gimley reviewed To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
Review of 'To Rise Again at a Decent Hour' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
It promised a lot, like God does. Dr. Paul C. O'Rourk is looking for meaning, connection, family, purpose, love. I was just looking for a good read and so wasn't risking as much. In the end, both of us settled for less.
I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable. I'm saying I expected more. Perhaps, like the Red Sox, the novel had to fail in order to succeed. It didn't want to become one of those smug books, on best seller lists, selected by Oprah. It was heading for the world series and then Mercer, cribbing a story arc from Paul's father, kills himself, as if the reader had failed to understand after reading that far that material success doesn't lead to happiness and needed it spelled out for him.
I'll admit I was hoping for a miracle. Were I a good Ulm, I'd have known that doubt was the answer. …
It promised a lot, like God does. Dr. Paul C. O'Rourk is looking for meaning, connection, family, purpose, love. I was just looking for a good read and so wasn't risking as much. In the end, both of us settled for less.
I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable. I'm saying I expected more. Perhaps, like the Red Sox, the novel had to fail in order to succeed. It didn't want to become one of those smug books, on best seller lists, selected by Oprah. It was heading for the world series and then Mercer, cribbing a story arc from Paul's father, kills himself, as if the reader had failed to understand after reading that far that material success doesn't lead to happiness and needed it spelled out for him.
I'll admit I was hoping for a miracle. Were I a good Ulm, I'd have known that doubt was the answer.
Like Abbie and Connie, I needed to move on with my life. So now I'm reading other books. This one came to an end. What choice did I have?
But several books later, something of this one still stays with me.
