Saturday, August 31, 2013

The Family by David Laskin

0 stars

I recently joined Penguin's First to Read program and this is the first ARC I've won. There was a bit of bother to get the electronic version of the book to my tablet but now that I have, I'm ready for the next ARC offering!

I always feel bad when I don't like an ARC.  I guess I feel a certain obligation when a book is provided to me free.  Am I afraid of hurting someone's feelings?  Perhaps.  I know I felt bad once on GR when an author commented on my unflattering review.  I think I end up feeling defensive; I'm not really a reviewer. I'm just a reader who reaches an opinion about a book; the value of the book itself is usually only one factor that goes into that opinion.  My mood, what else is chair-side, life's distractions and so on certainly color an opinion.  I'm also not sure what the publisher and/or author does with a negative review....

So, with all that, I'm going to unburden myself from the obligation to read this.  It has all the hallmarks of a book I should like, family history, Jewish culture, folks striving to make a better life, but the writing is just so dry.  It's a dull read and I am not compelled to pick it up.  I liked this author's The Children's Blizzard but parts of that were a read slog, too.  I think he's not an author for me; I don't like his writing style.

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