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Title: About
Schmidt
Author: Louis Begley
Genre: fiction
Rating: 
Albert Schmidt, a cynical older man, has just lost his wife Mary. He also just
heard his only daughter Charlotte is going to be married to Jon, a man Schmidt
can't approve of for various reasons, some of which even he doesn't want to admit to.
Trying to survive all this and the fact he "was pushed" into early
retirement he gives the reader (literally) a piece of his mind during his quest
for renewed happiness.
I have to say a few things about this book. First: don't see the film before
reading the book! It took me nearly 100 pages to get Jack Nicholson out of my
mind and realize that the book is totally different from the film. Second: I
didn't like the lack of quotation marks. Everything said didn't stand out from
thoughts and situations. Begley said in an interview the reason for that
"comes from my particular dislike of the way quotation marks look on a
page. I think they look like little bugs." That may be the case, but I need
them for my reading pleasure. Third: for me it
wasn't really a story. The book could have started and ended everywhere,
anytime. So why write it, is my question then. That said, I really liked the
humor that was very subtle in the Schmidt's thoughts and actions. The
"story" is smartly written.
If
you liked this book, you should try:
Wonder boys
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