Review by KellyS_888 -- Man Mission by Eytan Uliel
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KellyS_888
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Review by KellyS_888 -- Man Mission by Eytan Uliel
[Following is a volunteer review of "Man Mission" by Eytan Uliel.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Man Mission by Eytan Uliel is a book about a journey, the one traveled by every person who has ever lived, including you and me.
Uliel uses a nameless protagonist, a writing tactic used to represent that the main character is an "everyman" and so, figuratively speaking, you could insert any given man's name into the blank. Personally, I dislike this particular maneuver because it makes it very difficult to talk about the character! Let's just call the no-name protagonist MC, for Main Character.
MC and his three closest friends are the founders of Man Mission. The objective of Man Mission is to travel somewhere exotic once a year and to do something macho and usually beyond MC's athletic abilities, like kayaking or hiking. They keep up this tradition for 15 years, well into middle age, and observe what it means to be a man all throughout our world.
In between these trips, life happens. Even though MC manages to injure himself on basically every Man Mission, he seems to cause himself the most pain through his everday mistakes. He has two character flaws that cause the majority of his problems: a fear of expressing himself and a reluctance to make his own decisions. For example, he accepts a job in banking because his father decides it would be more practical than the law career MC had wanted.
Also, he never trusts his own instincts. When he announces that he wants to propose to his girlfriend, Rachel, he says, "'I'm pretty sure about it.' It sounded like I was trying to convince myself as well as Sam (24)." He's probably unsure because Rachel is like the stereotypical Nagging Shrew from some old sitcom. She never has a nice thing to say and spends her nights with her legs shut tight and her days thinking of new and creative ways to tell her husband that he is terrible.
When MC is offered a job by a headhunter that sounds "more fulfilling" than his current position, he intends to take it. However, when he tries to quit his current position, he is "concerned with how...incredibly unmanly it would sound to talk about...my lack of inner purpose(155)." So, he mumbles something about wanting more money. His boss tells MC that he is a valued employee and asks how he could get him to stay. Instead of standing strong by his decision to quit, MC creates an impossible list of demands so that his boss will have no choice but to let him go. "He'd read them, refuse, and then my decision would be made for me (156)." But his boss agrees to everything. "I hung my head as the realization of what had just happened hit me...Now I can't leave (156)."
I didn't like this part of the book. I know that we are supposed to sympathize with MC and maybe even be disappointed in him for being afraid to speak his mind and for allowing someone else to make his decision...again. But, I'm not sure he even wanted this new job that badly. MC is the type of guy who overexplains everything, yet he doesn't even tell the reader anything about this new position. Could he have really been THAT excited over it? Not to mention, in one sitting, his boss agrees to give him a promotion, a doubled salary, premium health insurance, six annual vacation weeks, a company car, and more. Are we really supposed to think, "Wow, man, how could you let him just get away with offering you such a sweet package? Is that what you want out of your career? Money and benefits? Shame on you!" Does he know how many people spend their adulthood bustin' bottom at underpaid jobs and tolerating the fact that their supervisors don't treat them like human beings because, if they don't, they will lose the job that they loathe? I can understand his need to try on new things and see what fits, as well as the anguish he feels from only seeing his children for several minutes in the evening before bed. However, many people share those same problems. Unlike many of those people, MC has the means to amply provide for his family, not to mention a boss who obviously values him. This makes it hard to feel sorry for him or even relate to him here.
So, will MC find it within himself to create his own path in life? Or will he realize how much he already has and that gratitude is the key to happiness? Will he finally find his voice, and then use it to tell Rachel that he wants a divorce?
One thing I really liked about the book was the whole Lion King "Circle of Life" kind of sentiment that MC evokes with his many reflections about how his time on earth echoes that of every man throughout history, and of his ancestors, and how his son will continue to carry on the traditions, burdens and celebrations that men have shared throughout the centuries. He even contemplates our connection to the animals--he sees himself as the lion trapped at the zoo, and he sees Rachel as the leopardess who yawns and walks away with "better things to do," symbolically dismissing him just the way his wife always does. Reading this book induces a deep feeling of connection with every living thing that has, is, or will ever walk this earth. This makes you feel part of something big while simultaneously making your problems seem small and brief.
I also liked how Man Mission's death-defying experiences prove that it's true you feel most alive when you might die. After surviving a dodgy kayaking mission in Fiji, MC feels "pumped up and alive. More than that, I felt powerful (135)." After some precarious ice climbing in Iceland, he reaches the top and "adrenaline began to flood my body, and I couldn't hold the energy in, shrieking my delight like a wild banshee (349)."
I had fun reading this book and would definitely recommend it although, due to the excessive profanity, I would say this book is unsuitable for younger readers.
I give Man Mission 3 stars out of 4. I deducted one star because of the annoying "unnamed main character" device, as well as the fact that Uliel employed that particular device to communicate that MC is a no-name "everyman", even though he is actually a wealthy, successful white-collar banker with a wife and three healthy kids who is able to take annual exotic vacations with his friends and still longs for more. I also found several punctuation errors.
Other than that, this book is very entertaining and the author demonstrates a profound understanding of the common obstacles that we all face both in life and in our minds. Clearly, the theme of this book is learning through travel. As readers, we tour the world with Man Mission, but it doesn't take long to realize that the key journey of the book is traveling the road of adulthood.
