G23 Book Review of The Bouchard Legacy by Ted Magnuson
Author: Ted Magnuson
ISBN: 978-0980012514
Publisher: Cascade Press
Type of book: 1960s-1970s, meeting, shares, legal, doctor, Vietnam War, hippie dealings, against war, prominence, St. Louis Missouri, racism, background African American/American relationships
Year it was published: 2012
Summary:
The Bouchard Family Legacy is about to be passed on to a fourth generation...or will it?
When Paul and Randy were in high school, their parents married new spouses. What different understandings Paul and Randy have when it comes to the future of the family business.
Paul has earned a place in the world, but Randy owns it.
The Bouchard Legacy; a story of loyalty and greed, a story of prejudice and character; it’s the story of Randy and Paul coming of age in the tumultuous 1960’s and then; their arrival as men in the close of the 1970’s. Set in Mid-America, St Louis, MO
Characters:
The characters were all on the flat and dull side. The only thing I could recall is that the patriarch is racist and is sexist towards Margaret, her second husband her other son, while Randy isn't close to his father, wants to be a doctor and doesn't want children as well as falling into bad luck with drugs, alcohol and so forth. The women also were on the flat side, and I have to be honest in saying that I wanted to watch Cindy seduce Randy, or flirt with him more instead of being the way she is, or else get to know more about Linda and more about Margaret.
Theme:
No idea what it should be.
Plot:
Its written in third person narrative from either Randy's or Paul's points of views. They are half brothers by the same mother. The story itself seems disjointed in my opinion because I could barely understand how and why they got from point A to point B and why was I subjected to Vietnam War as well as hippy lifestyle and language? If they are a prominent family, why didn't the family raise objections to Randy's activities, and why exactly Randy didn't want to have kids? By the way, this book won't answer those questions. Also, something minor, but Bruce Jr was born in 1974, so how could he be a baby or kindergarten in 1979 or 1974? He'd be a child or a toddler by that point.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
url
https://www.goodreads.com/TedMagnuson
born
in Chicago, The United States
gender
male
website
twitter username
genre
influences
member since
March 2009
Ted Magnuson (1951-) grew up in Detroit, Michigan. After completing an MBA in Florida he traveled west to write business insurance for sawmills, lumber yards and other such business risks. In this calling, he had the opportunity to see companies passed down from father to son. As his own sons went through the changes from high school to college and career, Ted recalled his own passage to the adult world compelling him to write ‘The Bouchard Legacy. Ted loves the out of doors, especially cycling up and over mountain passes for days at a time. He is married, dances the Samba, and has two grown sons.
Opinion:
There were some glimmers of potential, but I didn't like the book at all. For me personally I couldn't feel emotional impact of what was going on with the characters, and the writing itself struck me as a whirlwind racing through the fields and no one taking notice of it. There is also far more telling than showing, and there is lack of chemistry between any characters. When I say chemistry I don't mean just attraction, but I mean that sometimes relationships spark and ignite between mother and daughters, or fathers and sons and so forth, but really, very flat and something that needs to be added in a lot more.(An enjoyable relationship such as one between Dumbledore and Harry for instance.)
Quick notes: I won this book on goodreads.com thus this review will appear in its entirety on goodreads as well as the blog.
1 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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