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A review by nglofile
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
2.0
More accurately: 1 1/2 stars, but I'll bestow the benefit of the doubt. I did not enjoy this book, neither story nor audio recording.
It was a rocky start, and not only did I have difficulty distinguishing the three central women but I struggled even to care that I couldn't separate them or their situations. The story perked up when we flashed back to their teen years, and I sincerely wish that Big Earl had played a larger and more active role in the book. We kept hearing about the impact he had, but little was shown, and that for this reader was a glaring missed opportunity.
The eccentric characters and local color were mostly a miss for me, sometimes offensively so. Also, I have little patience for any work, much less one written by a man, in which a female character expresses the thought that if she had earlier realized the freedom that comes with extramarital relationships, she would have been more forgiving of her husband's serial (and public) infidelity.
audiobook note: Though both narrators have great voices that should have enhanced the narrative, the performances were actually distracting. I was constantly reminded of the fact that they were reading, almost as if this were being delivered as an oral report in front of a classroom, and that's not the experience I expect from high-quality narration. I want the story to flow easily, to be effortless and emotive. When the cadence of each pair of sentences seems to first rise and then fall, giving an impression of singsong-like falsity, and when words are too carefully articulated, it is more difficult to lose oneself in the story.
It was a rocky start, and not only did I have difficulty distinguishing the three central women but I struggled even to care that I couldn't separate them or their situations. The story perked up when we flashed back to their teen years, and I sincerely wish that Big Earl had played a larger and more active role in the book. We kept hearing about the impact he had, but little was shown, and that for this reader was a glaring missed opportunity.
The eccentric characters and local color were mostly a miss for me, sometimes offensively so. Also, I have little patience for any work, much less one written by a man, in which a female character expresses the thought that if she had earlier realized the freedom that comes with extramarital relationships, she would have been more forgiving of her husband's serial (and public) infidelity.
audiobook note: Though both narrators have great voices that should have enhanced the narrative, the performances were actually distracting. I was constantly reminded of the fact that they were reading, almost as if this were being delivered as an oral report in front of a classroom, and that's not the experience I expect from high-quality narration. I want the story to flow easily, to be effortless and emotive. When the cadence of each pair of sentences seems to first rise and then fall, giving an impression of singsong-like falsity, and when words are too carefully articulated, it is more difficult to lose oneself in the story.