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graciegrace1178's review
3.0
3.4 stars. This was a decent accompaniment to my Forest To Sea quilting hours. I retained nothing tho.
PT: books that have been on my TBR for too long, unreliable narrators, characters with Alzheimer’s, Troubled Protagonist TM, social criticism
WIL
1) social critiques. Oh Ho!!! Some big ideas i this one. I can support that!!
2) quotes: “I am nothing but a mosaic of the people I’ve met and the things they’ve carried”
“The world knows no shackles so rigid and unforgiving as certainty for certainty leaves no room for debate”
“Who are we? Ourselves or the people we pretend to be?”
“Truth is the enemy of the mystery…[people] want to live inside the stories they tell themselves about the world.”
“Maybe it is worth it to think about how you feel sometimes…Maybe it’s not a weakness to give parts of yourself to other people”
3) Ransom Riggs esque. The characters have a certain darkness about them that feels Riggs-esque.
4) trauma and the brain’s way of coping. YES. YE S. This is a large part of the reason this book gets a 3+ star rating. BLOCKED MEMORIES. ONE OF MY FAVORITE TROPES!!!!
WIDL
1) Literally What. What was going on? There were like. A whole lot of different plot lines weaving through here, and they didn’t tie together as much as I’d have liked.
NEUTRAL GROUND:
1) I get the impression that this author is a remarkably eloquent fella with lots of great ideas and WONDERFUL personal quotes. Thats awesome! But I don’t know that THIS particular narrative was the best way to get those ideas across. So while I loved the quotes, I loved them mostly in isolation from the rest of the narrative. This is a book from which I will cherry pick ideas without ever really immersing myself in the narrative.
PT: books that have been on my TBR for too long, unreliable narrators, characters with Alzheimer’s, Troubled Protagonist TM, social criticism
WIL
1) social critiques. Oh Ho!!! Some big ideas i this one. I can support that!!
2) quotes: “I am nothing but a mosaic of the people I’ve met and the things they’ve carried”
“The world knows no shackles so rigid and unforgiving as certainty for certainty leaves no room for debate”
“Who are we? Ourselves or the people we pretend to be?”
“Truth is the enemy of the mystery…[people] want to live inside the stories they tell themselves about the world.”
“Maybe it is worth it to think about how you feel sometimes…Maybe it’s not a weakness to give parts of yourself to other people”
3) Ransom Riggs esque. The characters have a certain darkness about them that feels Riggs-esque.
4) trauma and the brain’s way of coping. YES. YE S. This is a large part of the reason this book gets a 3+ star rating. BLOCKED MEMORIES. ONE OF MY FAVORITE TROPES!!!!
WIDL
1) Literally What. What was going on? There were like. A whole lot of different plot lines weaving through here, and they didn’t tie together as much as I’d have liked.
NEUTRAL GROUND:
1) I get the impression that this author is a remarkably eloquent fella with lots of great ideas and WONDERFUL personal quotes. Thats awesome! But I don’t know that THIS particular narrative was the best way to get those ideas across. So while I loved the quotes, I loved them mostly in isolation from the rest of the narrative. This is a book from which I will cherry pick ideas without ever really immersing myself in the narrative.
cronads's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Mass/school shootings
thatsunnylife's review
5.0
this book is messy and incoherent at times, so honestly it should be a 4/5 read
but the way it made me FEEL?? I can’t give it any less than 5 stars
but the way it made me FEEL?? I can’t give it any less than 5 stars
justinies's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I cried
edens_bookshelf's review
5.0
I honestly don’t think i’m every going to recover from this book. It was so beautifully written and i think the parts i mostly enjoyed were Arthur’s journal entries. My favorite was where he said “i am nothing but a mosaic of the people i’ve met and the things they’ve carried.” idk but that one hit home for me. And then.. at the end of the book, when it all came full circle… i cried like a BABY! This book truly showed how much trauma can deeply effect you and your mental health. Arthur Louis Pullman went through a life no human should have to go through. From practically starting a revolution, to watching five people die because of you, to burying the love of your life, and having to marry a woman you don’t love the way you should. The death of his loved one hit him so. hard. that he forced everything down in order to put it in the past.. yet he lived with the guilt. It was such a powerful story and is going in my top three standalones. 5/5 loved and will forever remember
ecandrews0's review
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
natnurdock's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content and War
cornmaven's review against another edition
5.0
This is not your average YA novel, and skews toward older teens/new adults, especially those who like to think. Arthur Louis Pullman III goes on a quest to discover who his grandfather, a JD Salinger type, really was. Lots of metaphors involved in the train trip, as he chases clues to this man who is idolized for his one and only novel written during the heart of the Vietnam War. His father, OTOH, saw only a drunk and a failure while growing up. The story begins in California and ends at the Kent State Memorial in Ohio.
Arthur III meets colorful characters of course, and in the end discovers a bit about humans, himself, and how things are often not what they seem.
Arthur III meets colorful characters of course, and in the end discovers a bit about humans, himself, and how things are often not what they seem.