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mishizzelle's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.75
Reread this recently and dang... fun adventures but way more racist than I remember.
easonsay's review against another edition
3.0
“When I take it home, Mama read it an began pullin at her hair an weepin an praisin the Lord, cause it say I am “Temporarily Deferred,’ on account of I am a numbnuts.”
.
“Well, Gump,’ he says, ‘I read in the newspapers you ain’t wasted no time stayin in the doghouse. You done tricked the Ayatolja, got thowed in jail for contemptin the Congress, caused a riot down at some religious theme park, got arrested an put on trial for swindling millions of people, was responsible for the greatest single maritime environmental disaster of the world, an somehow managed to put an end to communism in Europe. All in all, I’d say you’ve had a fair few years.”
.
Ah I was unaware that #ForrestGump was a based on a book until like the last year or two. So I finally read it. Not that I disliked the books, but omg movie >> book/s. (maybe 4th time that’s ever happened.) The books were humorous, but they got repetitive, like whoa. While I wish there were more parts that could/would’ve been included in the movie there was almost too much to choose from? Like pump the breaks Groom my man, Gump didn’t need to be involved in Every Major Social/Pop Culture Event of the 20th century, my god. I mean, interesting to connect all the events, but because he flit along from event to event (he’d start something, got it going for a little bit and then fuck it up somehow and move on, and repeat. For two books.) it had a real shallow deepness, he was a 20th century everyman, but that seemed to be because Groom literally tried to connect him to every major event instead of digging a little deeper into some events than others. (Holy Meta moments - Tom Hanks! and sort of meh-ish shoutout to the Green Bay Packers!) Aaand that came off slightly meaner than I intended, if you like the movie check out the books though!
.
“Well, Gump,’ he says, ‘I read in the newspapers you ain’t wasted no time stayin in the doghouse. You done tricked the Ayatolja, got thowed in jail for contemptin the Congress, caused a riot down at some religious theme park, got arrested an put on trial for swindling millions of people, was responsible for the greatest single maritime environmental disaster of the world, an somehow managed to put an end to communism in Europe. All in all, I’d say you’ve had a fair few years.”
.
Ah I was unaware that #ForrestGump was a based on a book until like the last year or two. So I finally read it. Not that I disliked the books, but omg movie >> book/s. (maybe 4th time that’s ever happened.) The books were humorous, but they got repetitive, like whoa. While I wish there were more parts that could/would’ve been included in the movie there was almost too much to choose from? Like pump the breaks Groom my man, Gump didn’t need to be involved in Every Major Social/Pop Culture Event of the 20th century, my god. I mean, interesting to connect all the events, but because he flit along from event to event (he’d start something, got it going for a little bit and then fuck it up somehow and move on, and repeat. For two books.) it had a real shallow deepness, he was a 20th century everyman, but that seemed to be because Groom literally tried to connect him to every major event instead of digging a little deeper into some events than others. (Holy Meta moments - Tom Hanks! and sort of meh-ish shoutout to the Green Bay Packers!) Aaand that came off slightly meaner than I intended, if you like the movie check out the books though!
helent3's review against another edition
3.0
Took me a while to get through this book but every time I picked it up it put me in such a great mood! The writing is so simple and I love that the author chose to write as if Forrest Gump himself was writing. If you don't like misspelled words this is not the book for you but if you can overlook that it's a simple and fun read.
emelkay24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
On its face, I’m into it. I like its exploration of what exactly an idiot is, of whether it affects quality of life, of whether all these prized personality traits we try to cultivate actually affect our lives in the end.
Unfortunately, I’m just turned off by its crassness and the sheer ridiculousness of some of his exploits.(He goes to… space? NASA leaves them stranded on a (pretty racist) cannibal island for half a decade, where he’s 1) forced to work the cotton fields with his (kinda sexistly depicted) co-astronaut, 2) plays chess with the chief every night as a tactic to prolong their execution, and 3) learns to communicate with and befriend his ape co-astronaut through facial expressions??? What the hell.) And I have the feeling we’re supposed to be laughing whenever Forrest or the people he comes across are miserable, or at scenes that are just plain unsavory.
