The Brothers K by David James Duncan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Brothers K
Book Review: Dostoyveski would be proud!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't fish, and I HATE baseball, but it just doesn't matter when you are reading a book by David James Duncan. It's the characters who matter. It's the relationships. And the feelings you feel as you read. I have recomended this book to SO many friends, and have bought more copies for gifts than I can remember. I read it for the first time on a trip to Canada, the second time on a trip to South America, and now a third time while I procrastinate with this pile of work here in front of me. It's just one of those books that draws you in, and you become a part of it... Let youself become a part of it!Book Review: Duncan Dosteovsky
Summary: 5 Stars
In some ways BETTER than "The River Why," but then again the perfect follow-up. Duncan growing as an author, and just as funny, sweet, sad, multi-colored and deep, like the reflections of sky and stars off his rushing waters, and as deep as the fish swimming therein. About the only complaint anyone can have with David James Duncan is WHY doesn't he write more? Not many people write as well or as richly as William Goldman, or make it all seem so effortless, but Duncan is one contemporary author, who like Goldman, seems one part philosopher and one part magician and two parts poet, an ethereal recipe for a great writer. If you love to read and haven't yet read David James Duncan, get "The River Why" and "The Brothers K" together and prepare yourself for weeping/screaming/laughing jags that will keep you going through many days -- these are books you will read more than once, and will treasure forever. And like me, you'll feel the overwhelming urge to share Duncan with those you love best.Book Review: Duncan at the Top of His Game
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably one of the best newer novels I have ever read. If you want to read Duncan at the top of his game, this is the book to get. Duncan as always paints a portrait of a simple concept - love - between peoples young and old, in family, between complete strangers, for nature, rituals like baseball - and all in the midst of and despite hatred, war, ignorance, oppressive religion, and the inevitable confusions which are inherent within a world of personalities and change.
I love Duncan for his passionate and almost wild piling of themes, emotions, beliefs. He'll take you from the heights of religious feeling and compassion to the base level of sarcastic wit and devilish humor, from the depths of bitter conflict to the possibility of redemption - and often within a single page. His sentences are often long and unfettered, but his discipline as a writer finds an uncanny balance in and among the chaos. Read this book if you want to laugh and cry almost simultaneously, but more importantly to get to know intimately some of the most compelling characters you'll ever encounter.
Book Review: Duncan equals Dostoevsky
Summary: 5 Stars
I am one who holds the opinion that The Brothers Kharmazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky is the greatest novel ever written. So when I picked up David James Duncan's The Brothers K, it was naturally with a good deal of skepticism. Anyone who wanders into the subject matter of the master, and even presumes to title his book similarly, had better live up to Dostoevsky's genius. Duncan's novel is nothing like Dostoevsky's and yet it is everything like it. More importantly, Duncan equals Dostoevsky's philosophical scope, religious insight, and understanding of the complexity of family relationships. And through it all, he manages to be fall-down, pee-your-pants funny. This is a terrifically entertaining novel of vast spiritual importance. Duncan is in every way as good as the master.Book Review: Duncan hits a home run
Summary: 5 Stars
THE BROTHERS K is a remarkable story spanning just over a decade in the lives of the Chance family. Comprised of Papa Hugh, Mama Laura, brothers Everett, Irwin, Pete, Kincaid, and twin sisters Beatrice and Winifred, the Chances are a baseball loving, God-fearing (most of them anyway) family living during the height of the Vietnam era.The Chances struggle with issues of religion, humanity, love, life, and death throughout the novel - themes that are always relevant. While the story focuses on the Chance brothers, Duncan has a way of giving each character a distinctive personality and voice all masterfully led by youngest brother Kincaid, who narrates the saga. THE BROTHERS K is a masterfully crafted story that is funny, tragic and hopeful. After 645 pages, I had fallen in love with the Chance family - each and every one of them - and was sad to say goodbye.