first described his dream of a little girl in a blue dress-the same little girl, and dream, that turned out to be the cause and affect of moments surrounding and within his life, both mentally and emotionally.
As much as I hoped this would be a ghost story, sadly, it wasn't..well, it kind of was, not really. Though I still really enjoyed Eric's ability to tell a story-his story. His writing flowed well, and many times I found myself right there beside him. I grew so accustomed to fiction, that it was sometimes difficult to remind myself that what he was writing was real life, that he really did experience the horrible losses that he did, that his facts were exactly that-facts. If all memoirs could be written in this manner, I would be reading a lot more of that genre.
However, the story still remained a little anti-climatic for me, and what what I was expecting in the end, personally just seemed to fall flat and kind of meaningless. Which isn't a bad thing-like I said, I'm a fiction reader to my core, I've been horribly spoiled with insanely impossible endings..it's just what I've come to know and expect.
The quote that pretty much stopped my breathing for a few seconds:
"Everyone tells me that the stuff I like will never amount to anything.' I Said. 'So if you aren't interested in anything else, what is the point of trying? So you can end up sitting in an office and wearing a tie- and being miserable until you die-is that what I'm supposed to do with my life to make everyone happy? That doesn't sound like much fun. It's easier to deal with other people's disappointment than to deal with your own."
BOOM! Instant 'I can SO relate' moment.
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*DISCLAIMER* I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
When I initially requested this title from Netgalley, I was under the impression that it was a work of fiction, and needless to say, I was disappointed when I realized that it was not. I had yet to read a "scary" novel, and I somehow thought this might be it.
With that said, as I actually started reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found there. Nuzum recounts his life, alternating from past to present-eventually settling on the present towards the end. I had a few laugh out loud moments, and got my fill of scary when he first described his dream of a little girl in a blue dress-the same little girl, and dream, that turned out to be the cause and affect of moments surrounding and within his life, both mentally and emotionally.
As much as I hoped this would be a ghost story, sadly, it wasn't..well, it kind of was, not really. Though I still really enjoyed Eric's ability to tell a story-his story. His writing flowed well, and many times I found myself right there beside him. I grew so accustomed to fiction, that it was sometimes difficult to remind myself that what he was writing was real life, that he really did experience the horrible losses that he did, that his facts were exactly that-facts. If all memoirs could be written in this manner, I would be reading a lot more of that genre.
However, the story still remained a little anti-climatic for me, and what what I was expecting in the end, personally just seemed to fall flat and kind of meaningless. Which isn't a bad thing-like I said, I'm a fiction reader to my core, I've been horribly spoiled with insanely impossible endings..it's just what I've come to know and expect.
The quote that pretty much stopped my breathing for a few seconds:
"Everyone tells me that the stuff I like will never amount to anything.' I Said. 'So if you aren't interested in anything else, what is the point of trying? So you can end up sitting in an office and wearing a tie- and being miserable until you die-is that what I'm supposed to do with my life to make everyone happy? That doesn't sound like much fun. It's easier to deal with other people's disappointment than to deal with your own."
BOOM! Instant 'I can SO relate' moment.
----------
*DISCLAIMER* I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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