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A review by jlmb
Heyday by Kurt Andersen
4.0
I ended up really enjoying this book. It started off slow and I was beginning to regret starting a 650 page book but then it turned around once the story got to NYC. There were a ridiculous amount of coincidences in the book - Ben started reminding me of that Woody Allen movie Zelig. Was there any pivotal person from 1848 he didn't run across? I kind of liked the coincidences & the insertion into the story of random famous people (Darwin! Lincoln! De Tocqueville! Poe!) - it was fun.
I found the 4 main characters to be overly modern in their thoughts. All four have absolutely no racial prejudices and no hang ups about sex? Hmmmm. It's a bit like seeing a western made in 1965. The cast is supposed to be from the 1800's but instead the women have big bouffant hairdos and false eyelashes like it's 1965. It's jarring and makes it more difficult for the audience to immerse themselves in the story.
I didn't see that ending coming at all which is always great. I hate reading books where you can predict from the get-go how it will all pan out. I mean, what is the point? I was hoping for a happy ending and got it, somewhat. I wish Andersen had wrapped up the plotlines a bit more. Sometimes I like them all tidied up, with a nice red ribbon on top lol. Oh well.
I found the 4 main characters to be overly modern in their thoughts. All four have absolutely no racial prejudices and no hang ups about sex? Hmmmm. It's a bit like seeing a western made in 1965. The cast is supposed to be from the 1800's but instead the women have big bouffant hairdos and false eyelashes like it's 1965. It's jarring and makes it more difficult for the audience to immerse themselves in the story.
I didn't see that ending coming at all which is always great. I hate reading books where you can predict from the get-go how it will all pan out. I mean, what is the point? I was hoping for a happy ending and got it, somewhat. I wish Andersen had wrapped up the plotlines a bit more. Sometimes I like them all tidied up, with a nice red ribbon on top lol. Oh well.