Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “My, what a voluptuous tome. Manifold story lines reveal the story of America in the 2nd half of the 20th century. -recurring motifs of waste and baseball and Cold War- very difficult read (too much like short story collection in parts) and I admit to skimming a few chapters in the 2nd half, but...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate this book. 900+ pages, 200+ characters. Sounds like fun to you? Not for me, either.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“My, what a voluptuous tome. Manifold story lines reveal the story of America in the 2nd half of the 20th century. -recurring motifs of waste and baseball and Cold War- very difficult read (too much like short story collection in parts) and I admit to skimming a few chapters in the 2nd half, but oh so well written”
Jenny A wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate this book. 900+ pages, 200+ characters. Sounds like fun to you? Not for me, either.”
Joe B wrote this review Tuesday, December 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“One of the best works of fiction I've ever read. Every page is a masterwork of the English language.”
Bollocks! wrote this review Tuesday, October 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I want to like him, but I cannot yet get used to him. Some things I think are exceptional, others, I just want him to gow away. Is this good, bad, or what? I haven't decided yet.”
Dave M wrote this review Saturday, October 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I've read it, sort of. Tried it twice... till I stopped reading it, both time on the same page. The chapter starts with, He spread the mayonnaise on the bread... Maybe it's a secret sentence that makes me stop reading any book...”
J-D M wrote this review Friday, September 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The opening chapter in this book would make a great launch for an American Studies research project, focusing on the late twentieth century. The "Shot Heard 'Round the World".....I don't even like baseball and this book hooked me!
Nancy K wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A personal connection: our school building is featured in the photograph on the cover of the paperback edition (lower right hand side).
”
“I liked the book, but I must confess that I didn't finish it. I tried really, really hard to finish, but found it almost impossible to. After reading it for a long time and only making my way through about half of it, I just couldn't go on any longer.
Alex K wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
There are several different stories interwoven and criss crossed with each other. it is hard to sum this book up in a short review. A story of the cross-town series winning ball and men searching for it, a PR executive in a garbage firm all somehow interconnected. ”
“The towers fell. I knew it would be a long time before I'd want to see anything on television. I knew I didn't want to surf the web. I picked the largest unread book on the shelf, something to dive into, a world to inhabit while the world stopped for a moment. The cover, to begin with. And that first gorgeous line, the entire Prologue, leading us to Nick Shay and his Lexus, flashing in the sun. Required reading for the 21st Century.”
Frances Badgett wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This is my favorite book. I really don't even remember a plot...I just remember the joy of finding perfect paragraphs that thrilled me. Maybe you have to be a word junkie to love this...I am...I did”
Myrna G wrote this review Wednesday, August 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The ultimate postmodernist simulacrum act of reading would be to read this novel using a Kindle. I dare you.
Mark V wrote this review Wednesday, August 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Below the surface and connected to everything is 13, waste, crime, the Internet, nuclear arsenals, Branca and Thompson, Nick and Klara, art, the Jesuits, the Bronx, Arizona, and frozen faces not knowing the direction to flee.
Reading it has been an adventure but now, having finished it, I can say that it was worth it.”