******
Man Mission
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
3 out of 4 stars
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Man Mission by Eytan Uliel is a book about a journey, the one traveled by every person who has ever lived, including you and me.
Uliel uses a nameless protagonist, a writing tactic used to represent that the main character is an "everyman" and so, figuratively speaking, you could insert any given man's name into the blank. Personally, I dislike this particular maneuver because it makes it very difficult to talk about the character! Let's just call the no-name protagonist MC, for Main Character.
MC and his three closest friends are the founders of Man Mission. The objective of Man Mission is to travel somewhere exotic once a year and to do something macho and usually beyond MC's athletic abilities, like kayaking or hiking. They keep up this tradition for 15 years, well into middle age, and observe what it means to be a man all throughout our world.
In between these trips, life happens. Even though MC manages to injure himself on basically every Man Mission, he seems to cause himself the most pain through his everday mistakes. He has two character flaws that cause the majority of his problems: a fear of expressing himself and a reluctance to make his own decisions. For example, he accepts a job in banking because his father decides it would be more practical than the law career MC had wanted.
Also, he never trusts his own instincts. When he announces that he wants to propose to his girlfriend, Rachel, he says, "'I'm pretty sure about it.' It sounded like I was trying to convince myself as well as Sam (24)." He's probably unsure because Rachel is like the stereotypical Nagging Shrew from some old sitcom. She never has a nice thing to say and spends her nights with her legs shut tight and her days thinking of new and creative ways to tell her husband that he is terrible.
When MC is offered a job by a headhunter that sounds "more fulfilling" than his current position, he intends to take it. However, when he tries to quit his current position, he is "concerned with how...incredibly unmanly it would sound to talk about...my lack of inner purpose(155)." So, he mumbles something about wanting more money. His boss tells MC that he is a valued employee and asks how he could get him to stay. Instead of standing strong by his decision to quit, MC creates an impossible list of demands so that his boss will have no choice but to let him go. "He'd read them, refuse, and then my decision would be made for me (156)." But his boss agrees to everything. "I hung my head as the realization of what had just happened hit me...Now I can't leave (156)."
I didn't like this part of the book. I know that we are supposed to sympathize with MC and maybe even be disappointed in him for being afraid to speak his mind and for allowing someone else to make his decision...again. But, I'm not sure he even wanted this new job that badly. MC is the type of guy who overexplains everything, yet he doesn't even tell the reader anything about this new position. Could he have really been THAT excited over it? Not to mention, in one sitting, his boss agrees to give him a promotion, a doubled salary, premium health insurance, six annual vacation weeks, a company car, and more. Are we really supposed to think, "Wow, man, how could you let him just get away with offering you such a sweet package? Is that what you want out of your career? Money and benefits? Shame on you!" Does he know how many people spend their adulthood bustin' bottom at underpaid jobs and tolerating the fact that their supervisors don't treat them like human beings because, if they don't, they will lose the job that they loathe? I can understand his need to try on new things and see what fits, as well as the anguish he feels from only seeing his children for several minutes in the evening before bed. However, many people share those same problems. Unlike many of those people, MC has the means to amply provide for his family, not to mention a boss who obviously values him. This makes it hard to feel sorry for him or even relate to him here.
So, will MC find it within himself to create his own path in life? Or will he realize how much he already has and that gratitude is the key to happiness? Will he finally find his voice, and then use it to tell Rachel that he wants a divorce?
One thing I really liked about the book was the whole Lion King "Circle of Life" kind of sentiment that MC evokes with his many reflections about how his time on earth echoes that of every man throughout history, and of his ancestors, and how his son will continue to carry on the traditions, burdens and celebrations that men have shared throughout the centuries. He even contemplates our connection to the animals--he sees himself as the lion trapped at the zoo, and he sees Rachel as the leopardess who yawns and walks away with "better things to do," symbolically dismissing him just the way his wife always does. Reading this book induces a deep feeling of connection with every living thing that has, is, or will ever walk this earth. This makes you feel part of something big while simultaneously making your problems seem small and brief.
I also liked how Man Mission's death-defying experiences prove that it's true you feel most alive when you might die. After surviving a dodgy kayaking mission in Fiji, MC feels "pumped up and alive. More than that, I felt powerful (135)." After some precarious ice climbing in Iceland, he reaches the top and "adrenaline began to flood my body, and I couldn't hold the energy in, shrieking my delight like a wild banshee (349)."
I had fun reading this book and would definitely recommend it although, due to the excessive profanity, I would say this book is unsuitable for younger readers.
I give Man Mission 3 stars out of 4. I deducted one star because of the annoying "unnamed main character" device, as well as the fact that Uliel employed that particular device to communicate that MC is a no-name "everyman", even though he is actually a wealthy, successful white-collar banker with a wife and three healthy kids who is able to take annual exotic vacations with his friends and still longs for more. I also found several punctuation errors.
Other than that, this book is very entertaining and the author demonstrates a profound understanding of the common obstacles that we all face both in life and in our minds. Clearly, the theme of this book is learning through travel. As readers, we tour the world with Man Mission, but it doesn't take long to realize that the key journey of the book is traveling the road of adulthood.
******
Man Mission
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Containment Breach by Wm. A. Yandell
