I almost put this book down after a few pages. My initial impressions was that it was a bit too much, been there; done that. However, it being John IrI almost put this book down after a few pages. My initial impressions was that it was a bit too much, been there; done that. However, it being John Irving and having read many of his other works I gave it a few more pages, then a few more, and a few more. Soon I was pulled into the world and family, perhaps predictably slightly dysfunctional yet endearing in almost every way. “The Last Chairlift” is an invitation to the penultimate family event—I think. I’m trying to be clever, but “The Last Chairlift” is not about clever. It’s about family and connections and the ways it can sometimes all come together. Well worth every one of however many words there are contained in almost 900 pages....more
What started well, profiling the war by profiling the warriors grew wearying, making the march to the finish more a test of stamina then I Good but...
What started well, profiling the war by profiling the warriors grew wearying, making the march to the finish more a test of stamina then I would have preferred. Nevertheless, an excellent account....more
[Audio Version] It has been many years since the release of the movie version of Bernard Malamud’s “The Natural”. In the movie Robert Redford played Th[Audio Version] It has been many years since the release of the movie version of Bernard Malamud’s “The Natural”. In the movie Robert Redford played The natural, Roy Hobbs. I had heard that the book had a darker ending. It does and I was ready for it. In fact I thought I would actually prefer it to the sugar-dusted ending of the movie. So, I don’t believe the down-beat ending had any effect on my appreciation of the story.
According to most reviewers “The Natural” is one of the best baseball stories ever written. However, even though I was a captive listener in my car, I don’t know that I could have gotten through the 6-disk set without the image of Robert Redford’s Hobbs in my mind. At least Redford’s Hobbs had some charisma.
From the very beginning, the Hobbs of the novel is a self-centered, borderline narcissist. His key virtues are conceit and arrogance. He is humorless and thick. At no point does he even approach becoming a likable or sympathetic figure. He never shows any serious growth or maturation. Yes, he does experience an unusual amount of bad luck, but most of it is of his own doing.
“The Natural” is not the only book to feature an unlikeable jerk, but without much of a hook beyond him being a gifted, unlikable jerk, Hobb's story failed to engage me. I did have hopes that there would be a turn towards self-redemption. But by the time Hobbs feels any shame for his actions, in particular when a young boy, a former fan ask, “Why’d you do it?” I had ceased to care....more
(Audio) This is a collection of unpublished stories. Some are a variation on the same theme. Others are somewhat incomplete. Overall a good collection (Audio) This is a collection of unpublished stories. Some are a variation on the same theme. Others are somewhat incomplete. Overall a good collection for writers interested in evolution of a style and for readers (or listeners) in search of good entertainment....more
This applies only to the audio Version The production of the audio version was excellent. As a radio production it would have been a worthy competitor This applies only to the audio Version The production of the audio version was excellent. As a radio production it would have been a worthy competitor to Orson Welles, Mercury Theater group, but as a novel-length story it was lacking. Although at time atmospheric and creepy, it failed to sustain the effect, eventually giving way to boredom and frustration with the main character's inertia. in the end this felt like a decent short story or maybe even a novella that had been overextended to novel length without the benefit of any additional material....more
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