Reviews for An absolute hero

The average rating for An absolute hero based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-01-01 00:00:00 Shannon Smith Reading Road Trip 2020 First stop: Maine Last summer, as I realized yet again that a road trip across America would not take place (due in part to First Daughter's chronic car sickness and the same daughter's inability to spend 5 minutes in a contained space with Second Daughter), I went into a funk. It has been far too long since I've had a good road trip, and I am determined to see all 50 states of this still-beautiful nation before I die. But, despite my itch, my reality has informed me that I'm not going anywhere. . . in person. So, why not travel the way I've always traveled best? Through books. Since this past June, I've been somewhat obsessed with compiling my itinerary. I knew I wanted to start in Maine, I knew I wanted my reading road trip to follow a geographic trail that would make cogent sense in a vehicle, and I knew I wanted to include fiction, middle grades reads, and poetry. I've bugged many of you on here for titles, especially if you were from a smaller state or an area that has had a smaller output of literature. No offense to any residents of any particular state, but it's a lot easier to find books set in New York than Nebraska, if only due to population. My impulse to start with Maine was strong; three of my all-time favorite writers have made the setting a famous one for me, despite never having actually traveled to the state. Plus, with its geographic location in the far northeastern corner of the country, it's a great place to begin. If I were to choose three books that bring the state of Maine to life for me, they would be: One Man's Meat by E.B. White Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout So, when it came time for me to pack up my car, so to speak, with the necessary gear for the first part of my journey, I labored greatly over who I would choose to start my literary journey. A person can't hardly love E.B. White's writing more than I do, and God knows how many hours I've spent having conversations with Stephen King in my mind (read 85 books every year? really, Steve??), but when I learned that the Amy and Isabelle of Strout's recent Olive, Again were two characters who had been introduced in an earlier novel called Amy and Isabelle, and I didn't yet know them, well. . . I knew I needed to start with Strout. Elizabeth Strout excites me more than any writer has since I was first introduced to J.D. Salinger in my youth. Strout's determination to interweave her characters as Salinger once did with the Glass family has pulled all of my attention in her direction. Strout writes like a writer, not a woman or a man, and I would like to hand her hot beverages for the rest of her life, paid only by the promise of her continued career. Amy and Isabelle is not her best work, but it's a beauty of a book, first published in 1998, and it's another complicated exploration of what we sometimes think of as generational sins. The notion that, despite our best intentions to do things differently than our parents, we very often do the exact same thing, even if we weren't aware of their foibles, even if we aren't biologically related to them. For any writers reading this review, whether you like Strout's writing or not, there is a foreplay scene in a car, midway through this novel, that is truly one of the best written scenes in all of literary fiction. If you ever wanted to write sex in a more palpable, intoxicating way, I can not recommend this scene more. So, forget the pre-shrunk t-shirt. I went to Maine and had the best foreplay. . . ever. I'll definitely return.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-18 00:00:00 Brian Gantwerker Loved. Loved. Loved. I'm already a huge Strout fan and I've been meaning to go back and read this, her first novel. I'm so glad I did. A sure sign of 5 stars for me is when I can hardly read fast enough to devour the writing/storytelling/characters while at the same time never wanting it to end. That was me this morning. Strout fans will recognize the sense of longing and loneliness in her characters, themes she has continued to explore in her more recent works. I was captivated by the mother-daughter dynamic which propels this novel. She writes from both perspectives with such honesty and integrity that I was convinced I was in both women's minds. Even more astonishing (especially for a first novel), Strout brilliantly introduces and brings to life a host of ancillary characters who populate this small New England town. I am so impressed that she keeps the central storyline moving while still taking readers down these side paths and dramas. In fact, I think it is this depth and richness of storytelling that makes Strout such a dependable and fulfilling read for me. Obviously, she was a master novelist from the start. Now I just want more.