John Henry Days Audiobook (Unabridged)

" This story about J. Sutter, a professional junketeer, starts out very promising. I laughed at the truthfully satirical portrayal of greedy freelance journalists. As the story of John Henry progresses, though, the book loses its focus and becomes a little too abstract. "

" and a half. I really like Colson Whitehead, and the Intuitionist was great (I want a copy of "Theoretical Elevators"), but I want to arbitrarily only give John Henry Days 3.5 stars just because. Whitehead's thoughts on prime rib in this book closely mirror my own, hence the half star. "

" I really want to like this author, but he's making it hard. As with The Intuitionist, the characters are flat. Unlike that novel, this one has too much going on and not much of it works. After the first third, I started skimming and am not sorry. Next: Sag Harbor. I'll keep trying. "

" One of the best reads of my 09 summer and one of the most creative and balanced treatments of the questions of race, memory, and american mythology that i have ever read. Whitehead is a genius and, even more exciting, a very young one. "

" If this doesn't help explain pop culture, nothing will. "

" As a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer, this book excels as a series of wonderfully crafted vignettes that are sprinkled through the main narrative. Taken as a whole, however, Whitehead seemed to lose his way. The man can write some serious sentences, I'll give him that. "

" fun retelling of the John Henry story and the escapades of a junketeering journalist "

" This guy should be banging out some serious shit soon. "

" Great book, loved the depiction of lazy-ass journalists and small towns. Very well written, liked all the characters and this may be wrong since it's about the events leading up to a shooting at a stamp-related folk hero festival, but really funny in parts. recommended. "

" Some sentences in this book were so expertly chiseled that they made my knees buckle. "

" I thought this book was very romantic. "

" Despite being somewhat convoluted, the writing is amazing. And although I am not sure it quite got where it was supposed to go, the contemplation of a human being's place in the world and the meaning of his or her toil is interesting and often apt. "

" Currently rereading this while I am teaching it to my African Diaspora Literature summer class. It is a good book, a solid good read. Not great, but it seems Whitehead has fun playing with his prose ability to keep the text fun and engaging. "

" I wanted to like this book more than I did. It's got big ideas and some amazing prose and storytelling. And yet...more than once I found it pompous and long winded. "

" I don't know, Colson. I really liked Sag Harbor days, and I really hated Zone One. This was just okay. Whitehead is a prodigious talent as a writer, but it was a struggle to stay engaged here. "

" Beautifully written at times but a TOTAL slog. Too much work, honestly. "

" Feh. It was no The Intuitionist: A Novel "

" It's hard to top The Intuitionist. This book is proof. "

" An extraordinary book about race in America. The "set piece" structure takes a bit of getting use to, as does the (sometimes overly) precise prose. But it's worth the effort. A really great book. "

" This is long, and unsatisfying - both in a good way. "

" Very well written. The postmodern nihlism kinda kept me from really enjoying it until the end. Stick it out if the book's starting to lose your interest. The last 80 or so pages are brilliant. "

" Good stuff. PR and small town bullshit both thoroughly investigated. Also, very funny in parts (many parts.) "

" Despite being somewhat convoluted, the writing is amazing. And although I am not sure it quite got where it was supposed to go, the contemplation of a human being's place in the world and the meaning of his or her toil is interesting and often apt. "

" Three and a half stars, really. There was a bit too much going on in the book, but the guy can really write. "

" Great book, loved the depiction of lazy-ass journalists and small towns. Very well written, liked all the characters and this may be wrong since it's about the events leading up to a shooting at a stamp-related folk hero festival, but really funny in parts. recommended. "

" and a half. I really like Colson Whitehead, and the Intuitionist was great (I want a copy of "Theoretical Elevators"), but I want to arbitrarily only give John Henry Days 3.5 stars just because. Whitehead's thoughts on prime rib in this book closely mirror my own, hence the half star. "

" Interesting concept, but the writing's way, way, way too pretentious. Even for me. Characterization was pretty flat, too. "

" Currently rereading this while I am teaching it to my African Diaspora Literature summer class. It is a good book, a solid good read. Not great, but it seems Whitehead has fun playing with his prose ability to keep the text fun and engaging. "

" Some sentences in this book were so expertly chiseled that they made my knees buckle. "

" If this doesn't help explain pop culture, nothing will. "

" Started out pretty good, and went downhill. Disliked it enough that I left it in my building's laundry room book-swap, instead of giving it to a friend... "

" I don't know why this book gets passed over, compared to Colson Whithead's other work. I think it's brilliant. "

" Beautifully written at times but a TOTAL slog. Too much work, honestly. "