Reviews

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

lara_mfernandes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I think I’ve enjoyed the movie more. Despite the plot being interesting I’ve found it hard to read because of the way it was written which I know was intentional. 

liwybookclub's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

booktrovert_crystal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Forget everything you know about Forrest Gump if you’ve seen the movie. Everything that happens in the movie happens within about 100 pages of the book, and even then, it is drastically changed. Also, the tone is very different. The novel is a satire against the United States political and military climate, (as well as the nature of people in general, I think), rather than the emotional, vulnerable, and humorous feel of the movie.

Think of the novel as something totally separate from the movie. That being said, the story is still entertaining in its own right. Not that it doesn’t have its problems, and there are some serious ones.

It takes some time to get used to the narrator’s voice, as it’s written as though Forrest himself is speaking. He’s made to sound like an idiot (the novel’s words, not mine) and extremely ignorant. But once you get the hang of it, it’s an easy read.

After the hundred page mark, things get pretty ridiculous. Forrest goes to space at one point, he lives on an island with Natives, and he becomes a wrestler.

The worst part of the novel, however, is the blatant racism. It is insulting at one point or another to black people, Asians, Arabs, and Natives. Not to mention women, people with physical disabilities, and people with mental disorders.

If your expectations are based on your enjoyment of the movie, I would unfortunately recommend that you do not read the book. This is one of those rare cases that the film is actually better than the novel.

karlosius's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

belwood303's review against another edition

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2.0

This is one time that I liked the movie more than the book. By the time he gets to the literature class at Harvard I just felt it was trying to hard to make the idiot not really an idiot (ironically the movie pulls this off better because that Gump retains childlike innocence throughout the story). Still this book is so different from the movie that it was an interesting read.

asnook29's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

sammiles501's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

chaddah's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

3.5

colinmc82's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

muddyfiftysix's review against another edition

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4.0

Not nearly as good as the movie but still occasionally really funny and occasionally really heartwarming. I actually haven't laughed this much while reading a book so that was pleasant, on account of I have been having a rough month