Anonymous Reviewer
After Walsh’s father dies in the middle of a handball game, the young advertising executive quits his job to follow a variant on one of the old man’s dreams by bowling at least once in all 50 states. (Walsh tried to add the District of Columbia to the list, but the White House wasn’t keen on letting him roll in its basement lanes.) Walsh’s story has a string of amusing moments—he loses a game against a blind man, has failed romantic encounters in three different states and almost misses his last game because of a stubborn car rental clerk—but lacks dramatic tension. From the moment he sets out in the car his mother lends him, Walsh’s ability to complete his mission is never in doubt; as soon as he mentions the possibility of a sponsorship from a beer company, readers can safely assume he’ll close the deal—which simply means he spends most of the trip drinking their beer. It’s a clever enough story, but apart from some self-deprecating quips about how women (like his ex-girlfriend) don’t really go for unemployed nomads, readers looking for a transformative life lesson will have to look elsewhere. (Oct. 30)
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[Editor's note: whiny response posted here.]
September 29th, 2008 at 10:56 pm (#)
They say you shouldn’t read your own reviews, good or bad, lest they affect your self-opinion. And you certainly shouldn’t respond to them. But, this being my first ever review, I feel compelled to dwell on it, internalize it, rationalize it and meekly lash out at it.
In my more honest moments, I’ll concede that it’s exactly the review I expected. Aside from being impressed at the reviewer’s ability to summarize the book so thoroughly in so few words, I anticipated comments like “lacks dramatic tension” and it being light on transformative life lessons. But…
…in my more self-righteous moments I wonder what set the reviewer’s expectations where they were. “From the moment he sets out…Walsh’s ability to complete his mission is never in doubt.” Well, the title does include the phrase, “50 States in Rented Shoes.” Not “almost 50 states” or “a grand effort to reach 50 states.” So arguably one wouldn’t have to read past the cover to discern that. (My apologies for not including a spoiler alert at the top of this post…and on the book jacket as well.)
And speaking of the cover, does the pair of red and blue bowling shoes scream “transformative life lessons inside!”? The description on the inner flap does say, “…insightful, and at times moving…an epic journey that will enthrall readers…”, but it also describes “an innuendo-laden e-mail” from a woman calling herself “Bowling Spice.” This doesn’t exactly promise A CATCHER IN THE RYE now, does it? It would be as accurate to conclude that, “those looking for the world’s greatest chili recipe will have to look elsewhere.” As accurate, and as relevant.
Ahhh. Having now proven why one should never read nor respond to reviews, I’ll close by reiterating that it’s what I expected, and largely fair. Still, I prefer a friend’s distillation of it, which reads:
“DRAMATIC TENSION…[f]rom the moment he sets out…Walsh’s ability…is never in doubt…a transformative life lesson.”