Comments (28)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 28 items
Apr 18, 2020evanbrow rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Contemplative and literary, but oftentimes too wordy and lacking a strong through-line. Skibsrud is adept at writing beautiful language, able to add resonant poetic meaning to the story of a woman slowly learning more and more about her…
Mar 27, 2019VaughanPLDavidB rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I read this book many years, but when I was recently asked which book I disliked the most, this one leapt to mind. It is supposed to be a book about the ongoing mental trauma suffered by those who are sent to war. Instead, it is nothing…
Apr 17, 2018capitalcity rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Authors need always to be aware how easily authenticity slips into contrivance. Skibsrud runs afoul of this dictum in The Sentimentalists. Napoleon Haskell recounting his arrival in Vietnam includes a description of a ride with fellow…
Feb 02, 2015
Before I requested this book I read the comment from the Library Journal so imagined this book was going to be about the life of Napolean Haskell and his buddy's dad, with hopefully some meaningful relevance to the Vietnam War or Post…
Nov 30, 2014dirtbag1 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
What should be a simple story becomes convoluted when the author, a poet, attempts to write a novel. It seems Skibsrud finds it difficult to write a single, simple sentence. Instead we find, what seems like every other sentence, defined…
Nov 13, 2013EPLGreatStuff_Julie rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I found this book to be incredibly moving and very sad. I do agree with other reviewers, it was hard to get in to. But once I was in, I was hooked.
Jul 25, 2013Candicebook rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I kept waiting and wanting to like this book, but once I realized it felt like I was being told every unnecessary detail of the lifetime of a vapid hipster that is trying to create an artful story out of a boring and depressing one. I…
Aug 01, 2012uncommonreader rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A worthy winner of the 2010 Giller. An anti-war book. The story is hidden, like the town submerged. It was obviously written by a poet.
Jul 17, 2012diesellibrarian rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Got lost in one too many subordinate clauses, and gave up after two chapters due to low return on investment.
Jun 19, 2012chiz_99 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book has a few well written paragraphs - quotable almost - but the author's writing style gets in the way. It makes it seem like you are watching the story through a fog. I found myself not caring about any of the characters or what…
Apr 01, 2012
Only read approx. 20 pages. Very unusual for me.
Feb 07, 2012elinpat rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Library Journal First novelist Skibsrud takes a poignant look at family, focusing mainly on Napoleon Haskell, his adult daughter, and Henry, father to a young man Napoleon served with in Vietnam. These three live in Henry's house in…
Oct 30, 2011Lorayn rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A challenging novel, confirming my belief that novels written by poets should have their own category.
Sep 13, 2011
Far too disjointed and overly flowery language, excess punctuation and generally just uninteresting. How did this win the Giller?
Aug 22, 2011rgally rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Couldn't finish it - too disjointed and long-winded. Not sure why this won the Giller - jaded judges perhaps?
Aug 19, 2011oreodog rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
After being on the waiting list for months for this Giller Prize winner, I was sadly disappointed. I didn't even finish it. It became onerous with lllloooonnnnngggg sentences and more commas in one sentence that I had ever seen before. …
Jul 27, 201121221018293347 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I could not finish this book. It would flounder and then there was a tiny little bit of action then a great big flounder. I finally gave up and still did not know what had happened.
Jun 02, 2011jadavies rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This book is interesting, but not one I'd recommend reading without someone to discuss it with ... it's good for a book club. I found the sentence structure really tough slogging ... lots of commas, brackets, etc., so I'd forget what I…
josokim
May 29, 2011josokim rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The premise of the story was very interesting; a woman returns home to live with her Vietnam veteran father and his friend. However, I found the language too formal and stilted to seem natural to a mid-30's? woman. It was very much like an…
May 06, 2011jbeckber rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I had an extremely hard time understanding the beginning and then I got into it. I thought it was an OK book, but really didn't think it held a candle to previous winners. The main character is a woman who goes to live with her estranged…
Apr 18, 2011lisahiggs rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
In the first half of this book, we learn, very slowly, thanks to five million commas, that Napoleon’s best friend for the last twenty years is Henry – and that Henry is the father of Owen whom Napoleon served with during the Vietnam War.…
Feb 26, 2011ms_mustard rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
poetic writing. As a bedtime read, I had to reread every sentence. By the light of morning, it flowed. It is very much an underwater book - murky images from buried towns and war, troubled souls. Chaos of war retained and relived, damaging…
Feb 21, 2011
I tried to get into this book and like it, but the writing style just didn't grab me.
flourgirl
Feb 01, 2011flourgirl rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This was a very interesting book. I really didn't like the writng style which often had many clauses per sentence (8 or more at times). I had to reread each sentence a few times to remember what it was talking about and I found that very…
Jan 17, 2011kmoyer rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
At the beginning, found it a little hard to distinguish who was speaking, timelines of the story etc. but got into the rhythm of it after first 20 pages or so. And, of course, the style of writing perfectly reflects the narrator's view of…