A Home at the End of the World: A Novel by Michael Cunningham
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Book Reviews of A Home at the End of the World: A Novel
Book Review: Astonishing
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an author and journalist and I have to say this is the best novel I have ever read. True to the word "haunting."Book Review: Sad and beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
This story follows two boys and their relationships with each other and outsiders as they move from childhood into adolescence and eventually into adulthood. The story is told in alternating first person(s) through a variety of characters. While I am not generally crazy about that method of story telling, and it may not add much to the narrative in this case, the technique works reasonably well.
One of the chapters (ch.3, I believe) appeared in the New Yorker some years back as a short story entitled "White Angel." For this chapter alone the book is worth the cover price. It is as moving as any short story I have read in years. Sadly, the book doesn't get quite that good again, but remains quite wonderfully written and entertaining (albeit quite depressing as well).
Few contemporary authors write more artfully, more beautifully than Cunningham, but this cat is depressing. You wouldn't find me reading multiple works of his in succession--they're just too much to take.
Book Review: Reliving this movie!
Summary: 4 Stars
I lived this life, yet I was the female. I grew up in the 60's and moved to NY when I went to Art School. I lived this life, yet I knew when a relationship cannot continue. The movie is great until Clair leaves. Unfortunately she carried part of this and to me the ending was so sad and empty that I finished watching without wanting to turn off the movie! I wanted more. What happened to Bobby when you know he will be left alone, which he never wanted. Why didn't Clair at least say goodbye? I was so sad when it was over that I relived it the next day in my mind!. I adored the music and plan on getting some of it. I wish there would be another part, somehow...although life does not always have happy endings either..Book Review: Wistful and wonderful
Summary: 4 Stars
A novel as beautifully written and emotionally resonant as I expected it to be. Thoroughly satisfying although not perfect. Imperfections consisted of 4 narrative voices that were indistinguishable one from the other and, for such an emotionally honest novel, a motivationally unjustified ending, one that was untrue to the characters as previously written. But by that point, Cunningham has you so in the grip of his storytelling, you are willing to forgive him anything.Book Review: It was okay, but didn't wow me.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is another one of those cases in which I saw the movie and had to read the book. I actually read a lot of books that way, if I enjoy a movie a great deal I want to immerse myself in the characters and the story for as long as possible, as long as it's not one of those books that was adapted from the screenplay, instead of the other way around. This one kind of worked in reverse though, because I Didn't care for the movie, the acting from some of the main characters was not great and the line delivery grated on my nerves. I liked the story concept enough to pick up the book though, because it was sitting on the bargain self at work.
Unfortunately, the book still didn't wow me. It was interesting for the most part while the boys were growing up and growing into themselves. I was heavily disappointed that the author just glanced over Jonathon's moving to New York after High School. Given the boys relationship I would assume that it was more important than only a paragraph or so. In part two it just became tedious. It didn't help that my favorite narrator, Bobby, who was full of good insight and the only character who truly seemed to know what he wanted and wasn't confused to the point selfishness, had the habit of talking like the village idiot. He didn't grow out of it until the very end of the book. The rest of the characters had very human flaws in which they half loved and half despised who they were with, changing with every minute it seemed, and never knew what they wanted even while they had it. I can understand this, but unfortunately it still didn't make it any more interesting for me to read. So, I finished it, and it was alright, but I wasn't riveted.