Matthew DicksCríticas

Rozhodně skvělá kniha, za jejíž doporučení moc děkuju Michalu Zahálkovi. Nikdy bych nevěřil, že takhle ryzí experiment současně dokáže být velmi vtipný a čtivý. Hlavní hrdina je samozřejmě tak trochu magor a celou dobu mě tím děsně štval ;o) Čtenáři ze střední Evropy mimo to občas může chybět nějaký ten "kulturní kontext", ale není to nic tragického... Celkový dojem: 90%½

Crying & heart squeezes combined with a unique and successful format = ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Also, 100th book of the year!!! That's a new and huge and unplanned accomplishment for me. :) See the full review and more at MyBookJoy.com!

Recommended: yes!
For a unique format, for an intimate way to learn one man's heart and fears

Thoughts:
This is going to be a pretty mixed review for a five star rating, and I really debated what to give it for a while. Ultimately I went for five stars, because the depth the author was able to give through such a simplistic format was impressive. He thrived in a limitation, and created something unique and well done. Despite some of my nitpicky feelings on other elements within the story, I'm overall celebrating this as a fantastic accomplishment and worthy addition to my shelf.

The lists make this look deceptively simple, but the story itself involves a conflicted and twisting heart the whole way through. Dan reveals bits and pieces of himself through his lists, from the mundane to the secretive to the humiliating. The intimacy with which we learn to see him comes from the format, as his lists are explained as partly a therapist-ordered journaling method.

That said, I didn't actually like Dan that much. We meet him at a difficult time in his life, but the decisions he makes are repeatedly colossally stupid and it's hard to empathize at times. Similarly, his portrayal of his wife is somewhat mixed, at times making her seem a saint and others a lazy jealous slob. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot, and working pretty hard to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy and accept the story.

Ultimately, I ended up crying, which is pretty much an automatic five stars. Anything that can make me feel enough to force liquids out of my body is laudable. The lists were so intriguing, and made me think about what story my own lists would tell (grocery, to-do, to-read, and otherwise).

Matthew Dicks never disappoints.

I found this book both sweet and almost unbearably stressful. It transports you right into the brain of an anxious and possibly (probably?) depressed fourteen year old boy carrying secrets that push him nearly to the breaking point over two days of his life.

I follow the author on social media and have heard him tell many live stories via The Moth and I feel like a lot of familiar things about him come through in this story too. It felt very him.

I really enjoy Matthew Dicks and have read all of his fiction books and lots of his online blog and social media and I've heard him tell quite a few stories at The Moth and therefore I can see so much of him in this novel made up of lists. (That's a positive note!)

It's unlike anything I've read before (except other things written by the author...see above) and it's quick and quirky and has a plot even though the format is so unconventional. In that way, I liked the book. Unfortunately, I didn't like quite a bit about it too, mostly THE THING the protagonist, Dan, is planning for in many of his lists. Because I didn't like that, I had a hard time coming around to Dan and appreciating him fully. That said, he's a fully drawn character and he made me have FEELINGS (good and bad!) and that is certainly a win for any author!

Overall, I found this glimpse into the head/thinking of a stressed out guy to be funny and entertaining but also exasperating as I try to work out how much of this is universal "guy think" and how much is it just this one weird, fictional, guy?

A completely original story about an imaginary friend and his human dealing with a complicated and scary problem.

Delightful descriptions of all sorts of imaginary friend characters, believable and likeable main characters and a page turning plot. My favorite of Matthew Dicks books (and I liked all three!)

Finished in one day at the beach.

This was a fast paced and easy to read book about a 40 something woman deciding to take on some of the demons that have haunted her since high school.

The overall plot is a little bit wacky (as all of Matthew Dicks plots are) but it all felt very true to me and as a person who is very much like Caroline, it brought back some familiar feelings from high school.

I also love this one sentence more than anyone should: "...when you're forty, you're not supposed to be this stupid."

I wanted to like this but it just never got off the ground for me. I never warmed up to Martin, the main character. He's a creepy, loner, germ-o-phobe thief who has a hidden soft side...but I really didn't want to get to know his soft side because I was too creeped out by the rest of him.

Great concept of small time thief.

I'm really at 3.5 on this one. I enjoyed the plot and I found myself really feeling sympathy for Milo even though he's a pretty strange guy. All of the cultural references in the book seemed to be snatched out of my own childhood memories -- so that helped me to enjoy the book more too.

Still, I'm not sure that this story will work for everyone, hence the hedging between 3 and 4 stars.

This is my second Matthew Dicks book and while I enjoyed the plot of the first one (Something Missing) I never warmed up to the main character. In this one, it was easy to appreciate all Milo's good qualities and his struggle to appear normal. I think we all fight that fight to some extent within ourselves.

Very much looking forward to Matthew Dicks next book: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.

For fans of [b:The Spellman Files|129117|The Spellman Files (The Spellmans, #1)|Lisa Lutz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171981639s/129117.jpg|2896642] and the TV series Monk, I implore you to read this sweet, funny, totally enjoyable story. It's one of my favorite kinds of books: quirky, smart, and well-paced with memorable characters and a satisfying conclusion. It's got suspense, a bit of romance, and it offers a perspective on the world that you've probably never considered. Chew on this: Are you a bad person if you steal things no one will miss?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this unique book. I'm a list-maker, but not to this extent! :) Yet Daniel's personality shines through on his many quirky lists as he tries to get his act together, first for his wife (who he is sure still loves her deceased husband more than she does him.) Then, their unborn baby is added to his list of people to fret over, people who he knows depend on him to get his life in order.
Yes, his lists can be funny. They are also heartfelt as you envision this man feeling backed into a corner financially, hoping he doesn't have to tell his wife just how dire things have become.
I enjoyed this unusual way to tell a story and thought it very clever to unfold a person's life joys and sorrows in such a unique way.

