Book Cupidity: did you re-review this in the last year or so? I know I discovered it here on BL, so it might have been from you. If so, THANK YOU! Also - I DID NOT LIKE THE END!!! But I wasn't supposed to, so Thank You!! :)
When I mentioned I was reading this in my GR group a couple of people responded saying almost the same thing you did "Yay! Someone else is finally reading this book!!!" - One of them "Nothing better than a good book" here on BL, so you are definitely not alone in your love of this book.
And yes, I agree - this is absolutely the best form of epistolary writing I've read - you lose *nothing* and the author introduces so many of the important themes with such subtly. It really just would not have worked any other way.
Nope! I was totally ambushed. I totally bought into the letter he writes to Joey about All-Stars staying on the boat. I had to read the telegram twice, and then I kept waiting for it to be one of those "oops! wrong one!" errors the government was known to have made once in awhile. I'm so freaking naive.... :P
Smokes! No need to stop! Did you know they apparently teach this book in high school? I love it, not only because it's SUCH a good book, but because I love that juniors and seniors are being taught this book with its language and nobody is getting their knickers in a knot about it. lol...
And thank you again for making me aware of this book. My reading life is better for it. :)
10 years ago
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS REVIEW. I love discussing this book.
First, knew you would love it! And I knew the ending would ambush you, and ambush is the perfect word. That's exactly how I felt. BookCupidity( hello, so glad you love this books too:) ) I envy the fact you got to brace yourself. I would have loved this book regardless, but that ending makes it unforgettable. This book is the reason I hate when authors emotionally manipulate to play with my emotions. I recently knocked a book for that. This felt natural, when you find out it's jarring BUT plausible. It's done right, not manufactured.
This book got under my skin, I loved it. First off - laughed out loud soooo much. I didn't want it to end. If someone asks "Why is your head always in a book?" this is one of the books you hand to them so they get it. And I agree - It is the standard of the epistolary novel. Perfectly done. And I remember where I was, what time of day it was when I read the "twist". Evening, pillow in lap, book on pillow, spring, window was open. I re-read the telegram too! And I did full on ugly cry. Cuz of it, its a difficult re-read for me. But I am going to, cuz this book def is one that pushed me to reading more. I read this pre- GR and pre-BL so I need to re-read and rate it.
So glad you loved it! When I think about this book I feel like reading in the hopes of finding one just as good if it makes sense. It is that good.
Well, it's awfully fresh in my memory at the moment, but yeah, I'll likely remember one moment thinking "I want to read this part to MT, because it's hysterical - no, I'm going to make him read it himself" while lying on my bed, on a warm autumn day, with the window's open, right before our planned bbq, trying to finish it before friends arrived - and the next moment, reading that telegram, and rushing into the bathroom for very cold water on my eyes before they walked in and wondered why I was crying and trying to explain it was over a book about baseball.
Apologies for that massive, run-on sentence. :P
I have been wondering myself if I'll be able to re-read this book; knowing the ending ahead of time will still gut me. But gah - it's so freaking funny!!
How did this author not win any award for this book?!?!
You know, when he enlisted I thought to myself "oh god, this can't end well" and truly thought there just could not be another ending possible. But then there was that letter I alluded to earlier, about the All-Stars and the boat, and I thought "ah hah! That's how he's going to pull this off" - and I figured his best friend was going to be sacrificed to the story and he'd come back from it all a more serious, reserved Charlie.
So, you know, I set myself up, because all of this was running through the back of my head when that telegram was suddenly there, on the page. Ambushed. And me saying to myself "no, no NO!" and "I HATE CRYING!!!"
But I agree - there just couldn't be any other ending to this book that would have been as honest as this one. And Kluger shows his brilliance by not making the reader wallow in it: he gives us only what we need to know for closure and he doesn't belittle Joey's shattered world by trying to explain it or involve the reader in it. He seems to trust that the reader is shattered enough by the events without harping on them.
Again - how did Kluger not win anything for this book???
When I mentioned I was reading this in my GR group a couple of people responded saying almost the same thing you did "Yay! Someone else is finally reading this book!!!" - One of them "Nothing better than a good book" here on BL, so you are definitely not alone in your love of this book.
And yes, I agree - this is absolutely the best form of epistolary writing I've read - you lose *nothing* and the author introduces so many of the important themes with such subtly. It really just would not have worked any other way.
Smokes! No need to stop! Did you know they apparently teach this book in high school? I love it, not only because it's SUCH a good book, but because I love that juniors and seniors are being taught this book with its language and nobody is getting their knickers in a knot about it. lol...
And thank you again for making me aware of this book. My reading life is better for it. :)
First, knew you would love it! And I knew the ending would ambush you, and ambush is the perfect word. That's exactly how I felt. BookCupidity( hello, so glad you love this books too:) ) I envy the fact you got to brace yourself. I would have loved this book regardless, but that ending makes it unforgettable. This book is the reason I hate when authors emotionally manipulate to play with my emotions. I recently knocked a book for that. This felt natural, when you find out it's jarring BUT plausible. It's done right, not manufactured.
This book got under my skin, I loved it. First off - laughed out loud soooo much. I didn't want it to end. If someone asks "Why is your head always in a book?" this is one of the books you hand to them so they get it. And I agree - It is the standard of the epistolary novel. Perfectly done. And I remember where I was, what time of day it was when I read the "twist". Evening, pillow in lap, book on pillow, spring, window was open. I re-read the telegram too! And I did full on ugly cry. Cuz of it, its a difficult re-read for me. But I am going to, cuz this book def is one that pushed me to reading more. I read this pre- GR and pre-BL so I need to re-read and rate it.
So glad you loved it! When I think about this book I feel like reading in the hopes of finding one just as good if it makes sense. It is that good.
Apologies for that massive, run-on sentence. :P
I have been wondering myself if I'll be able to re-read this book; knowing the ending ahead of time will still gut me. But gah - it's so freaking funny!!
How did this author not win any award for this book?!?!
So, you know, I set myself up, because all of this was running through the back of my head when that telegram was suddenly there, on the page. Ambushed. And me saying to myself "no, no NO!" and "I HATE CRYING!!!"
But I agree - there just couldn't be any other ending to this book that would have been as honest as this one. And Kluger shows his brilliance by not making the reader wallow in it: he gives us only what we need to know for closure and he doesn't belittle Joey's shattered world by trying to explain it or involve the reader in it. He seems to trust that the reader is shattered enough by the events without harping on them.
Again - how did Kluger not win anything for this book???