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While reviewing an earlier book by Matthew Quick, I remarked that he wrote about men "on the edge of normalcy" who eventually find completion by the final page. This is another such study. In this case, David Granger has been harboring a long running case of PTSD. Fifty years worth. In the years since his time in the jungles of Viet Nam, he has managed to construct a life for himself outwardly prosperous, but inwardly screaming. As with his earlier books, Quick unspools the story through writing...
4.5 starsThe Reason You're Alive was quite something. The more I think about it the more I'm impressed.This is the story of an old Vietnam Veteran, David Granger, who finds himself under the doctor's knife to have a brain tumour removed. Slowly, we begin finding out about David's life, as he starts telling us his story. You see, Dave did some "bad shit" when in the jungles of Vietnam. He was a good soldier did what he was told, no questions asked. Following his discharge from Vietnam, he managed...
David Granger is a complex guy--a patriotic Vietnam vet who talks like he's an opinionated xenophobic homophobe, but whose actions often show just the opposite. As he's waking up from surgery to remove a brain tumor, he repeats the name of another veteran over and over--Clayton Fire Bear. Sixty-eight year old Granger feels guilty about the way he had treated Fire Bear in Vietnam, stealing his prized possession.As part of a project for Vietnam vets, Granger is narrating the story of his life. His...
I keep asking myself why the hell I liked this book so much… and I still don’t know. I think everyone knows someone like David Granger but they are probably not as charming.
The Reason You’re Alive involves a sixty-eight year old Vietnam veteran who has a brain tumor. Once he gets his surgery, things in life seem to matter more now than they did before. He has a son named Hank who has a daughter named Ella. He doesn’t like Hank so much, but Ella is his world. He is an honest American man, who doesn’t like any other race than his. He hates how America is run, especially since he’s a veteran. During the time of his brain tumor, he learns the truth about family and fri...
OMG A NEW MATTHEW QUICK NOVEL!!!! MY BODY IS READY. July 4, 2017?!
Mixed feelings. Difficult to read because the main character is, on paper, a person I would not enjoy spending time with, but he does grow on you, and while many of his views are politically incorrect and racist, some of his other views are decidedly...and he would hate that I use this word...liberal. It's an interesting read. I disagree with reviews that say this is a quick summer read--it's a book you need to take your time with.
Bold, risky. This book launches with a very unlikable protagonist that uses just about ever derogatory racial slur available by page three. Yet, you're intended to root for him. (I wanted to DNF, I stuck it out). After revealing all the trauma he suffered in the name of the USA, he evolves toward redemption and the usual MQ happy ending is arranged for him. The point of the book is for the reader to judge "our hero" by his actions, not his words. All the characters IN the book have the same chal...
A flag waving veteran attempts to restore integrity Having loved, Silver Lining Play book, I looked forward to humor, fun and engagement, most of which were lacking. David Granger, the central character, is perplexing to say the least. Suffering from Vietnam PTSD and recent head surgery, his racist/cultural/sexist judgement of others is worsened by his lack of fatherly understanding and compassion. He manages to find fault with anyone that thinks differently, doesn't wave the flag or isn't white...
"Only the good die young, and I've lived nasty.Live nasty, live forever."I loved this book! David was a crusty old Vietnam Veteran who wasn't afraid to say what he thought. He wore camo everyday and his views were pretty far to the right. David's son, Hank, was the complete opposite and very liberal. I loved all of the quirky characters in the book- David, Hank, Sue, Frank, Fire Bear and David's dad. In the beginning of the book I wasn't sure what to think of David, but he grew on me and I ended...
July 4th seems like the right day to review Matthew Quick's new novel - The Reason You're Alive.David Granger is a sixty eight year old Vietnam vet. He's also a father, a grandfather, a widower, a businessman, a friend, an enemy and a man with a brain tumor. The book opens with Granger recovering in hospital from surgery, seemingly reporting to a 'government representative' about his past. Specifically about a man he calls Clayton Fire Bear. "But I can't tell you everything about Fire Bear befor...
Exquisite storytelling, bold and offensive. At first, most readers will be taken aback by David Granger, a politically incorrect, swearing Vietnam Veteran and proud conspiracy theory believing White Republican American. Surprisingly, as the story continues, most readers will take an intriguing liking to this polarizing main character. Favorite Passages:The doctors were giving me the mushroom treatment - keeping me in the dark and feeding me bullshit.________(view spoiler)[My dumbass neurosurgeon...
Matthew Quick's "The Reason You're Alive" is a quick read with a lot of depth. His main character, David Granger, an unknown narrator until 50% of the way through the story, is an Archie Bunker type character but instead of being "A Man you love to hate", David is "A Man you stop hating and grow to love". He is recovering from brain surgery and as he shares his past, we see a man of deep compassion and fine character beneath his staid opinions, his outspokenness and camouflage outfit.This book w...
***Audiobook***Story: 5 stars Narration by R.C. Bray: 5+ starsThis audiobook is the reason why listening to books has become so popular- there's no way reading this book could have given me the same experience. And this was an experience.David Granger is a Vietnam vet who tells it like it is. I'm not going to lie-he said some pretty offensive stuff and there weren't very many sentences without a swear word in them. I could not believe some of the stuff that came out of his mouth. Yet I laughed
I generally like Matthew Quick, but this one felt off. The main character is a gun toting, Republican voting, non PC, Vietnam war vet. But he also has an eclectic collection of friends, all of whom tolerate and even love who he is (as in gun toting, republican voting etc. etc.) I find that a little hard to believe. Because I don't know, maybe this guy's voting pattern is harmful to gay people, blacks, and other racial minorities? That they wouldn't even think of questioning this is extremely wei...
This is not the Matthew Quick style of writing that I've become accustomed to reading. Even so, I loved it! We meet 68 year-old, Vietnam Veteran, David Granger after he has had a seizure and crashed his car. The doctors discover and operate to remove a brain tumor.At first, I couldn't stand David Granger. He seemed racist, bigoted, prejudiced and not afraid to share his opinions. As I read on, I began to see my brother-in-law as David Granger and my whole vibe for him changed. He fought a horrib...
A gorgeous exploration into the after-effects of war, racism and humanity.Man, I cannot emphasise how much I loved this book. I'd adored The Silver Linings Playbook because of its warmth and honesty, and this book had that exact same feel, with plenty of humour and emotion thrown in for good measure.David is a Vietnam war veteran, and at the start, we form a pretty abysmal opinion of him. He's unashamedly racist, makes the most inappropriate comments, and his son Hank, a middle-class liberal, is...
THE REASON YOU’RE ALIVE is another hit from Matthew Quick. Through an elderly right-wing, seemingly racist, Vietnam veteran and American patriot, Quick pens a story about finding common ground and unity in a politically polarizing world.Like in Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, Quick gives readers an unlikeable character in David Granger that you can’t help but love at the turn of the final page. A compelling, hilarious, and brutally honest narrator, there is more than what’s on the surface with
Sixty eight year old Dave Granger, a Vietnam returnee suffering PTSD and with a score to settle, freely comments on the hypocritical present day society while facing his own demons. The novel has its moments and I actually enjoyed reading it, but, for me, it lacked the power and the satisfying ending that were a feature of Quick’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.
Well, that was a surprise. If you had told me at the start of this book that I would be bawling and giving it 5 stars, I would have called you cray cray. But here we are. I’m still crying and it’s got 5 stars.