I appreciate that the back summary compared it to Candide, because I do see the similarities — crass at times, multiple reunions with side characters, everyone going through wild U-turns of fortunes — and I think that’s the right framework to view it from. And they almost turn it around for me with the ending,where he meets Jenny and his son for the last time and he comes to terms with his one and only dream in life not coming true. Unfortunately, overall it’s just not my thing.
Unfortunately, I’m just turned off by its crassness and the sheer ridiculousness of some of his exploits.
I appreciate that the back summary compared it to Candide, because I do see the similarities — crass at times, multiple reunions with side characters, everyone going through wild U-turns of fortunes — and I think that’s the right framework to view it from. And they almost turn it around for me with the ending,
wbrodt89's review against another edition
1.0
The only book I’ve ever read that I wished I could get my time back.
apireading's review against another edition
1.0
Growing up, Forrest Gump was - and still is - one of my favorite movie. It bought me so much joy and helped me understand complex concepts such as happiness, hope, determination, and bravery. I’ve always been reluctant to read the book afterwards because I was sure it was going to be so different.
And I was right. And it was worse than I thought.
I hated the book. On every level. It’s awkward, weird, full of horrible pretexts to bring up with racist and misogynistic slurs. All the characters have absolutely no evolution whatsoever, they make random and incoherent decisions. It was a nightmare.
The humour is in this book is horrific: it’s based on pee/poo/sexual/racist jokes, and I wanted to punch myself in the face at every attempt of the author at being funny.
The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it made me love the movie even more. Please, if you’re a fan of Zemecki’s work, run away from this.
tw: psychophobia, school harassment, violence, sexual assault, xenophobia, n-word, cannibalism, misogyny.
And I was right. And it was worse than I thought.
I hated the book. On every level. It’s awkward, weird, full of horrible pretexts to bring up with racist and misogynistic slurs. All the characters have absolutely no evolution whatsoever, they make random and incoherent decisions. It was a nightmare.
The humour is in this book is horrific: it’s based on pee/poo/sexual/racist jokes, and I wanted to punch myself in the face at every attempt of the author at being funny.
The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it made me love the movie even more. Please, if you’re a fan of Zemecki’s work, run away from this.
tw: psychophobia, school harassment, violence, sexual assault, xenophobia, n-word, cannibalism, misogyny.
tnathanb's review against another edition
1.0
A truly abysmal book that seems to be trying to create in its main character a lovable filter for the craziness of the 60s and 70s. Instead, it creates an absolute zero who only gains life from the insane plot around him and that life is profoundly absurd and pointless. If this book was trying to make a larger point it got severely lost along the way.
librismundi's review against another edition
4.0
First - as you can gather from the other reviews. The book is not the movie... the characters are the same (more or less) but the movie takes a bit of the gist of the book and spins it in a whole 'nother direction and one that pleasingly incorporates all those iconic images from each era.
The book plays out as a series of vignettes that are thinly strung together. Forrest bounces from situation to situation (some you'll recognize from the movie). The vignettes are sometimes satirical, sometimes social commentary, and sometimes just plain silly. The language is at times a little difficult to stomach - but Forrest is a character that comes from the pre-civil rights south, and an idiot savant to boot - so, the language is part of the character and the era.
It was a quick read. I enjoyed this, for the most part - I did laugh out loud several times while reading it. It's enjoyable - but won't be shelves among the favorites that I re-read. I gave it 4 stars - because it's not quite a 3. I'd give it a 3 1/2 stars if I could.
Now I'm going to go pop some popcorn and watch the movie (which IS one of my favorites).
The book plays out as a series of vignettes that are thinly strung together. Forrest bounces from situation to situation (some you'll recognize from the movie). The vignettes are sometimes satirical, sometimes social commentary, and sometimes just plain silly. The language is at times a little difficult to stomach - but Forrest is a character that comes from the pre-civil rights south, and an idiot savant to boot - so, the language is part of the character and the era.
It was a quick read. I enjoyed this, for the most part - I did laugh out loud several times while reading it. It's enjoyable - but won't be shelves among the favorites that I re-read. I gave it 4 stars - because it's not quite a 3. I'd give it a 3 1/2 stars if I could.
Now I'm going to go pop some popcorn and watch the movie (which IS one of my favorites).
kemilyh1988's review against another edition
1.0
Maybe the most stark movie is better than the book experience I have ever had.