pagesofjulia

I tried to read this on my trip to Ireland and gave up. Just a few brief notes as to why.

Backstory: the author’s son, at twelve, states that he will not be having a bar mitzvah because he is an atheist. The author still wants him to have a coming-of-age event, and suggest a cycling trip cross-country. Mom, Dad and both sons (the younger is 8 and will ride on the back of his dad’s tandem) start planning, and undertake a cause to attach to the trip: they will ride to Washington, D.C. gathering signatures on a petition to do something about global warming. My interest, of course, is in the cycling angle.

But Biers-Ariel failed to make me care about his admittedly heartfelt and well-meaning journey. The hope for anti-global-warming legislation is sympathetic, but a bit naive. Prosaic prose, simplified concepts, and jokes that fell flat wore on me; I read 53 pages, didn’t care what happened next, and was annoyed by author’s voice, but I wish him well. Did the family make it? You’ll have to read the book to find out for yourself.

Filed under: book reviews | Tagged: bikes, DNF, memoir, nonfiction, sports |