Full Measure

A Novel

De: T. Jefferson Parker

Narrado por: Jay Snyder

"A tense and compelling drama of the wars without and the wars within—and of the flame of violence that burns through the American psyche." —T.C. Boyle, New York Times bestselling author of The Women

"Stunning . . . [Parker is] a brave and daring writer." —Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy

"A great American family novel. . . . Parker is playing in the same league as John Steinbeck." —Stephen Harrigan, author of The Gates of the Alamo and Remember Ben Clayton

Patrick Norris has seen the worst that Afghanistan has to offer–excruciating heat, bitter cold, and death waiting behind every rock as comrades are blown to pieces by bombs and snipers. He returns home exhilarated by his new freedom and eager to realize his dream of a sport fishing business. But he is shocked to learn that the avocado ranch his family has owned for generations in the foothills of San Diego has been destroyed by a massive wildfire and the parents he loves are facing ruin.

Ted Norris worships his brother and yearns for his approval. Gentle by nature, but tormented by strange fixations with a dark undercurrent, Ted is drawn into a circle of violent, criminal misfits. His urgent quest to prove himself threatens to put those he loves in peril.

Patrick puts his own plans on hold to save the family's home and falls in love with Iris, a beautiful and unusual woman, when disaster strikes. When Ted's plan for redemption goes terribly wrong, he tries to disappear. Desperate to find his brother and salvage what remains of his family, Patrick must make an agonizing choice.

Three-time Edgar Award-winner T. Jefferson Parker is known for his many bestselling crime novels, from Laguna Heat to The Famous and the Dead. Full Measure marks a departure; it is a literary novel that explores many subjects, among them the bonds of loyalty between brothers.

©2014 T. Jefferson Parker (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A tense and compelling drama of the wars without and the wars within--and of the flame of violence that burns through the American psyche.” —T.C. Boyle, New York Times bestselling author of The Women

“Stunning . . . [Parker] has touched on the frustrations and complications of coming home from war, domestic gun violence, and the often fraught relationship between brothers set against the backdrop of California's avocado farms, fires, and floods. What a brave and daring writer.” —Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy

“Emotionally devastating, tense, moving toward an explosive climax, this is a great American book by a master at the top of his game. Parker is entering East of Eden territory here. Family, war, racism, violence and the sometimes painful demands of love fight for air in this charred landscape of the heart. Wow.” —Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize-Nominated and bestselling author of Into the Beautiful North

Magical Unrealism

What would have made Full Measure better?

Predictable, self-contradicting, and hollow.

Parker's other books don't abandon the concept of free will--this one largely does. He must have mistaken darkness for relevance. Don't get me wrong, I like dark books (e.g. The Collector, At First Sight), but this book seemed like a classroom writing exercise exploring what it might be like to be an immature, overly sensitive, schizophrenic sociopath.

Here are the key points of the book:
*If you are a good guy and a vet, violence suddenly breaks out all of the time.
*Dads want their sons to take over the family farm and their sons don't want to.
*Fishing takes your mind off of killing people.
*Mentally ill people are supernaturally influenced to evil.

The bottom line is that Parker's other books have an interplay and balance between good and evil, and this book doesn't. It may have been more interesting as a study in what it's like to know someone who latter goes on to make national news for an atrocity.

If you're looking for a TJP book to read, I highly recommend, "The Fallen" which has much more resonance.

Have you listened to any of Jay Snyder’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator did a great job.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Dull incredulity. I couldn't believe the author wrote such an incomplete, unsuspenseful book.

Any additional comments?

The protagonist is basically likable, and in another context, I might have rooted for him, but there was little point as everyone in the book was a victim to circumstance. Parker's writing itself flows and the book is easy to listen to, despite the plot issues. Maybe the author was trying for The Grapes of Wrath, but ended up with the Avocados of Inanity.

Trite, predictable

Any additional comments?

I am a fan of most of the authors other works. This one did not grab and as a result did not hold my attention. I found it to be formulaic.

I tried to return the listen, but for some reason Audible would not let me. I soldiered through it for this reason.

I did not enjoy the narrator or his performance.