false 27 142 76 true 5963229 read 3 true 89718 currently-reading 63 true 89717 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67883734 American Pastoral (Paperback) by Philip Roth
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67883003 Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater (Hardcover) by Frank Bruni
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67882849 The Magicians (Hardcover) by Lev Grossman
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67882660 This Is Where I Leave You (Hardcover) by Jonathan Tropper
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30219466 to: An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (Hardcover) by Brock Clarke
Despite my excitement at reading this book, especially because of the reviews I had read and the amusing title, it ended up being less than spectacular.

To be fair, I admit that it had its moments. While a lot of people who have reviewed this book seem to criticize the main character Sam, I actually found him to be interesting. Much of the criticism on Sam comments on how dull of a character he is - he doesn't take action even when given the choice, he is aimless, he doesn't know himself, he learns things but fails to do something about it, how even in the end he shows he hasn't changed that much, etc. But because the character is not necessarily likeable doesn't mean that he isn't fascinating. Clarke has found a way to write about a more realistic individual with shockingly accurate reactions that all of us can probably identify with even on a very small level. (No, I'm not saying we're all losers.) Rather, here is a character that doesn't necessarily transform at the end, a character who in fact is basically the same guy in the end, but yes, learned something about life, and has accepted his fate. And that lesson is that life is not always fair - some people will get away with the things they have done no matter how bad they are, many people will never change or really try to, and despite being a hero you don't always get recognized for it and you have to be okay with that and move on. Yes, I was frustrated with Sam's loserliness time and time again, but then that's what made him such an effectively written character. In literature, we look to our villains to scare us, we expect our heros to excite us, and our detectives to delight us - thus, Clarke's annoyingly frustrating and "bumbling" character does his job quite well :)

While the story did pick up in the second half, it just wasn't captivating enough. You could figure out where Clarke was going with the storyline and the "whodunit" was predictable well before the end. While the "whodunit" aspect of the story isn't the main theme of the novel, (I found it to be the concept of how time changes the function (or dysfunction) of a family) the novel seems to struggle between whether it would like to be a classic detective-like novel or a novel about family relationships. It falls short of developing either of these goals well - rather, they both end up being mediocre.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65264008 The Intuitionist: A Novel (Paperback) by Colson Whitehead
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65263808 Sag Harbor: A Novel (Hardcover) by Colson Whitehead
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65263684 Brooklyn: A Novel (Hardcover) by Colm Tóibín
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65263150 The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (Hardcover) by David Grann
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65262911 Let the Great World Spin: A Novel (Hardcover) by Colum McCann
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