Rules for Old Men Waiting: A Novel Audiobook

" This was a beautiful book - so many stories are inside and they are all told at exactly the right pace. I may have teared up a time or two... "

" I'm sure it was a good book, but I just couldn't get into the whole army thing. A terribly sexist comment, but this was too "guy" for me. "

" A story within a story. A dying man writes the story that has been on his mind, and the story tells so much in so few words. A keeper. "

" I read this book over two years ago and still remember it in detail. I think it will always be in my top ten favorites of all time; gorgeously written with such insight and warmth. This is a wonderful book--I just hope you can find it...might be one of those that got lost along the way. "

" A beautiful story with an ending you know is coming, but still takes you by surprise. Pouncey weaves three wars into a story of remembrance, honor (though not patriotic as much as honoring our own humanity when humanity seems impossible), and dignity. There are wonderful references to classical music that spurred me to seek out specific recordings. The ending is perhaps a little too "ghost in the machine," but it doesn't diminish the book's charm. "

" The Rules are for Old Men Waiting to Die. Be forewarned - it's no Bucket List, but it is absorbing from the first through the last page. And I like that someone in his late sixties had his first novel published. "

" Fabulous. Yet another demonstration(s) of how stories allow us to make sense of our lives--and of the ways in which we can reorganize our own apparent chaos into a coherent narrative. "

" Enjoyed the story, but the writing is a bit too straight forward for my tastes. The characters seem more one dimensional the farther the get in the story. The story starts strong from an interesting perspective, but isn't quite able to sustain that level of story telling. "

" I was hoping the book would expound on waiting for death, the rules you have to make so you can get through each day. But it turned into a WWI story, which was interesting - but not what I signed up for. "

" For me the poetry was strongest at the beginning. As I got toward the end it became more dissolute with long passages on war battles and rugby scrimmages. If you ever want to teach another course putting every story into an Appolonian-Dionysian construct, this should be added to the list! ;-) "

" A wonderful first novel in every respect. "

" An excellent book in which the main character deals with the approaching end of his life in ways that are strikingly original, both inwardly and outwardly. A book I'm not in a hurry to finish, because I want to make it last as long as possible. "

" Amazingly vivid. Very good writing. "

" Eloquent, poignant. I was moved to tears-- "

" A 3.75 book. The first novel by a retired scholar. 30 years in the writing. A novel of war and love and dying. It deals with World War I, World War II and Viet Nam. It describes a wonderful marriage. It delves into the process of dying. Not a quick read even though it isn't quite 300 pages. "

" Writing is gorgeous and vivid. The weaving of the three story lines is very nice, my only complaint was that he didn't really seem to know what to do with everything at the end. "

" First novel by an older academic. Reminds me a little of Norman MacClean with the clarity of language and the evocation of emotion and conflict. It is about an old man, waiting to die as he loses his control over life, and memories of his wife, his son, the war. "

" Lovely lovely book. A friend gave it to me and it took me away to a specific world and its all too human situation. "

" A story within a story. Dying man remembers his life while writing a story of WWI. "

" I felt like I should have liked this book more than I did. Pouncey's prose is lucid and beautiful; I really felt as though I were right there - and yet the story just did not hook me. My mom loved this book and perhaps the age difference says something. "

" Almost poetic. Worth reading. "

" wonderful writing. MacIver(elderly military historian) nurses his dying wife. In the months that follow her death he writes a novel from his memories of war and his interviews of gas victims from WW1. Through his writing he makes sense of his grief and his life. "

" kind of like watching someone die of old age in real time, so maybe a little slow in parts. i read it because peter pouncey seemed to be the type of person who would write a great book. this is his first book, and it's very good. "

" I found this book very depressing but I read it all. It did not seem to have any real happy moments in it. What a sad life and a sad outlook on life. Not much to celebrate "

" An excellent book in which the main character deals with the approaching end of his life in ways that are strikingly original, both inwardly and outwardly. A book I'm not in a hurry to finish, because I want to make it last as long as possible. "

" wonderful writing. MacIver(elderly military historian) nurses his dying wife. In the months that follow her death he writes a novel from his memories of war and his interviews of gas victims from WW1. Through his writing he makes sense of his grief and his life. "

" A story within a story. Dying man remembers his life while writing a story of WWI. "

" Enjoyed the story, but the writing is a bit too straight forward for my tastes. The characters seem more one dimensional the farther the get in the story. The story starts strong from an interesting perspective, but isn't quite able to sustain that level of story telling. "

" AT first I didn't think I'd like this book but it was a powerful story. "

" I'm sure it was a good book, but I just couldn't get into the whole army thing. A terribly sexist comment, but this was too "guy" for me. "