Fotografía de autor

John J. Siefring

Autor de An Important Day: A Novel

2 Obras 27 Miembros 4 Reseñas

Obras de John J. Siefring

An Important Day: A Novel (2016) 22 copias
Caleb's Window (2018) 5 copias

Etiquetado

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Miembros

Reseñas

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this, I had no idea what to expect since it was a self published book and this type of book can go either way. But luckily I ended up really enjoying it.

I loved the characters. Cara’s strength, determination, and compassion for others was inspiring. I loved how cheeky Caleb was as a teenager.

I liked how the story was woven together and started at one point in time but went backwards to show how they got to that point.

The book was also very well written which made it so easy to read. It took me a while to read this book because I was in the middle of moving, but one night when I wasn’t busy I managed to fly through 100 pages.

The one thing I didn’t like was how fast Caleb’s part was. I would have loved for his story to have been fleshed out more and given the same attention and time as Cara’s story because I found his to be just as compelling. His story went by lightning fast and I wanted to spend a little bit more time with him. Additionally, Caleb grew up during a very interesting time period so there would have been a lot to explore.

This doesn’t have anything to do with the story, but this book probably had the best Acknowledgments page I’ve read recently. The author didn’t thank anyone specifically, but instead gave the reasons why he didn’t. It was subtly hilarious.

Overall, this was a wonderful historical fiction novel about a mother and her son and the struggles they face in life.
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Denunciada
oddandbookish | Jul 30, 2018 |
Esta reseña ha sido escrita para Sorteo de miembros LibraryThing.
The book is heartfelt and caring. Each character is sensitively portrayed.

Unfortunately, they are sensitively portrayed over and over again. Every paragraph is loaded down with context. That sort of style is fine for the first 25% of the book, however, there comes a point at which one must give the characters freedom to express themselves on their own and in dialogue. The reader will accurately extrapolate their state of mind from actions and speech to a much greater extent than the author supposes. The characters are narrated to death.

I care deeply about mental illnesses - I have one myself. However, I could not ultimately finish the book as the narration crossed the line from sensitive to stifling. Most large paragraphs could be slimmed by 15% without weakening anything that the author wished to convey. The viscosity just became too much for me to handle.

I hope that most reviewers do not share my perspective. For those who might, take the book no more than two chapters at a time and contemplate Siefring's wisdom in small doses. His manner is kind, and he tackles a difficult topic.
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Denunciada
Jeffrey_Hatcher | 2 reseñas más. | Sep 22, 2017 |
Esta reseña ha sido escrita para Sorteo de miembros LibraryThing.
An Important Day was a very gentle novel about two difficult subjects - Parkinson's disease and dignity. The novel offered readers a well-informed and vivid description of life with Parkinson's disease and insight into how the disease affects a man physically and emotionally. Can a man who is fully dependant on others for feeding, bathing, dressing, retain his dignity - seemed to me to be the central question that drove the plot's action. The plot had surprising twists, which I never anticipated, but made perfect sense. The weakness of the book was its characters, straight out of Leave it to Beaver land, except June Clever was sexier. Lots of loving friends and family who resolved their issues quickly and rationally.… (más)
 
Denunciada
Lucia6 | 2 reseñas más. | Sep 10, 2017 |
Never thought i would call a book, especially a novel, thoughtful. But that's what this is....
An Important Day doesn't bash the reader over the head with ideas, but instead, somewhat intuitively plants thoughts in your brain and emotions in the readers heart.

James Delaney receives a surprising diagnosis, and keeps it to himself. Telling no one in his beloved family...and swearing his friend/doctor to secrecy. And then? takes a hiking trip to think things through....

So what constitutes 'an important day'? Is it one with fanfare and balloons or is it one that creates a treasured personal memory. This author makes you think back in your own life to realize just what memories DO stand out. The unexpected. The simple. The laugh. The touch. The important days...
Thank you John Siefring for the chance to read this soul touching book.
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Denunciada
linda.marsheells | 2 reseñas más. | Aug 10, 2016 |

Estadísticas

Obras
2
Miembros
27
Popularidad
#483,027
Valoración
½ 3.5
Reseñas
4
ISBNs
2