Poorly written, one dimensional wooden characters, overly sentimental. Read something else. ( )

There's no failing for those with hope!

Matthew Quick has a remarkable talent building unique characters, worlds and stories that bring humanity to light. Portia Kane had been married to a lying, disrespectful porn producer for years and upon discovering him screwing a teen, escapes to live with her mother who rarely speaks and watches TV all day.

Soon after she finds solace with a high school girlfriend who waits tables at the local dive. Reflecting on the 'good ol' days, she removes a card given to her by Mr. Vernon, "Member of the Human Race" holding inspirational quotes on the back. As they chat, her desire to be an author is reignited due Vernon's support for his students and unique approach to educating. When she learns he'd been hiding in VT for years due to a beating inflicted by a student, she decides to become his savior, and in the process finds love in her backyard. Once again the author uses themes of love, hope and joy to drive the story and as with all his books, characters are quirky, dysfunctional and unique. And while well paced and engaging, the plot is a somewhat predictable, hence a 4 star rating. I've read other books by Quick, and find his skill at immersing the reader in a story world through evocative plots and characters rates with the best, and look forward to reading the others. For those who enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook, you'll find this book equal in many ways. ( )

This was never getting more than 3 stars after the Albert Camus business near the beginning, but I was interested enough in the story to continue, even after that plot decision. I saw what the author was doing with it, but I do not forgive.
Matthew Quick, in my short experience with him, strikes me as a fan of the redemptive tale, and since I too am a fan, I enjoy what I've experienced so far. I really liked the ending of this book. It made me cry, and I do love a good book cry.
The audio book was well-performed by multiple actors. I picked up the book when there were about 60 pages left, and found myself getting sucked back into the story and blowing through it. I had been at a point where I just wanted it to be over. I thought he was juggling too many plots, and I didn't like Danielle's fate any more than I liked that of Albert Camus. And I didn't think either was necessary.
A lot of people have a problem with Portia, and I agree, she's not very likeable. But I don't see her as some representation of Quick's view of women, as some have. I think she's just a flawed character with a lot of baggage. I didn't love her, but I still wanted a happy ending for her.
I liked the nuns, except for the constant references to Jesus as "my husband". I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a character quirk or if nuns actually talk that way. I suspect it's the former.
The constant references to heavy metal became tiresome, mainly because I couldn't relate to that level of devotion to it after high school (OK, and maybe a bit in college).
I plan to check out more of Quick's work. I liked The Good Luck of Right Now more than this, and Silver Linings Playbook too (even though I haven't read the book yet). I wouldn't recommend picking this up first if you've never tried any of his other books. ( )

I'd give it a 4.5 but Goodreads doesn't allow it. Made me happy. ( )

So, this book had an interesting effect on me.

Within the first 20 pages I wanted to set it down, return it to the library, give it a one star rating and shelve it as partially-read. I wanted to do that. The only reason I didn't is that I know I'll inevitably go through my partially-read bookshelf at some point and try and finish everything there. So. That left me with no choice.

I had to finish it.



Oh well.

Meet Portia Kane. She's obsessed with feminism and being a good feminist, yet she married a pornographer. The book opens with her catching him in the act of cheating on her with a young woman, worrying about what Gloria Steinman would think of her brand-name purse, and leaving her husband.

She thinks about Gloria Steinman a lot.

And keeps saying "E.T. Phone Home" as an explanation for what she's doing.

And the writing is like this.

Stilted.

Make it stop.



Fortunately, the whole book isn't from her perspective.

She returns home, wonders what happened to her old English teacher who was inspiring in a distinctly "Dead Poets Society" way, and when she learns what happened to him decides to save him. The perspective then shifts to that teacher.

The teacher has a dog named Albert Camus who he likes to believe is the reincarnation of Albert Camus. Naturally, the teacher is also suicidal. So, the stage is set for the rest of the book.



Pretty much.

So, how did it get a decent rating from me?

The book is sweet. After it gets through the hideously annoying bits it has a very good heart. There were parts that touched me, and though it was overall quite saccharine, I like saccharine now and then. The writing that works so well in YA doesn't really translate well to an adult novel. The blind optimism, however, does. It finds a balance at some points that is really quite sweet.

Sometimes we need a pick me up, and although I doubt I'd recommend this book to someone without quite a few caveats, it still has its place in the world. I like to believe that there are people like [a: Matthew Quick|1251730|Matthew Quick|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1429188497p2/1251730.jpg] out there making a difference in people's lives. I like to think there are people out there who truly believe that we are the actions we make and that we can be better people. I like to think we all get chances to redefine ourselves every day.

And that's the book in a nutshell. A bunch of damaged people deciding to be better than what people expect them to be.

It certainly has its place. ( )