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Title: Home Town by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 0-671-78521-4 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (50 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Many New England Town
Comment: I suspect that this is the story of not only a N. England town, but about many small towns in America. I found the reading to be very slow moving and seemingly without direction in some areas. The details are charming if you know something about the geography(and I do). Northampton and the characters within it are well developed and take on a certain reality of there own, kind of like those neighbors we once knew. All small town parameters are amply covered in terms of history, politics, and an occasional buffoon. Smith College, hospitals, other institutions, streets, and surrounding hills paint an unforgettable picture of this Pioneer valley. A wonderfully quiet read full of entertaining information and imagination.
Rating: 3
Summary: Mixed bag
Comment: Tracy Kidder did an excellent job of capturing the many facets of Northampton. Unfortunately, the story didn't capture my attention like I had hoped.
Perhaps I'm too biased from having visited Northampton so many times in my life. I kept thinking, "Yeah? So what's the big deal?" Perhaps I know too many people like the main characters? Perhaps I've lived in too many other towns like Northampton. Granted, I've never found a town QUITE like Northampton but I've found similar places with their own complex webs of history, shame and quirks.
I have a feeling the "flatness" of the story probably had something to do with the fact that Kidder was reporting reality. I couldn't help but wonder if Kidder was manipulating any of the characters in his book to get a better story. (I doubt it but the thought did cross my mind)
Kidder took on a difficult task and I suppose he did about as well as he could.
It's an interesting, voyeuristic read and it really does reflect the reality of Northampton.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very nicely written; gives a sense of a 'blip on the map'
Comment: I have family in Northampton, MA (where this book is set) and have always loved to visit and walk into town. In a way I was surprised to see that this otherwise insignificant little town was worth an entire 300+ pages (hardcover) but I also wasn't surprised, perhaps because of the great diversity of people that Kidder refers to in this book. Having read this book (well most of it) and seen many of the points Kidder refers to, I can now get a better appreciation for Main Street, which I had otherwise thought of as 'just another town street', and the history of the town as a whole. Well written and very hard to put down.
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Title: Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 0375506160 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: House by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 0618001913 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Soul of a New Machine, The by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 0316491977 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 0380710897 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: September, 1990 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Old Friends by Tracy Kidder ISBN: 039571088X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: October, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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