Review of The Sum of All the Pieces
Posted: 12 Sep 2023, 18:40
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Sum of All the Pieces" by Paul Bradford.]
I will start by saying that this book can be hard one to read; it took me some time, and I had A LOT of mixed feelings, and I still do. I did not dislike the book as a whole; I loved the reminiscing of the author's childhood and early marriage, but there are bits I disliked. It is subjective, but I think that from a moral point of view it's only natural. And this book is not only challenging in the sense that some of the experiences are disgusting but also in the sense that it shows the reality of life (and someone here might be living a different reality, but I talk about the essence of humanity, what we boil down to), how everything can turn with just a flicker or how it can take time to build up.
It is uncomfortable. It made me reflect on various topics, for example, how we are as a society and how little we have changed over time inspite the things that have happened throughout the years. We keep discovering, yet we do not learn from anything. And it goes for something as tedious and complex as a war, to how we treat diverse sexual orientations; it was depressing to read that something we have implemented and that is supposed to be the right thing can be riddled with malice or be down right evil (like the prison system and the way ex-convicts are managed).
It was painful to confirm over and over again that we have not changed, people in charge are still doing bad stuff, and most of us are still oblivious to it, eating up their lies for various reasons that may or may not be our fault.
I do not condone the crimes committed in any way, but as nihilist and negative as I'm, I can be optimistic in weird ways. I believe in one time crimes, and in some cases life builds up to events. We do not get into this book blind; we have the author notes and the general preview, but as I kept reading, I already knew the path or at least the end of the journey in certain aspects. Maybe the fact that I went to law school and read quite some about psychology gave me the clear view; it could also be general life experiences. Since the beginning I knew a specific situation was a sad disappointment. I do not condone his actions, but I feel for the author. We are a failed society that has neglected mental health and still does; if we had been more aware years ago, this book may not been wrotten.
This book can be heartbreaking and enraging in so many ways. If you are sensible enough, it hits you with multiple realities. I, for one, was angered by the confirmation that the prison system is still horrible; I know there is some people there who just committed a mistake, who were just hungry or who were defending themselves and reading the way they get treated in jail and the way they get treated after is- I HATE IT!
But I feel happy for the author and so glad he is finding his way and himself, even with all the restrictions he has to face. I like the hopeful note this book gets at the epilogue; it's not happy-go-lucky; it's realistic with a hint of that happy innocence he portrays with his childhood memories.
Surprisingly, I did not notice any mistakes in spelling or grammar; this has to be taken with a grain of salt, because I am not a native or expert english speaker/writer/reader. But they do jump to my eye, most of the times, so kudos to the editor!
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I like the pace and the author's personality; I can feel his attitude towards the situation. I am grateful for how conscious he is and how seriously he takes it. There were some uncomfortable topics to read, but nothing explicit; it was all written in a plain way.
******
The Sum of All the Pieces
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I will start by saying that this book can be hard one to read; it took me some time, and I had A LOT of mixed feelings, and I still do. I did not dislike the book as a whole; I loved the reminiscing of the author's childhood and early marriage, but there are bits I disliked. It is subjective, but I think that from a moral point of view it's only natural. And this book is not only challenging in the sense that some of the experiences are disgusting but also in the sense that it shows the reality of life (and someone here might be living a different reality, but I talk about the essence of humanity, what we boil down to), how everything can turn with just a flicker or how it can take time to build up.
It is uncomfortable. It made me reflect on various topics, for example, how we are as a society and how little we have changed over time inspite the things that have happened throughout the years. We keep discovering, yet we do not learn from anything. And it goes for something as tedious and complex as a war, to how we treat diverse sexual orientations; it was depressing to read that something we have implemented and that is supposed to be the right thing can be riddled with malice or be down right evil (like the prison system and the way ex-convicts are managed).
It was painful to confirm over and over again that we have not changed, people in charge are still doing bad stuff, and most of us are still oblivious to it, eating up their lies for various reasons that may or may not be our fault.
I do not condone the crimes committed in any way, but as nihilist and negative as I'm, I can be optimistic in weird ways. I believe in one time crimes, and in some cases life builds up to events. We do not get into this book blind; we have the author notes and the general preview, but as I kept reading, I already knew the path or at least the end of the journey in certain aspects. Maybe the fact that I went to law school and read quite some about psychology gave me the clear view; it could also be general life experiences. Since the beginning I knew a specific situation was a sad disappointment. I do not condone his actions, but I feel for the author. We are a failed society that has neglected mental health and still does; if we had been more aware years ago, this book may not been wrotten.
This book can be heartbreaking and enraging in so many ways. If you are sensible enough, it hits you with multiple realities. I, for one, was angered by the confirmation that the prison system is still horrible; I know there is some people there who just committed a mistake, who were just hungry or who were defending themselves and reading the way they get treated in jail and the way they get treated after is- I HATE IT!
But I feel happy for the author and so glad he is finding his way and himself, even with all the restrictions he has to face. I like the hopeful note this book gets at the epilogue; it's not happy-go-lucky; it's realistic with a hint of that happy innocence he portrays with his childhood memories.
Surprisingly, I did not notice any mistakes in spelling or grammar; this has to be taken with a grain of salt, because I am not a native or expert english speaker/writer/reader. But they do jump to my eye, most of the times, so kudos to the editor!
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I like the pace and the author's personality; I can feel his attitude towards the situation. I am grateful for how conscious he is and how seriously he takes it. There were some uncomfortable topics to read, but nothing explicit; it was all written in a plain way.
******
The Sum of All the Pieces
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon