annabella82's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this book a 3.5 star rating...
Rosecrans Baldwin's debut novel is interesting (an Alzheimer researcher wrestles with his own memories...haha, wink,wink).
I liked the idea of the inconsistency of memories and the difficulties associated with getting over death. Baldwin does such a great job at weaving in details. There are often so many little things we remember while the more important details slip away.
Rosecrans Baldwin's debut novel is interesting (an Alzheimer researcher wrestles with his own memories...haha, wink,wink).
I liked the idea of the inconsistency of memories and the difficulties associated with getting over death. Baldwin does such a great job at weaving in details. There are often so many little things we remember while the more important details slip away.
jengiuffre's review
1.0
yuck. I don't usually have negative feelings about books, but this one just left me irritated.
I thought the premise sounded great, thought it started out intriguing...then what was that I just read? The characters were annoying and I feel like the whole premise I was sold on the cover fell flat. I didn't learn much at all about Alzheimer's or memory like some reviewers have stated. Several times I thought - oh, ok, if the author follows this through it will be good....then he didn't.
I thought the premise sounded great, thought it started out intriguing...then what was that I just read? The characters were annoying and I feel like the whole premise I was sold on the cover fell flat. I didn't learn much at all about Alzheimer's or memory like some reviewers have stated. Several times I thought - oh, ok, if the author follows this through it will be good....then he didn't.
baklavopita's review
4.0
Sophisticated about the way people in a relationship view the same events differently. I became so very fond of the protagonist.
brettp's review against another edition
1.0
Finished "You Lost Me There" by Rosecrans Baldwin. Holy crap, did the author ever lose me. I nearly gave up halfway through but because I haven't reached the point where I can put a bad book down like a rabid dog, I finished it. The cover said "intelligent prose, [...] wears its smarts lightly and probes its emotions deeply." It's possible I'm just too stupid to get the intelligent prose, but wasn't one of the faults of the main character that he hasn't grieved for his late wife? Denial does not equal probing your emotions deeply. Not recommended by me. Ask someone smart.
spilled's review
3.0
I thought I would like this book, and I think it was well written, but I just did not like the main character and he would have been served well to have been whacked on the head about 2/3 in. Meh.
chrisiant's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. Might go back and try it again sometime, but it just failed to grab me this time. Nothing I actively disliked, I just never got engaged with it.
leerazer's review
3.0
I definitely wanted to like it more than I did. The written dialogue is frequently clunky, almost as if rather than holding a conversation the characters are just throwing words at each other. Maybe that's reflective of Victor's malaise and difficulty relating to other people but it made for a sometimes irksome reading experience.
Cornelia, the young dreadlocked liberated vegan hippy and live-in goddaughter, I thought was a largely unnecessary and weak character. Her provacative presence in his house seems meant to be the impulsive spark that finally, years after his wife's death, helps drive Victor to his emotional breakthrough/breakdown, but besides the character being annoying, I found this dynamic and relationship unconvincing. In addition it forced the inclusion of scenes featuring her father, sadly another annoying pest of a character who even Victor, his childhood best friend, can't wait to be rid of. Better to have struck this part of the novel out and found another means of propelling Victor out of his emotionally deadened rut.
Yet Baldwin clearly has talent and parts of the novel do shine, enough to keep me reading to the end. As others note, the note cards left behind by Sara that provide her view of her and Victor's marriage are particularly strong. Anyway, as a debut novelist Baldwin is certainly entitled to not yet be at the top of his game. I'll not hesitate to read his second novel.
And if you're looking for an excellent novel about a man dealing with the loss of his wife, consider taking a look at A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias...
Cornelia, the young dreadlocked liberated vegan hippy and live-in goddaughter, I thought was a largely unnecessary and weak character. Her provacative presence in his house seems meant to be the impulsive spark that finally, years after his wife's death, helps drive Victor to his emotional breakthrough/breakdown, but besides the character being annoying, I found this dynamic and relationship unconvincing. In addition it forced the inclusion of scenes featuring her father, sadly another annoying pest of a character who even Victor, his childhood best friend, can't wait to be rid of. Better to have struck this part of the novel out and found another means of propelling Victor out of his emotionally deadened rut.
Yet Baldwin clearly has talent and parts of the novel do shine, enough to keep me reading to the end. As others note, the note cards left behind by Sara that provide her view of her and Victor's marriage are particularly strong. Anyway, as a debut novelist Baldwin is certainly entitled to not yet be at the top of his game. I'll not hesitate to read his second novel.
And if you're looking for an excellent novel about a man dealing with the loss of his wife, consider taking a look at A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias...
lavina_l's review
2.0
Try as I might, I couldn't make myself believe that the narrator, Victor (widower, neuroscientist), is a middle-aged man, a nerdy scientist one at that -- the voice wasn't quite right, the references were a little too hip -- and that pretty much ruined the rest for me.