The Good Soldier Audiobook

" I read this book in college and I thought it was absolutely the most hilarious farcical novel I'd yet read! I don't know why this isn't made required reading (if such a thing even exists anymore!) in high schools and colleges. Ford has a tremendous gift here for portraying the lives of bored rich people and their intersecting lives. Edith Wharton gets all the glory for her writings about the upper classes and their foibles, but Ford exceeds her in dry wit and setting the atmosphere around the main couples. I highly highly recommend this book and think Ford is unjustifiably overlooked and underrated as an author. "

" Took a bit for me to get my sea legs, then it was rough, blindsided by waves, and ultimately made it to shore. Will likely take another dip. Oh, wait, I'm talking about a vacation to the beach... "

" almost gothic in its melodrama, though not maudlin (for the most part). enjoyed the discontinuous storytelling, the obtuse narrator, but the subject was too grown-up and upper-crusty for my taste. marvelous, quick-witted prose. "

" Really good book but terribly sad story. No one wins. Marriages fail. People betray themselves and others. Some just sit and let it all happen. Sad. Sad. Sad. "

" Impressionist novel. Very modernist in that more-question-marks-and-exclamation-points-than-periods kind of way. Story is a bit sad, of course. "

" I read this book virtually in one sitting - the writing was easy to read, and although I didn't necessarily identify with the narrator, I was drawn into the story. Despite its opening line, ("This is the saddest story I have ever heard"), it doesn't really become too sentimental. At best, it is a novel that makes you think about appearances - how we judge others by their presentation to us, and how we interpret their actions in light of our own human experiences with hte world. At worst, the narrator, and none of the other characters in the novel, for that matter, are very likeable. "

" I had to study this book for a litt. exam, and absolutely hated it! "

" I loved the Parade's End tetralogy, but was rather disappointed in this one. "

" This one was required reading in my literature class [all those years ago in junior college], and I remember I was surprised how much I got into this book. I'll have to get myself a new copy and re-read it. "

" Wasn't particularly drawn to any of the characters so it was hard to have pity or sympathy for any of them. Can't say it was the saddest story to me, but I still think the exploration of human pyschological motivation/desire/selfishness was done brilliantly. People are complicated. "

" Gripping story; fascinating. Levels upon levels, mirrors within mirrors. Can't stop thinking about this book! "

" Possibly the best use of unreliable narration I've ever read. Very assured, very controlled, and very smart. Maybe not the saddest story you'll ever hear, but one of the most skillful. "

" If you like this sort of stuff fine but just not my cup of tea. "

" Brilliantly done, this little gem. Masterful. The heaviness of superficiality never softens. Offhand, I cannot think of a more biting story, utterly debilitating in its social reflections. I have set forth a proclamation to read it at Prince William's wedding. "

" "The Good Soldier" is what "Revolutionary Road" written by Waugh would read like. "

" You know, I know I will have to defend this one at the reading group, but I enjoyed it. I can't say I understood it or even liked it, but I interacted with it more than i have done with a novel in a while. the unreliable narrator was kind of fun. "

" At another time in my life I might have liked this more. The writing is excellent and the psychology might have interested me if I could have cared about the lives of the characters. "