Dawkins combines intellectual logic with academic disdain for pop-culture thinking not so much to examine the question of what God is, but to describe the futility of insisting that God exists at all. His prose may be a bit elitist for many, a bit more barbed than Sam Harris but less vitriolic than Christopher Hitchens. When I heard Dawkins' interview on NPR, I knew this was the book for me, and I was not disappointed.
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(12 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
I enjoyed this book for Hosseini's skill with language and his gift for telling a good story. We are given a perspective on life in Afghanistan that is much more approachable than what we've seen in the news over the last few years, and a much more digestible perspective on how the Taliban came to the country and what it's done to the people who've lived through its occupation.
I will acknowledge that there are many coincidences that seem to resolve some of the plot elements a little too conveniently, and the final solution to Sohrab's dilemma is just a little too neatly crafted, but overall the story is well-written and satisfying at its end.
I suspect that its film version will be well-regarded, but having read this novel, there is no reason for me to see the movie. Hossein's narrative style is extremely visual, and this novel reads cinematically. If the film omits anything from the novel, the story will be diminished, and there is nothing to add that will improve it. A violent act performed on a child is a central event in the story, and I would anticipate that a big screen portrayal of that event will be disturbing regardless of how it is presented.
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(11 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
Jack Whyte's grasp of history is very strong, and is the centerpiece to the backstory of the fictional King Arthur and (second cousin?) Merlyn, told against the backdrop of 5th century England.
The Singing Sword tells the story of Caius Britannicus and Publius Varrus, brothers-in-law whose bloodlines will produce both Arthur and Merlyn. Whyte's characterization of these men and the details of the day-to-day events that shape the greatness that inspires their progeny is much less compelling than their military and political achievements overall.
The dialogue in this novel is artificial, and the problems encountered by Caius and Publius, though presented as challenging, are rather contrived. It's almost as though Whyte developed his conflict resolutions first, and then created conflicts to fit the resolutions he needed.
I suppose that within the context of writing about an existing fictional character it would be necessary to do so, but as the vehicle for a novel, it doesn't work very well at all.
Having said that, I am staying with the series, although I am reading these books out of order. The backstory on King Arthur is just interesting enough to hold my attention, despite the rather bland storytelling.
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(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
I've heard about the sequel to this, but had no idea that this gem would find its way to the top of the best-seller list a good 15 years after I read it. Every review I've heard or seen on Pillars of the Earth expresses my reaction to this book... it is an absolute page turner, and without question one of the top ten best books I've ever read (all of Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles together can't touch this single volume historical epic). The characters are very well crafted, the storyline is complex enough to be challenging, but the story is told so clearly that its readers won't get lost in it. I only hope that nobody tries to adapt it for the big screen... movie makers will inevitably omit something compelling or critical.
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(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
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smacn27076 has commented on (4) products.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
smacn27076, January 17, 2008
Dawkins combines intellectual logic with academic disdain for pop-culture thinking not so much to examine the question of what God is, but to describe the futility of insisting that God exists at all. His prose may be a bit elitist for many, a bit more barbed than Sam Harris but less vitriolic than Christopher Hitchens. When I heard Dawkins' interview on NPR, I knew this was the book for me, and I was not disappointed.(12 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
smacn27076, January 11, 2008
I enjoyed this book for Hosseini's skill with language and his gift for telling a good story. We are given a perspective on life in Afghanistan that is much more approachable than what we've seen in the news over the last few years, and a much more digestible perspective on how the Taliban came to the country and what it's done to the people who've lived through its occupation.I will acknowledge that there are many coincidences that seem to resolve some of the plot elements a little too conveniently, and the final solution to Sohrab's dilemma is just a little too neatly crafted, but overall the story is well-written and satisfying at its end.
I suspect that its film version will be well-regarded, but having read this novel, there is no reason for me to see the movie. Hossein's narrative style is extremely visual, and this novel reads cinematically. If the film omits anything from the novel, the story will be diminished, and there is nothing to add that will improve it. A violent act performed on a child is a central event in the story, and I would anticipate that a big screen portrayal of that event will be disturbing regardless of how it is presented.
(11 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
The Singing Sword by Jack Whyte
smacn27076, January 3, 2008
Jack Whyte's grasp of history is very strong, and is the centerpiece to the backstory of the fictional King Arthur and (second cousin?) Merlyn, told against the backdrop of 5th century England.The Singing Sword tells the story of Caius Britannicus and Publius Varrus, brothers-in-law whose bloodlines will produce both Arthur and Merlyn. Whyte's characterization of these men and the details of the day-to-day events that shape the greatness that inspires their progeny is much less compelling than their military and political achievements overall.
The dialogue in this novel is artificial, and the problems encountered by Caius and Publius, though presented as challenging, are rather contrived. It's almost as though Whyte developed his conflict resolutions first, and then created conflicts to fit the resolutions he needed.
I suppose that within the context of writing about an existing fictional character it would be necessary to do so, but as the vehicle for a novel, it doesn't work very well at all.
Having said that, I am staying with the series, although I am reading these books out of order. The backstory on King Arthur is just interesting enough to hold my attention, despite the rather bland storytelling.
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
smacn27076, November 15, 2007
I've heard about the sequel to this, but had no idea that this gem would find its way to the top of the best-seller list a good 15 years after I read it. Every review I've heard or seen on Pillars of the Earth expresses my reaction to this book... it is an absolute page turner, and without question one of the top ten best books I've ever read (all of Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles together can't touch this single volume historical epic). The characters are very well crafted, the storyline is complex enough to be challenging, but the story is told so clearly that its readers won't get lost in it. I only hope that nobody tries to adapt it for the big screen... movie makers will inevitably omit something compelling or critical.(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)