runkefer's review against another edition
3.0
This is hard to review. The voice was interesting, the characters engaging (if a bit over the top), but the plot was all over the place. Death and mayhem everywhere you looked, somewhat out of sync with the smart-alecky tone. The ending was not quite up to the epic setup. I enjoyed the reading process, but in the end wasn't quite sure what the point was.
violetu's review against another edition
4.0
I love books that make my own family - both birth family and current family - seem really, really normal. Hilarious book, but it also made me cry.
readbyryan's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how I feel about this book. I can't say I liked it, but that's not to mean it's bad. It's well written and mildly entertaining and easy to read. At first I thought this was the comical coming-of-age story of a rich boy from Martha's Vineyard. Around page 150, the book takes a real tragic turn and gets kind of dark. Then the book goes all over the place. I don't feel like this was a story to be told, but at the same time I found myself lost in the characters and the story. I don't get the title at all. It's referenced towards the end and I think it was supposed to be a lesson or moral but I didn't get it. Overall, not a bad read, but not the best.
maddness22's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly emotional gut punch of a read. The first half of the book presented itself as a light-hearted summer read about a dysfunctional family, but the second half is heavy with emotions and a beautiful exposition about life. I agree there's not much of a plot, but the characters and occasionally poignant moments carry it through to the end. Overall, not a bad start to my summer reading this year.
knittingdev's review against another edition
2.0
Mildly amusing, somewhat rambling portrayal of a decidedly dysfunctional family. It's occasionally funny and it's occasionally poignant. Unfortunately, it's neither of these things consistently enough to compensate for a thin, rather aimless plot.
alysebradway's review against another edition
5.0
Amidst the witty banter and the insightful tidbits, Apologize Apologize shows the journey of a young man trying to find himself while surrounded by chaos and gut-wrenching loss. This book is a must read for anybody struggling with self-discovery.
emdashbookparty's review against another edition
2.0
This novel, about a boy named Collie and his narcissistic, alcoholic, emotionally and physically abusive, Irish Catholic family, took a long time to draw me in. Not much happens aside from a lot of Collie establishing just how crazy his parents, uncle, and grandfather are, and then something does happen, and you think "okay, now we'll see some personal growth as a result of this tragedy," but then the last half of the book feels just as aimless as the beginning, only in a more plot-driven way. Like too little happens, and then too much. And neither Collie nor his family seems to change, really? There's some sort of metaphor in there about pigeons finding their way home, but overall, despite normally being all about dysfunctional family stories, I just feel "meh" about this one.
dannafs's review against another edition
4.0
"You treacherous, disloyal, star-fucking sack of shit." In Apologize, Apologize! Elizabeth Kelly made me laugh out loud over and over again. Her characters are witty, belligerent, heartbreaking, and unique. The story is one-of-a-kind, both in its humor and its tragedy. The story is narrated by Collie Flanagan, the grandson of filthy rich Perregrine Lowell, aka the Falcon. Collie's family is a wild and tumultuous group, plagued by indifference, alcoholism, privilege, and noise. He grows up on the Vineyard, with a violently condescending mother, a drunk father and uncle, and his charming younger brother Bingo. When his mother gets sick of him-which is frequent-he is sent off to Cassowary, the Falcon's estate.
It took me a while to figure out where the storyline was going. I remember being 100+ pages in and thinking to myself, "so is there going to be a point to this novel?" However, I was enjoying the writing so much that I didn't really care, and stuck right with it. I always check how many pages are in a book when I'm reading it, counting down how many are left... I didn't even do that! I probably could have read this book for an extra 200 pages! Once the story begins to unfold, it becomes mired in sadness and hysteria. Kelly is able to maintain her witty sense of humor, which makes the depression bearable. Toward the end, I felt like the book lost its believability, but again, I was enjoying it too much to care that the storyline went beyond belief.
I adored each and every one of the characters. Here are quotes that describe the Falcon and Charlie Flanagan.
The Falcon is peaking to Collie: "There comes a point when crazy is preferable to stupid and stupid is preferable to having a profoundly weak character. I'm not convinced that in your case we don't have a trifecta happening."
Charlie (Pop) Flanagan: "'Boys, sometimes this I-slash-me-business just gets you down... 'I drank the Communion wine. I got drunk. I passed out and missed my own mother's funeral. I dishonored my dear wife with other women. Woe is me.' Where does it get you? Try substituting 'he' for 'I' and it sets a lovely distance in place. Not that you're trying to avoid responsibility--just you're aiming for a little breathing room.
"'Put it another way: 'Charlie Flanagan stole the money his brother William had been saving for a year to purchase an old car and used it to buy drinks for everyone at the local bar instead.' Do you see the merit? You view your deeds in the cold light of day with no great loss of self-esteem. Your good opinion of yourself is very important. Well, in the end, what else have you got? If I say, 'Charlie Flanagan gave his aunt Colleen a Christmas gift of white bark chocolate, which he then took back and hid in his coat jacket as he was leaving the house--'
'Did you really, Pop?" Bingo interrupted.
'He did indeed. But maybe he had good reason, which he's not prepared to go into for the sake of an old lady who's been dead and whose memory, however complicated, deserves to be considered in respectful silence. Do you see the magic of it, boys? As a species, we tend to go easier on the other guy--at least in public. Make yourself the other guy. People will hurt you, boys. The work compels suffering. Satan is a first-person man. Be kind to yourselves, and always remember God is in the third person.'"
It took me a while to figure out where the storyline was going. I remember being 100+ pages in and thinking to myself, "so is there going to be a point to this novel?" However, I was enjoying the writing so much that I didn't really care, and stuck right with it. I always check how many pages are in a book when I'm reading it, counting down how many are left... I didn't even do that! I probably could have read this book for an extra 200 pages! Once the story begins to unfold, it becomes mired in sadness and hysteria. Kelly is able to maintain her witty sense of humor, which makes the depression bearable. Toward the end, I felt like the book lost its believability, but again, I was enjoying it too much to care that the storyline went beyond belief.
I adored each and every one of the characters. Here are quotes that describe the Falcon and Charlie Flanagan.
The Falcon is peaking to Collie: "There comes a point when crazy is preferable to stupid and stupid is preferable to having a profoundly weak character. I'm not convinced that in your case we don't have a trifecta happening."
Charlie (Pop) Flanagan: "'Boys, sometimes this I-slash-me-business just gets you down... 'I drank the Communion wine. I got drunk. I passed out and missed my own mother's funeral. I dishonored my dear wife with other women. Woe is me.' Where does it get you? Try substituting 'he' for 'I' and it sets a lovely distance in place. Not that you're trying to avoid responsibility--just you're aiming for a little breathing room.
"'Put it another way: 'Charlie Flanagan stole the money his brother William had been saving for a year to purchase an old car and used it to buy drinks for everyone at the local bar instead.' Do you see the merit? You view your deeds in the cold light of day with no great loss of self-esteem. Your good opinion of yourself is very important. Well, in the end, what else have you got? If I say, 'Charlie Flanagan gave his aunt Colleen a Christmas gift of white bark chocolate, which he then took back and hid in his coat jacket as he was leaving the house--'
'Did you really, Pop?" Bingo interrupted.
'He did indeed. But maybe he had good reason, which he's not prepared to go into for the sake of an old lady who's been dead and whose memory, however complicated, deserves to be considered in respectful silence. Do you see the magic of it, boys? As a species, we tend to go easier on the other guy--at least in public. Make yourself the other guy. People will hurt you, boys. The work compels suffering. Satan is a first-person man. Be kind to yourselves, and always remember God is in the third person.'"
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