sara_grace's review against another edition
4.0
Sara's 50 words or less review:
Beautiful language jazzes up oddly detached narrator's rambling journey to discover basic moral truths. Everyone has something that they can't stand to lose. Corruption eventually breaks everyone. Unforgettable secondary characters. Go ahead, take a peek under Huey Long's covers but be warned politics is dirty business.
Beautiful language jazzes up oddly detached narrator's rambling journey to discover basic moral truths. Everyone has something that they can't stand to lose. Corruption eventually breaks everyone. Unforgettable secondary characters. Go ahead, take a peek under Huey Long's covers but be warned politics is dirty business.
telescope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mathetria936's review against another edition
3.0
This one took a while for me to get into. If it wasn't a book club read I'm not sure I'd have finished it. That being said, once I got to the climax of the book, I was finally hooked and eager to finish it.
ddemille29's review against another edition
Didn’t care about characters, writing style not for me
maripoul's review against another edition
5.0
Περιττές οι λέξεις με εξαίρεση τη μία που συνοψίζει πλήρως το βιβλίο: αριστούργημα.
akhuseby's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most beautifully written books I've read. Originally, I anticipated "the definitive novel about American politics," but ATKM is SO much more than that. At it's core, this is a bildungsroman about the aptly named Jack Burden, dissolute student, unsatisfied lover, and the man who ends up doing the "dirty work" for the Boss, Willie Talos, Governor. Read this book and expect novels within novels, layers of heartbreak, and the kind of literary genius that should be no surprise from the first US Poet Laureate, but still is. When we read so many books that are just fine or good, coming across something of this calibre sets even the most experienced reader back on his/her heels and reminds one why we read in the first place. I seldom lose myself in a book. Some books suck me in and take me on a wild ride and I don't want to let go until the horse is spent. Those are fun. Some books plod along and I look up often to enjoy the scenery. To stick with the horse metaphor, this book is the equivalent of a Lipazaner stallion. You don't so much ride it as become fascinated by the art of the dance. I suspect an argument could be made that Robert Penn Warren took part of the credit for inventing prose poetry with this novel. I highlighted many portions and read them to my husband and sons. Here is beauty in language. Here are the type of wise aphorisms that stun you with their accuracy. Here is a book you must read. I'd be willing to bet you a $20 that you'll love it and wish you could give it more than 5 stars too.
shoelessmama's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Warren wrote in 1981 that he guessed Huey Long (on whom Willie Stark is based) was "a remarkable set of contradictions", which sums this book up very nicely. This book is gorgeously written. It reads like sitting on a porch swing on a cool summer night listening to someone recount his life in great detail, great poetically beautiful detail. It lulled me into a stupor a few times and I had to back up repeatedly. Highly idealistic and willing to bend ethics to suit those ideals, Willie was a fascinating character. I personally didn't find him all that likable, the charisma that wooed so many characters didn't come across for me on the page. I wonder if some of our ideas surrounding politicians have been generated by this novel... it's a chicken or the egg scenario.
My feelings about this novel are just as contradictory as the man it is based on. The writing pulled me in, the politics did not. But it certainly gives the reader a lot to chew on. I'm glad to have read this novel and glad to be putting it down.
My feelings about this novel are just as contradictory as the man it is based on. The writing pulled me in, the politics did not. But it certainly gives the reader a lot to chew on. I'm glad to have read this novel and glad to be putting it down.
joypudding's review against another edition
4.0
The audiobook read by Michael Emerson was extraordinary, so it's a bit hard for me to truly review the book just by it's own merits. The bits where the narrator goes on kinda rambling (I know, I know, there's probably a way more elegant way of describing it) were often beautifully written but I still zoomed out of them a little too easily - so perhaps those bits bring the book down from 'amazing' to 'I really liked it'. But I did honestly really like it, and it didn't feel like a 71 year old book to me at all.
lisak_reads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kfrazee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0