A review by northship
American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott
2.0
first of all i’m still not sure why this had to have two subtitles (i hate when pop history has cutesy subtitles… a personal pet peeve). i did want to like this book more than i did; i read sin in the second city a few years back and enjoyed it. i appreciate abbott’s almost novelistic writing style about historical matters and the obviously thorough research she does.
in this case, though, it was the structure of the book that left me cold. i still don’t understand why she chose to split the book into non-linear sections but it was so frustrating to me, especially considering the narrative style she employs. i was constantly getting jarred back and forth from different sections of hovick’s life, and it wasn’t even effective as a thematic structure. it annoyed me to the point that i found it difficult to actually focus on what she was trying to say.
the book also could have cut a lot about the minskys (i honestly didn’t care about their entire life history) and it wouldn’t have suffered for it, either.
in this case, though, it was the structure of the book that left me cold. i still don’t understand why she chose to split the book into non-linear sections but it was so frustrating to me, especially considering the narrative style she employs. i was constantly getting jarred back and forth from different sections of hovick’s life, and it wasn’t even effective as a thematic structure. it annoyed me to the point that i found it difficult to actually focus on what she was trying to say.
the book also could have cut a lot about the minskys (i honestly didn’t care about their entire life history) and it wouldn’t have suffered for it, either.