2 posts tagged “book review”
**this does contain a little bit of a spoiler, so if you intend to read it, stop now if knowing the last line of the book will ruin it for you!**
I finished this book in one day. It's not a difficult thing to read and your curiosity has you turning the pages. I sometimes forgot it was fiction. The author makes a lot of blunt and honest remarks about life and the situations we sometimes find ourselves in, the stereotypes we are labeled by, so on and so forth. It's like extracting all the sugar out of a story and leaving nothing but plain reality behind. I appreciate that. It's not the most uplifting or inspiring thing you can read, but it's as real as they come (for being fake).
I've been to NY several times now, so it was so easy for me to build this world in my mind that he summons with words. It made the experience of reading it feel more raw and real to me. It was a little extreme at times though.
The final sentence bothered me. "In Brooklyn I am content, the closest we can come to a sustained happiness."
I want to disagree with that but the problem is I can't, because underneath all of my optimism and that reach-for-the-stars attitude that I am occasionally able to muster, I know it's true.
I once told someone that I am content with my life, and they responded that it's not enough to be content with your life, to always be left comfortable but still wanting more and being too comfortable to really find the drive to go after it.
But the point is that it IS sustainable. Life is a series of ups and downs, often giving us extreme pleasure or extreme sadness. Contentedness is the steady line on the graph, and occasionally the needle dips above and below but it always returns to that same place.
The young man the story follows is a perfect example of how we (at least some people, or at least at some time or another) are able to keep moving on by turning tragic or discouraging events into the least dramatic thing you can think of, and then stepping over them as though you were expecting them and preparing for them all along.
It's like building a career in a profession where you have to touch dead bodies all day or get over the squeamishness that you might feel about something, eventually you become desensitized. I think every loss we experience in life helps build up our resistance to crashing down the next time something really bad happens, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing. That's the question this book arose in my mind. I guess, as with most things, it's all a matter of circumstance and perspective.
It's just incredible what we can talk ourselves into or out of to get by every day.
Overall a good read. Again, refreshing if for no other reason, it's a message not laced with sugar.
I finished this book in one day. It's not a difficult thing to read and your curiosity has you turning the pages. I sometimes forgot it was fiction. The author makes a lot of blunt and honest remarks about life and the situations we sometimes find ourselves in, the stereotypes we are labeled by, so on and so forth. It's like extracting all the sugar out of a story and leaving nothing but plain reality behind. I appreciate that. It's not the most uplifting or inspiring thing you can read, but it's as real as they come (for being fake).
I've been to NY several times now, so it was so easy for me to build this world in my mind that he summons with words. It made the experience of reading it feel more raw and real to me. It was a little extreme at times though.
The final sentence bothered me. "In Brooklyn I am content, the closest we can come to a sustained happiness."
I want to disagree with that but the problem is I can't, because underneath all of my optimism and that reach-for-the-stars attitude that I am occasionally able to muster, I know it's true.
I once told someone that I am content with my life, and they responded that it's not enough to be content with your life, to always be left comfortable but still wanting more and being too comfortable to really find the drive to go after it.
But the point is that it IS sustainable. Life is a series of ups and downs, often giving us extreme pleasure or extreme sadness. Contentedness is the steady line on the graph, and occasionally the needle dips above and below but it always returns to that same place.
The young man the story follows is a perfect example of how we (at least some people, or at least at some time or another) are able to keep moving on by turning tragic or discouraging events into the least dramatic thing you can think of, and then stepping over them as though you were expecting them and preparing for them all along.
It's like building a career in a profession where you have to touch dead bodies all day or get over the squeamishness that you might feel about something, eventually you become desensitized. I think every loss we experience in life helps build up our resistance to crashing down the next time something really bad happens, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing. That's the question this book arose in my mind. I guess, as with most things, it's all a matter of circumstance and perspective.
It's just incredible what we can talk ourselves into or out of to get by every day.
Overall a good read. Again, refreshing if for no other reason, it's a message not laced with sugar.
This book is a true testament to the notion that if you work hard enough you can turn anything upside down right side up. I love memoirs. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm always able to empathize with a lot of what the authors are saying (as many people do), or if it's because I feel like you grow with them on this journey through their past. Every time I read a book like this I feel like I've ingested some small yet significant grain of knowledge.
The author explains the hardships and trials of her childhood and her struggle to depart from the life and stigma of her rickety upbringing. Her character and strength shine through, and her story is remarkable. It is a truly inspiring read.
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