I didn’t like this novel so much so that I took the trilogy edition of it and put it in the Little Free Library this morning. I hope someone does like it, but I thought it was not good.
It’s not surprising then that I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn so much, because if we’re read a narration of growing up in New York City that’s the one to read.
In this one, though, we get an ok story….ne’er do well, petty crimes, games of baseball, friends, hatred of school, social analysis of Catholicism.
Oh, right, lots of racism and anti-semitism. Sure sure sure sure sure it’s “accurate” but who cares. I don’t really want to try to connect with and identify with a character whose depiction is accurately drawn, and framed as sympathetic, but is so reprehensibly narrated that it’s not fun or interesting to work my way through it.
I have read plenty of different books that deal in despicable characters. But the issue here is that he’s not presented as despicable, instead, he’s presented as a kind of anti-hero. So I am turning it back in and I won’t be reading more.
I dunno….I had a really adverse reaction to this one that once I got going I only made it to about page 40 before I was really dreading dealing with the rest. I even tried to sell it back to Amazon and had to update my credit card info to make my money back, but there was a hang up.
I guess I am saying I didn’t like it.