The Brothers K by David James Duncan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Brothers K
Book Review: Brothers K and DJD, the best in a long time
Summary: 5 Stars
I just signed on and this is the first website that I came to. I had to. I read The Brothers K while cross country traveling a few years ago. The Brothers K is the best novel I have ever read. I could philosophize, but I won't. It is a movingly told story of every family. Everett's scene in the church left me in tears and cheering. If I could have any novel with me on the moon...Book Review: Complex, monumental, and worth the read.
Summary: 5 Stars
I would recommend The Brothers K to anyone, but most specifically to those who are interested in family life in the Northwest during the turbulent 60s. This 640 page novel, though flawed in some respects, is worth your time.
An excellent aspect of the Brothers K is its primary narration by Kincaid Chance, the youngest of four brothers, however the best thing about the book is simply the writing. This is an engaging story told in an engaging way. Duncan is not only gifted in relaying a message, but much of his writing in simply astounding in its careful, yet complex, delivery of a complicated story. Duncan sucks the reader into the family, and places you into the contexts of its characters. Difficult as it may be, we understand the frustrations of Hugh Chance. We deplore Laura Chance's destructive addiction to her religion, but we find solace in her attachment to it. Hard to understand? Absolutely, but realistic. And probably most important is how the family functions together. Extremely real.
My favorite passsages of the book occurred early when Kade is trying to bring his father out of his funk. I also really enjoyed the baseball connections, they helped to really cement the feel of the novel, as well as the Chance family's passion. The Ted Williams and Roger Maris stories both worked well with developing the plot. The story elements that describe Hugh Chance ressurecting his pitching career are classic human struggles. I also enjoyed the too little covered Irwin, who was the family's bastion of religious idealism.
I came to dislike Everett Chance, as well as the mother, though I tried to work my way through them. I also thought that Duncan did not make Everett realistic enough for me, though I suppose on some level, as a character, he worked well. Everett was just so insanely fanatical, and without a real purpose. I suppose it could be argued that millions of Everett's exist, but I found him hard to stomach. I also thought that his idea of saving Irwin was lackluster, and I didn't get the point of making it a mystery.
This is a huge novel, not just because of the 640 pages, but because of the breadth of information the reader is required to not only read, but understand, as well. Being a huge novel filled with complex issues, we have to understand that there will be flaws, and flaws do indeed raise their ugly little heads. Missing, I thought, was the inevitable connection to the music of that time and the characters. It was as if music didn't exist for any member of the family. In fact, until the seventies, it was never mentioned. I find this very unusual that a family wit six children, not one of them would be wrapped up in popular music to any degree. I found myself asking, "How is that possible?" I know how pervasive music was in the 50s and 60s, and particularly, in the Northwest, a stronghold of rock and roll, individual as it was. Northwest America rocked all though the 60s.
The book does have other flaws, such as mentioned earlier with the rotating narration having no valid connection to what was going on in the plot. I thought the book would have flowed better had the narration been confined to Kincaid Chance, as opposed to the wandering, once in awhile narration by Everett. Editing was indeed a problem for me, also. I had to wonder how some of the errors slipped by, those being in style, as well as grammatical.
Nonetheless, this is a superb novel with much to offer any reader. The setting is great, the story is addictive, the family is real, and the result is pure entertainment. I wasn't happy with the ending, though I don't know how I would improve upon it. I guess I thought it a bit trite and whimsical when balanced against the bulk of the book. Almost like it was tied up with a nice little ribbon and bow. It's almost as if the story died at a certain point, and Duncan didn't know what to do to ressurect it and then kill it.
Book Review: Converted to Baseball
Summary: 5 Stars
I was never a fan of baseball until I read David James Duncan's The Brothers K. However, this is a story that is not just about a sport, but an extraordinary family of four brothers, twin sisters, a 7th Day Adventist mother, and a father who had to forego his dream of pitching to provide for his family. What sets this novel apart aside from the wonderful characters, is the author's ability to weave a good yarn. Anyone familiar with John Irving's a Widow for One Year or The World According to Garp will adore this book. It charts the course of a family through a lifetime of ups and downs, pain and growth. Read it! It may be long, but every page is worth it.Book Review: Don't miss this one!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Brothers K takes you through one family's life and at the end you will be sorry the story doesn't go on for another 600 pages. The characters are real, funny and you laugh and cry all at the same time. I will read this book every year and recommend it to everyone.Book Review: Dostoevsky Updated
Summary: 4 Stars
The book is an impressive account of brothers living through experiences in the last part of twentieth-century history in this country. The sections on responses to the Vietnam war are quite vivid as are the accounts about and by each brother. The book is exciting and very well written. The author gives each character a different voice and interests. I had trouble putting it down.