Barry Terenna

I received this book through LibraryThing and I thought I would really love it. I didn't. I hate giving bad reviews so I'll start with the things I disliked and end with the things I did like.

The story starts off way way back in time and traces through some lineage of this Italian family which comes full circle and is revealed again in the end. I didn't like the concept of time in the book. It was very nonlinear sometimes days felt like years and years were a sentence. Memories and futures flip flopped constantly interrupting the story line. The other major complaint was about weird things being explained that I felt didn't need explaining. It happened with things like cars, and drake pastries for example, going back to tell about the company or how certain things are made. I don't think it added to the novel in any way. The ending was unsatisfying for me and I kept waiting for the story to happen. For some sort of climax, or resolution and I was let down. I also see the tie to Asia, but I don't feel like what was trying to be done was accomplished.

However I did enjoy the story of the two brothers and their families. I really enjoyed the opening and I think I may have been more interested in that story. I do love some good historical fiction. I like that the characters were believable and real. They made mistakes, they evolved, they cared for each other, and they changed. They came across as real human beings. The novel picked up for me once they were separated about halfway through the novel. It definitely became more interesting and the story lines more twisted.

I enjoyed being given a chance to review it, and it seems like it was generally well received but it didn't suit my tastes.… (plus d'informations)

A very interesting story of two brothers following them as they grow up from early childhood into middle age. The book begins by tracing the ancestry of the brothers down from an important Italian family. As the story develops we see the closeness of the two brothers but also the differences in their personalities from how they get along with their father, to grades in school. One is smart but carefree the other more studious and determined to make the family proud of him. One goes to college the other to Vietnam. One creates a business and becomes successful the other jumps from one job to another just eking by and trying to raise a family.

The successful brother makes a trip to China and falls in love with the culture and the people that he meets. He seems to be drawn back to the Asian mainland and his mind is never far from it. What does he find there? What draws him back? Back home he continually helps his brother and his family to survive his jumping from one job to another and his run-ins with the undesirable elements of our society.

So it is a story of two brothers who are extremely close and who in a sense need each other. But in a deeper sense it brings up the question of are we born with genetic memories. That question arises when one brother begins to do family history research. A very interesting book and story.… (plus d'informations)