Customer Reviews

Fool

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The previous line says it all -- this is just a great book. Full of humanity and heart and so, so smart - but not so smart the author ever forgets about his main character, Barnaby. It's like the old joke: I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS - but I did laugh and cry and this book will hold a special place on my shelf and in my heart for a long time to come.

Engrossing- a great 'before bed book'- Dillen is a beautiful writer- eloquent and joyous- the writing is so good, might have to read this one again.

This celebration of the human spirit has a most unlikely hero: a stockbroker and flimflam artist. Throughout the novel, Barnaby Griswold wrestles with a self-loathing so complete that it defines him. The narrative presents Barnaby as he sees himself, so the reader has little hope for him. The strategy works well in the end, as the character slowly evolves from clown into human complexity.

I was surprised by the story's direction after the flippant tone of the opening narrative led me to expect a farce or romantic comedy. The story moves very slowly, not the pace of comedy at all. The tennis game that begins the story is literally in slow motion. The crisis is viewed in retrospect, so we are given Barnaby's wry perspective of it. I loved the author's use of the tiger motif to deflect Barnaby's own self-deprecation and remind us that even stockbrokers have human potential. What happens in the end remains appropriately open to chance, as is life.

You could almost see this as a contemporary rewrite of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," only without the sentimentality. After his quiet epiphany, Barnaby does not become a great philanthropist or spiritual leader; he simply fulfills some personal responsibilities. Nice.

This book is beautifully and tightly written and allows the reader to really get to know the protagonist, Barnaby Griswold, and his world. He is a fool, but you can't help pulling for him to get his life back together.

The book is formatted into four sections each illustrating his journey back to wholeness...none of which quite describes him perfectly as Barnaby is truly in search of himself. In true survivor form, Barnaby doesn't let us down.

The author feeds the story out in bits and pieces and it's an engrossing read to say the least. He almost had me at the end and in fact I did say out loud, "No!" when I thought our friend Barnaby was headed somewhere he should not be. The ending is lovely...a wonderful read.

I confess I had never heard of Dillen before this book, and only picked it up because the cover caught my eye (almost literally). I read the first page and had to buy it, and it's become one of my favorite books ever. Dillen is such a funny writer, and yet at the end this is a deeply serious, moving book about love and redemption. It is so rare these days that a book makes you both laugh and cry, and this book did both. Discover for yourselves - his Barnaby Griswold is a classic character, right up there with Garp.