I picked up this book in hardback form at the Dollar Store yesterday. Usually the books they have at the Dollar Store are there because they’re no good: no one wants to read them. This book was a notable exception. I’d seen it elsewhere and remembered being intrigued by the tale.
This is not a clean book. It enumerates the rough-and-tumble life of profit-motivated men who have sacrificed living in the hemisphere of their birth in order to chase wealth and excess. But it is a fast read. I started it yesterday evening and finished it, 271 pages later, this evening.
My assessment: First, the book is oversold. It isn’t as intriguing as it hypes itself to be. It’s somehow more real and down-to-earth because of this, enhancing the appeal for me. It’s also been novelized a bit, and the writer’s main information source was the main character. This may have colored his judgement in some ways. The novelization was a good idea, and made it more enjoyable to read. The author also has entire chapters devoted to his actual research for writing the book, which make decent interludes to the story and tell us rather more about the author than is customary. Also, the book has great cover art. Despite the old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” lots of people put lots of work into making great cover art, and there has to be something to that.
The author, Ben Mezrich, has a knack for pleasant description. In the book summary and in the manuscript itself, he describes his subjects as having, “…a warped sense or morality and proportion.” At another point he describes scenery being turned by the speed of a motorcycle into a Monet from the inside of a helmet visor. Good stuff.
This book also re-awakened in me a spirit of adventure that comes with crossing cultures. Mezrich described the hero arriving in Japan for the first time in his professional life. He does a good job of describing the loneliness and confusion that come from being utterly alone in a culture not your own. It made me think of walking alone through the square in Krakow, Poland by dusk-light. Or hitchhiking alone across India for two days. I actually wondered for about a half hour how long it would take me to renew my passport and whether I can afford some time off this August.
I read because it takes me places. By that measure, this book was an absolute success.