by John Mortenson
I don't know what is wrong with me. This was a #1 Bestseller and I could not force myself to finish it. Had I followed the "if-I-hate-it-after-50-pages-the-book-stops-here" rule, I would not have wasted my time. But, nu-ohhhh! I thought, okay maybe I'll like it when I get to page 340. At least I did stop before then....at page 280. Why did everyone love this book except for me?
** 2 Stars Sheesh, how can I give it any stars when I didn't even finish it, you ask?
I'll tell you why....
Because at the beginning of the book the guy (Mortenson) tells about his failure at climbing K2, an enormous mountain in Pakistan. A Pakistani dude rescues him and that story is great and exciting. The PD (Pakistani dude) takes him to his village and nurses him back to health. Mortenson can't get over the poverty and school-less village, so he promises to go back to America, raise money and build a school for the PD's village. That is all great and exciting. It's also cute how Mortenson meets his wife and she has to put up with his obsession to build the school in Pakistan, which he accomplishes. He ends up building several schools in Pakistan. But then it just gets boring and monotonous. I know, I know, how can raising money and building schools for poor kids in a Taliban-infested area just after 9/11 be boring and monotonous? I'm not sure. So even though the beginning of the book was good and I was thinking this is gonna be a "4-star"-er, I just lost interest for some reason.
Oh and by the way, the #1 Bestseller a while back, Eat Love Pray? I thought that was just okay. I couldn't figure out what all the hoopla was about.
So there you go.
Anyone else read this book? If so, what did you think?
2 comments:
I've heard really mixed things about this one and I just can't seem to bring myself to pick it up (we almost read it for our book club but then the member who was choosing it dropped out). I've heard that Mortenson just doesn't speak about humanity in a very lively way--kind of a dull book. Sounds like that was kind of your thought too--exciting beginning with little follow through. We can't love em all! Hope your next one is better.
Thanks Trish. I actually found a great new author whose book I couldn't put down. Her name is Diane Chamberlain. I just read her "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes" and loved it. Next I'm going to read "The Courage Tree," which my mom said was incredible. So yep, you're right, we can't love em all, so on to the next one!
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