“Well, I hated it.
It’s kind of hard to say that because of the book’s subject matter. It makes me feel like I’m saying the subject matter wasn’t important. It’s sort of like being in a writing class where someone writes a non-fiction piece about a past trauma. It’s hard to talk about the problems with the piece without feeling like you’re invalidating the events and the person in some way.
That said, hated it. It didn’t have so much a narrative as it read like a list, a catalouging of atrocities. The only reason I read it was for a book club, and the only reason I finished it is because I downloaded the audiobook and listened to it at 2X speed on my iPod (which I didn’t even know was an option, and now that I do I can’t figure out what use that option has other than this exact sort of thing).
Also, it really felt like ten separate pieces of journalism slapped inside a cover.
And finally, I have to say, I’m sort of disappointed in this as the pick for One Book, One Denver. It just feels like the kind of book that these programs always pick. Something that addresses an issue, which I understand. We want people to have something to talk about. On the other hand, it feels like we’re trying to force people to read things for information’s sake as opposed to reading things that are enjoyable as books on some level. Which is why we still have boring books and textbooks that are virtually unreadable.
I don’t know. This book. Three Cups of Tea. These kinds of books just leave me cold.
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