Obama's latest book hard to finish - Preachy and dull, it goes down like cod-liver oil
Obama's latest book hard to finish - Preachy and dull, it goes down like cod-liver oil
BY JENNIFER HUNTER
March 26, 2007
copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
Every time I leave town through O'Hare Airport, I see people carrying Barack Obama's latest tome, The Audacity of Hope. It has been on the New York Times best-seller list for more than 27 weeks, helping Obama pay off the mortgage on his swanky home in Kenwood.
However, I often wonder when I see people schlepping this book: Are they going to read the whole thing, or are they just going to skim it, like I did, looking for the juicy bits? For me, reading The Audacity of Hope was a grind; I hate reading self-help books or books that lecture me about how life should be.
His move to D.C.
I haven't even read the last chapter of The Audacity of Hope because getting through the book is a slog; it's preachy, dull, and only the autobiographical bits keep me tuned in.
For example, Obama writes about his early days in Washington: "Michelle and I had decided to keep the family in Chicago, in part because we liked the idea of raising the girls outside the hothouse environment of Washington. . . . So for the three nights a week I spent in Washington, I rented a small bedroom apartment. . . ."
"At first, I tried to embrace my newfound solitude . . . gathering take-out menus from every restaurant in the neighborhood, watching basketball or reading late into the night, hitting the gym for a midnight workout, leaving the dishes in the sink and not making my bed."
No passion
The anecdotes are terrific. They are real. I nod my head in agreement with the policy stuff -- who wouldn't want health care for every American? -- but none of it is passionately argued, and it bores me to tears. The theme is one Mr. Rogers would recommend: Stop fighting with your neighbor (Republicans), be friends and find mutual interests.
Earlier book was better
I keep reading Audacity because I feel I should -- I am writing about Sen. Obama, and I need to know how he thinks. But it's like cod-liver oil. Hard to swallow.
On the other hand, I swept through Dreams From My Father, galvanized by the Catcher In the Rye aspect of the autobiography and the effort to tell the bumpier truths, such as the use of cocaine. And although this book has been excoriated by those who question Obama's use of composite characters and his rejection of his white mother, I can overlook most of this -- except the mother stuff. I think he must have been an insufferable son.
Use of composites
I would not have written a bio with composite characters, but it's his book, and it's compelling, and it has as much veracity as most autobiographies. French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the father of the modern autobiography, glossed over details in Confessions, including why he sent all of his newborn children to orphanages. Lillian Hellman doctored Pentimento, and the feminist Simone de Beauvoir left out the striking fact that she envied all of Jean Paul-Sartre's paramours and was willing to abnegate herself to further his wishes.
What do you think?
I wanted more answers from Obama's first book: His mother was 18 when she gave birth to him, and she was left as a single mother two years later when his Kenyan father left for Harvard. What impact does this have on a young child, suddenly having Daddy disappear? How difficult was it for his mother, who was pursuing her own studies at the University of Hawaii? Is this the foundation of some of his teenage anger? Likely.
I'd also like to hear from those who, like me, have been crawling through The Audacity of Hope, reading bits here and there. Please let me know I'm not alone.
jhunter@suntimes.com
BY JENNIFER HUNTER
March 26, 2007
copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
Every time I leave town through O'Hare Airport, I see people carrying Barack Obama's latest tome, The Audacity of Hope. It has been on the New York Times best-seller list for more than 27 weeks, helping Obama pay off the mortgage on his swanky home in Kenwood.
However, I often wonder when I see people schlepping this book: Are they going to read the whole thing, or are they just going to skim it, like I did, looking for the juicy bits? For me, reading The Audacity of Hope was a grind; I hate reading self-help books or books that lecture me about how life should be.
His move to D.C.
I haven't even read the last chapter of The Audacity of Hope because getting through the book is a slog; it's preachy, dull, and only the autobiographical bits keep me tuned in.
For example, Obama writes about his early days in Washington: "Michelle and I had decided to keep the family in Chicago, in part because we liked the idea of raising the girls outside the hothouse environment of Washington. . . . So for the three nights a week I spent in Washington, I rented a small bedroom apartment. . . ."
"At first, I tried to embrace my newfound solitude . . . gathering take-out menus from every restaurant in the neighborhood, watching basketball or reading late into the night, hitting the gym for a midnight workout, leaving the dishes in the sink and not making my bed."
No passion
The anecdotes are terrific. They are real. I nod my head in agreement with the policy stuff -- who wouldn't want health care for every American? -- but none of it is passionately argued, and it bores me to tears. The theme is one Mr. Rogers would recommend: Stop fighting with your neighbor (Republicans), be friends and find mutual interests.
Earlier book was better
I keep reading Audacity because I feel I should -- I am writing about Sen. Obama, and I need to know how he thinks. But it's like cod-liver oil. Hard to swallow.
On the other hand, I swept through Dreams From My Father, galvanized by the Catcher In the Rye aspect of the autobiography and the effort to tell the bumpier truths, such as the use of cocaine. And although this book has been excoriated by those who question Obama's use of composite characters and his rejection of his white mother, I can overlook most of this -- except the mother stuff. I think he must have been an insufferable son.
Use of composites
I would not have written a bio with composite characters, but it's his book, and it's compelling, and it has as much veracity as most autobiographies. French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the father of the modern autobiography, glossed over details in Confessions, including why he sent all of his newborn children to orphanages. Lillian Hellman doctored Pentimento, and the feminist Simone de Beauvoir left out the striking fact that she envied all of Jean Paul-Sartre's paramours and was willing to abnegate herself to further his wishes.
What do you think?
I wanted more answers from Obama's first book: His mother was 18 when she gave birth to him, and she was left as a single mother two years later when his Kenyan father left for Harvard. What impact does this have on a young child, suddenly having Daddy disappear? How difficult was it for his mother, who was pursuing her own studies at the University of Hawaii? Is this the foundation of some of his teenage anger? Likely.
I'd also like to hear from those who, like me, have been crawling through The Audacity of Hope, reading bits here and there. Please let me know I'm not alone.
jhunter@suntimes.com
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 4:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home