Shannon C. (Shannatram) reviewed His Oldest Friend: The Story of an Unlikely Bond on + 33 more book reviews
This book should have been a really good, interesting story. However, it fell flat.
The biggest problem was that each chapter read like a human interest story. I guess it WAS a human interest story, but that kind of purple prose works for an article, not 300+ pages. Every chapter started as though it was a new story. Rather than having a line to follow he would basically start over giving background and explaining the same things. I now know at least 4 similies for how baggy the guy's clothes were.
He also spent a LOT of time emphasizing how horrible each person's life was, which was kind of annoying. Every time he talked about the woman he'd go on and on about how horrible it is to be old. Every time he talked about the young guy he went on about how horrible street life is. It wasn't that he brought up a negative, but that he brought up the same negative over and over and over again.
Also, he didn't really dwell on Elvis and Ms. Oliver's relationship, which was the whole point of the book. We learned what brought them together but had no insight on how they became so close. We simply had random snippets of conversation, with her dolling out advice and him changing the subject seemingly at random. The author then tells us what the person was thinking at the time, which, I'm not sure how he found that out? Did he ask them what they were thinking? Or was it all speculation? Who knows.
The story had a lot of potential to be really interesting, but it just wasn't. It was boring, and honestly, frustrating. Two chapters in I wanted to put the book down, but really wanted to stick with it. Honestly, it just wasn't worth the frustration.
The biggest problem was that each chapter read like a human interest story. I guess it WAS a human interest story, but that kind of purple prose works for an article, not 300+ pages. Every chapter started as though it was a new story. Rather than having a line to follow he would basically start over giving background and explaining the same things. I now know at least 4 similies for how baggy the guy's clothes were.
He also spent a LOT of time emphasizing how horrible each person's life was, which was kind of annoying. Every time he talked about the woman he'd go on and on about how horrible it is to be old. Every time he talked about the young guy he went on about how horrible street life is. It wasn't that he brought up a negative, but that he brought up the same negative over and over and over again.
Also, he didn't really dwell on Elvis and Ms. Oliver's relationship, which was the whole point of the book. We learned what brought them together but had no insight on how they became so close. We simply had random snippets of conversation, with her dolling out advice and him changing the subject seemingly at random. The author then tells us what the person was thinking at the time, which, I'm not sure how he found that out? Did he ask them what they were thinking? Or was it all speculation? Who knows.
The story had a lot of potential to be really interesting, but it just wasn't. It was boring, and honestly, frustrating. Two chapters in I wanted to put the book down, but really wanted to stick with it. Honestly, it just wasn't worth the frustration.
I enjoyed this book because both of the two main characters are so far removed from my own life. Elvis is 20 years old, from the Dominican Republic, on his own, struggling to find himself, living in the hood and aspiring to write rap songs. Margaret is 93 and living in a nursing home, troubled with arthritis and failing eyesight and very pragmatic about the time she may have left. This is the true account of how they happened to meet and become friends, and what they each gave and received from the other. I am glad I stumbled upon this most enjoyable book.
