Marv

This is the story of a humble Chinese peasant farmer struggling to eke out a living in rural China around the turn of the last century. He also struggles to rise above his humble beginnings, an odd stroke of good fortune amidst disaster aiding in the effort. He never forgets that his roots and heritage lie in the land he amasses and with limited success instills that in his family. This story is so magnificently written, each character is so perfectly drawn, the descriptions so vivid, one obtains a clear unadulterated concept of the way of life the Chinese farmer had then. It feels as though the author gives deep thought to each and every word she puts on paper, how each sentence is built and how each subplot is played out, it is written that well. The reader, too, is up to the challenge of such a task. He's simply superb in the difficult vocalizations of the cast of characters ranging from the elderly Chinese to the young of both sexes. It's not often I can say this but this is one of the best I've ever listened to or read. This is highly deserving of its Pulitzer prize (1932) and is a true masterpiece of American literature.

Pointless stories, ending abruptly. It's like being left out on the side of the interstate and being told to find my way home. The stories are also fatally weakened by the author's horribly inept reading. There's no feeling or emotion, very juvenile mid sentence pauses; he should leave the reading to those who know what they're doing. I agree with another reviewer, Grisham's been mailing it in for some time now and this hits a new low. Avoid this one!

This is a story about a family trying to eke out a living raising cotton in rural 1952 Arkansas as told from the perspective of the seven year old son. It's a good story, capably read. After some of the stuff he's turned in lately, it's nice to go back and be reminded how good Grisham once was.

Drab yarn about global organized crime, not helped at all by a very poor, one note performance by the reader. Not one of Patterson's better efforts.

Tough to feel sympathy for someone from a broken home doing little more than pursuing their loins desires upon reaching adulthood. The movie covers the last few periods of the book when the author and his young son (fathered by a stripper) try to put their lives back together one last time. I sure hope the movie is better than this was!

Is this book a plea for help for the homeless? the mentally ill? kids lanquishing in the foster care system? Yes, the author didn't have a pleasant upbringing. It didn't really stir anything one way or another, due to no real plea for anything as this book could have (and should have) been. Bottom line: missed opportunity with a mediocre offering.

While a version of the classic title A & C comedy routine is on this download, it's only about 4 minutes of material at the very beginning, the rest is one of their old radio shows. This isn't mentioned in the program detail. While the presentation is still funny, I was expecting quite a bit more of the title routine.

This is the story of a woman trying to get on with her life after a divorce prior to when the story begins. It tries to be topical and contemporary, but after a while one realizes who cares? It tries to be funny, doesn't work. Should it appeal to women rather than men? Maybe. Bottom line: don't give this dust bunny very high priority!

This is the story behind the marines who raised the American flag (in the famous photo) during the WWII battle for Iwo Jima. It details their backgrounds, helps us to get to know them a bit better and why they crossed paths during one of the worst battles of the war. It really put a human face on something I'd only read about in history books. It helped to really deepen my respect for the character of those who fought and died so that those of us now could live in freedom today. It also helped give me a better understanding of the depraved culture the Allies fought against and why it needed to be stopped. This a gripping, riveting listen, masterfully read and comes with my strong recommendation.

This is the intense, harrowing story of the author's struggle with depression and her personal demons that triggered it. The story is exceptionally well written and equally well read. It helped me to better understand and empathize with issues I normally wouldn't be able to. I found the author's utilization of her faith and support group in coming to terms with her demons and subsequent recovery especially moving. I strongly recommend this book for an understanding of the pain of depression and child abuse. Kudos to the author as well for sharing her story.