Do you think the book was one-sided or fair?

Use this forum to discuss the March 2018 Book of the Month, "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.
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shidawn
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Re: Do you think the book was one-sided or fair?

Post by shidawn »

I would definitely say that it is one-sided, not just on gun control but on issues such as immigration, racism, and even his feelings toward politics in general. With that being said, I will say that on some issues, I lean more toward his side, and on other issues, I lean more toward the other side, but I still enjoyed the book. It didn't offend me or make me want to argue with him. While it didn't change my view on anything, there were a few points where it made me think through issues on a deeper level.
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

I thought it was very left-leaning, it became obvious very early on in the book. This was a very uncomfortable book to read in that every character was practically the same in their beliefs. I respect the authors view, and it is his opinion (which he is upfront about) so I would say it is fair.
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Post by Kendra M Parker »

From the very start of the book, it is easy to tell that the book is going to be one-sided. The characterization of Fox News is probably just the first example. The characterization of the NRA rep on FoxNews also showed that thr author had little respect for them, too.

For those who agree, that makes for an easy read and doesn’t really require any extra thought on their part. If a reader is not on that side, though, I think it can make it really hard for the reader to finish the book. It is helpful to at least address the opposing side's concerns and provide some argument for your point of view if you want to make a change in someone else's opinion.
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Post by Christine Penny »

I am not even 20 percent into the book and I am sickened by the liberal soaked pages already! I realize why it is so hard to get through this book... It doesn't even seem like real conversations, it seems somewhat stilted...like it is just liberal banter interspersed with conversation to try to hide the animosity that is always behind the liberal agenda...I really wanted to give this book a try, and I really want to be a big part of this book club... and I guess that means reading the garbage with the good to be a great reviewer... but a book like this should be called what it is...political banter and not fiction... it is definitely one-sided. And can't be fair because the writer doesn't even understand the other side of the coin. If anyone really knew what the forefathers meant for this country to be like... there wouldn't be any screaming liberals, we would all have them shunned for being pathological liars.
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Post by chupke07 »

I am still working my way through the book, but it is very one sided. It honestly distracts from the story line and the main point of the text so far. Less general criticism of the right and more storytelling with it mixed in would be far more effective and would probably find a broader audience.
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Post by CheyenneR »

I felt that it was pretty fair considering the current climate in the US. If I had to pick I would say that the author is pretty anti-gun but I don't think that it takes away from the story at all. I feel that it sometimes helps to know what side the author is on because it helps the reader to formulate their own opinion better.
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Post by Storm+ »

This book definitely leans more toward the left's view of control. Throughout the story, the NRA is made into the villain by encouraging gun rights, which, in turn, allows for more gun violence. However, it is not the author's responsibility to cover all sides of an issue. While it might have been nice to have a character or two from the other side of the gun control debate, the author does not have to tell the story any other way than his own. In fact, he even acknowledges in his introduction that he has more liberal views of gun control and that he supports it. The point of the book is not to be "fair," it is to persuade others toward the author's point of view by explaining the truth as he sees it. Whether we agree or not is not his problem.
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Post by Jillpillbooknerd »

It was definitely very one sided when it comes to guns and gun control. It painted the NRA as the "bad guy" and even killed some of the "evil" employees towards the end of the book.
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Post by cpedley »

I think there might be a more ethical issue behind the book that is more than gun control. To me, the issue of gun control is the medium through which the concept of time is explored.

At first, I thought the narration was unbiased, but it seems to just be commentary of the character. Now the characters are biased, but some don’t care either way. Earl used to be in the army. He owned a gun. Vince didn’t and didn’t, but he acknowledged the opposition when watching Fox News.

Regardless, the Final Notice was the most engaging aspect of the text. I kept thinking of my Dad and his last week and what would have happened had he had this capability, but I’m not sure I’d want to know. Or to know it was coming. This concept is something I think a lot of people struggle with and think about, such as Vance acknowledging he is getting older although he doesn’t feel that way.
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Post by Jessica Reehl »

It was definitely left leaning. But, also well researched and well presented. I did feel like there was a bit of class warfare. The "good guys" were educated and mostly wealthy, the " bad guys" were presented as "thugs."
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Post by Jennifer Fernandez »

The book was definitely one-sided. Ideologically speaking, I'm not a right person but I'm neither a left. I tend to go more towards the left side but I believe in balance and about taking the best of both sides. That said the book was leaning very far towards the left. There's nothing wrong with that. To each its own. But, when almost all the good guys are minorities but all the bad guys are white people, there's a problem. Especially when it said that white people never faced police brutality. I think a bit more balance would not have hurt the book.
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Post by Alicia09 »

I think this book is definitely left leaning. You can see it multiple times when immigrants are attacked with gun violence and racial slurs, but when an immigrant themselves uses their religion to justify gun violence in America, Qasim and Rasha try to minimize it and sweep it under the carpet (there was mention of this somewhere in the second half of the book I think). You can also see it with the way there are more violent gun owners than peaceful, responsible gun owners in the story.
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Post by Doug Jones »

Fleisher makes his biases clear from the outset. So long as you approach the book with an open mind, his political inclinations shouldn't detract from the importance of the issues he raises.
Nothing is more conductive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
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Post by HollandBlue »

I agree that the book is left-leaning, but not to the point of being annoying to me(a somewhat independent conservative). I agree that gun control is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed. I think the book has a enough substance in the storyline that it's a good read for almost everyone, even if they don't support the author's views. The ultraconservative would probably find it annoying though.
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Post by Theresa Moffitt »

I think the book was a little one sided but I thought the author did a good job of having various characters debate issues to try to provide different viewpoints and considerations to the reader. I enjoyed the book
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