AudiobookOne of my recurring complaints about audiobooks is that the reader often seems not to understand the emotional intent of the words -- I find myself often pushing pause while driving so that I can repeat the line I just heard "correctly," with the inflection I think makes more sense. So I was happy to see that this particular audiobook was read by the author himself; I thought "well, obviously, he'll get the inflections right!" Well, I learned from this that writers aren't necessarily actors -- just because they know how it should sound doesn't mean that they can pull it off convincingly. That was a pretty interesting revelation.
Now to the content of the book: uh...
It's basically the story of a guy with a chronic disease. The disease is confusing to him, his family, his employers, and dozens of doctors. It's something new -- something without a name: he has to walk. Without warning, he'll just find himself on his way, unable to slow, compelled to put one foot down in front of the other until he collapses from exhaustion. So, in short, he's got one unbelievably destructive (not to mention destructively unbelievable) ailment.
The story is beautifully written to the point that I paused several times simply to savor a description. I mean, Joshua Ferris has a gift. I'm just sad that the gift was pressed into service for such a ridiculous story. At about two-thirds of the way through, I was DONE with this guy -- frustrated with his stubbornness, his craziness, and just the whole thing. But it kept going...and going....
C+
Now to the content of the book: uh...
It's basically the story of a guy with a chronic disease. The disease is confusing to him, his family, his employers, and dozens of doctors. It's something new -- something without a name: he has to walk. Without warning, he'll just find himself on his way, unable to slow, compelled to put one foot down in front of the other until he collapses from exhaustion. So, in short, he's got one unbelievably destructive (not to mention destructively unbelievable) ailment.
The story is beautifully written to the point that I paused several times simply to savor a description. I mean, Joshua Ferris has a gift. I'm just sad that the gift was pressed into service for such a ridiculous story. At about two-thirds of the way through, I was DONE with this guy -- frustrated with his stubbornness, his craziness, and just the whole thing. But it kept going...and going....
C+
