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careycarpenter's review against another edition
1.0
I just could not get into this book. Epic stories have to be exciting to keep me engaged for 900 pages but this was just too slow for me. I was about 100 pages in and still waiting to find a character I really liked or cared what happened to and I really like baseball. A friend recommended it to me as her favorite book, I’m just not into books this long typically. I didn’t feel like there was an actual plot to push the story along. It was like Seinfeld but without the humor or interesting characters - just rambling inanely about their family saga (I actually really like Seinfeld but he says it’s a TV show about nothing). I tried both the hard copy and the audio version because I really wanted to like it. Or at least get through it. Many, many other people love this book though.
steverese's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
kieranhealy's review against another edition
5.0
The dank laurel, the darkness and the need for low-voiced secrecy created an atmosphere that made our talk more considered than the ebullient, hormone-garbled yammering we were prone to elsewhere. And with an eight-piece family crammed in a house the size of ours, it was a balm to discover a place, however squalid, where intimacy with one of my brothers was not a necessity but a choice. But it was that maimed little remnant of what had once been Papa’s great art form that has really stayed with me. There is a part of me that wants to state flat out that I learned more in the hedge about the defiance of dullness and career death, about the glory hidden in defeat, about the amazing inner capacities of a straightforward, no-frills man—even a man stripped of hope—than I’ve learned anywhere since.
Well, then. I have no idea how I heard of this book or why I decided to read it, other than it was available from my library and it sounded ok. It turned into one of my favorite reads in recent memory. Presumably it’s an American answer to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Sure, in a way, it also approaches faith and doubt during changing social circumstances. But that’s mostly where the similarity ends.
The sweeping family drama centers around Hugh and Laura Chase, parents of a poor working class family told mostly through the eyes and recollections of three brothers from a total brood of 6 children. Clever mixing memoir-like prose with occasional “1st person sources” like childhood writings or letters, the reader almost feels like they are getting the family history from a close friend. Going into depth about the myriad personalities and intersections of faith, conflict, love, fallout and forgiveness is a waste of all our time. Just go read it.
I’ve seen complaints about “too much baseball.” (Hugh is a talented pitcher who, through thoroughly human circumstances, picks a secure paycheck over going to the baseball minor leagues.) This is a hollow complaint to ignore, as it comes from folks who missed the point. Imagine reading Grapes of Wrath and complaining about the talk of farming, or reading Lonesome Dove and thinking, “You know, there’s just too much about cattle driving.”
It does drag a little bit in the middle. Particularly when the eldest son, Everett, becomes the most stereotypically annoying baby boomer imaginable. I get idea was that Everett was hollow inside and it was exploring his “hippie” persona as an act, but reading about a person being incredibly tedious and facile , even with the potential for redemption, can be…. tedious. But that’s my only real complaint.
Well, then. I have no idea how I heard of this book or why I decided to read it, other than it was available from my library and it sounded ok. It turned into one of my favorite reads in recent memory. Presumably it’s an American answer to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Sure, in a way, it also approaches faith and doubt during changing social circumstances. But that’s mostly where the similarity ends.
The sweeping family drama centers around Hugh and Laura Chase, parents of a poor working class family told mostly through the eyes and recollections of three brothers from a total brood of 6 children. Clever mixing memoir-like prose with occasional “1st person sources” like childhood writings or letters, the reader almost feels like they are getting the family history from a close friend. Going into depth about the myriad personalities and intersections of faith, conflict, love, fallout and forgiveness is a waste of all our time. Just go read it.
I’ve seen complaints about “too much baseball.” (Hugh is a talented pitcher who, through thoroughly human circumstances, picks a secure paycheck over going to the baseball minor leagues.) This is a hollow complaint to ignore, as it comes from folks who missed the point. Imagine reading Grapes of Wrath and complaining about the talk of farming, or reading Lonesome Dove and thinking, “You know, there’s just too much about cattle driving.”
It does drag a little bit in the middle. Particularly when the eldest son, Everett, becomes the most stereotypically annoying baby boomer imaginable. I get idea was that Everett was hollow inside and it was exploring his “hippie” persona as an act, but reading about a person being incredibly tedious and facile , even with the potential for redemption, can be…. tedious. But that’s my only real complaint.
micczech1212's review against another edition
5.0
Favorite book of the year so far. Baseball. Family. Redemption. Everything that I love neatly packaged in 645 pages.
cody240fc's review against another edition
4.0
A very charming novel. The story of the Chance family had me laughing out loud on several occasions, and many of the characters are simply unforgettable. This isn't just a coming of age story centered around a baseball family. Baseball lies at the heart of this novel, but Duncan has a lot to say and "The Brothers K" is a pointed analysis of American life in the late 60's and early 70's.
It is not a novel without flaws- the Chance boys Psalm war with their mother gets old after a while, and the rescue mission at Mira Loma is a little strange- but these are just a couple of minor complaints within 650 pages of greatness.
Duncan's style is also more complicated than you might expect to encounter in a normal coming of age story. The storytelling almost seems disjointed and messy at times, which only adds to the novels appeal. Reminded me a little bit of Moby Dick in that sense.
It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes this novel so great, but I know that every time I sat down to read a few chapters, I had to get up and go give my four month old son a hug.
It is not a novel without flaws- the Chance boys Psalm war with their mother gets old after a while, and the rescue mission at Mira Loma is a little strange- but these are just a couple of minor complaints within 650 pages of greatness.
Duncan's style is also more complicated than you might expect to encounter in a normal coming of age story. The storytelling almost seems disjointed and messy at times, which only adds to the novels appeal. Reminded me a little bit of Moby Dick in that sense.
It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes this novel so great, but I know that every time I sat down to read a few chapters, I had to get up and go give my four month old son a hug.
danbeesley's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
bigbookbabe's review against another edition
3.0
“Americanness, he was discovering, is not an easy quality to crucify—at least not without crucifying the entire American.”
books 1-3 were pretty boring and way too enthusiastic about baseball. book 4 and onwards, however, were highly entertaining. still don’t fully get it, i guess. not a book that i think i’ll ever pick up again
books 1-3 were pretty boring and way too enthusiastic about baseball. book 4 and onwards, however, were highly entertaining. still don’t fully get it, i guess. not a book that i think i’ll ever pick up again
babsaway14's review against another edition
5.0
I'll admit I'm a bit of a sucker for heavy paperbacks. If a book weighs more than my purse, I'll pick it up if only for that reason alone.
I also love messy, twisted emotional Novels that deserve the capitol, and this very much one of them. Set in southwestern Washington state with moments of Portland, this is the story of a family, a good family, a family that truly loves each and all the neuroses and tortuous magic that goes into that.
I also love messy, twisted emotional Novels that deserve the capitol, and this very much one of them. Set in southwestern Washington state with moments of Portland, this is the story of a family, a good family, a family that truly loves each and all the neuroses and tortuous magic that goes into that.