Whoa. This is a super awesome book on storytelling.

The title sounds like a cheesy self-help book, but it surprised me. I expected it to be like a typical non-fiction book, but it reads like a beautiful novel.

The author tells many powerful stories of his life and explains how we can also learn to tell stories. Not just fantasy stories, but authentic and honest stories of our lives that can connect with people. I never was aware of the storytelling communities or the art of storytelling. I knew standup comedy, screenwriting, and novels are ways of crucial storytelling. But I was thrilled to discover the world of storytellers, The Moth GrandSLAM, through this book.

I will dig deep into the rabbit hole of storytellers and workshops on this topic. Why wouldn't I want to entertain the people I love and respect with some genuine, authentic, and vulnerable stories of my life!

Damn, this is my best book of the year. Period.

This one hit me right in the feelers. A few parts were tedious, but the last third of the book made it all worthwhile, and then some. Sweetness.

(And "everyone is someone's devil" is so, so true. That line's a keeper.)

Querido lector:
La novela que tienes en tus manos es especial, como Max.
La novela que tienes en tus manos es única, como Max.
La novela que tienes en tus manos es valiente, como Max.
Max solo tiene 8 años y no es como los demás niños. Él vive para adentro y cuanto menos le molesten, mucho mejor. No le gustan los cambios, las sorpresas, los ruidos, que lo toquen y que le hagan hablar por hablar. Si alguien le preguntara cuándo es más feliz, seguro que diría que jugando con sus legos planeando batallas entre ejércitos enemigos. Max no tiene amigos, porque nadie lo entiende y todos, hasta los profesores y sus propios padres, quieren que sea de otra manera. Solo me tiene a mí, que soy su amigo desde hace cinco años. Ahora sé que Max corre peligro y solo yo lo puedo ayudar. El problema es que Max es el único que puede verme y oír. Tengo mucho miedo por él, pero sobre todo por mí. Los padres de Max dicen que soy un «amigo imaginario». Espero que a estas alturas tengas claro que no soy imaginario.

The titular list was indeed the best.

This was very sweet. A gimmick, indeed, but a gimmick that was well planned out and thought through. If you don't like gimmicks, don't read this. If you're open though, this is quite a delight.

I adored how Jill and Daniel's relationship evolved throughout this book. Daniel's employees were the absolute worst in the most hilarious way.

Swell book-it doesn't have a lot of dialogue at first (the only interaction he has for around 150 pages is with a parrot), but the idea of a thief who thinks of the people he robs regularly as his "clients," a thief who is rather attached to the people on his client list and only steals what they won't miss, is wonderful. The description of his adventures was thoughtful and original, and the character of Martin truly lovable.

4.5 stars.
This isn't a story that would have caught my eye with another narrator, but since it's told by an imaginary friend, I figured it was up my alley. I already knew I liked Matthew Dicks; I really enjoyed [b:Something Missing|6280473|Something Missing|Matthew Dicks|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320524133s/6280473.jpg|6464070] when I read it a few years ago. This book was nothing like it but still wonderful. Well-imagined and thoughtful, Dicks took a fanciful idea and gave it both sweetness and depth. I loved these characters, especially Mrs. Gosk.
Not sure I'm completely convinced by the explanation of how Max managed to get himself all the way home without "getting stuck", but I still liked the chase and the rousing ending to the book.
Don't miss it.

Life homework has changed my life. Writing down a memory from each day has made me stop to think about each day. Story telling is a gift we preachers need to always get better at.

Compulsively readable and incredibly moving. The ending made me cry, which doesn't happen very often.

A story told from the perspective of an imaginary friend. At times quirky and engaging, other times a little too detached, Green tackles tough topics with an interesting twist.

What a wonderful debut novel about a lovable thief! Martin is believable, sympathetic, and twisted all at the same time. I love how Martin refers to his victims as "clients" and his life of crime as "work".

A must read for anyone interested in suspense, mystery, psychology, and literature.

This book was so good. I can't even explain it to you in any other way except to think of it like a pretzel. Keep the details straight and you should be ok. Read it.

Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher. It's a different kind of read that's for sure and it may be the first I've read in this format.

A funny yet silly book written in lists. The beginning of the chapters started the same way with their expenses. Jill wants a baby and is a teacher; Dan quit his job as a teacher and owns a not so successful bookstore, which he always wanted to do anyway. He tries to find ways to get more $ without asking his family and thinks of ways to get it. One pans out which involves going to multiple bingo halls. Not a very practical idea but wait, it might work.

Twenty-one Truths About Love is a novel written as a series of daily lists, and sometimes multiple lists in a day. Dan is insecure- as owner of a bookstore and his management of it, of his wife's love, of his ability to be a good father, about his relationship with his own father. Over the course of a few months, Dan's financial situation becomes more desperate and Dan becomes more anxious about how to resolve it.
This is a sweet, endearing novel about love, strength, friendship, and relationships. I really enjoyed the majority of the novel, and laughed at many of the observations. I recommend this quick read.

Somewhat humorous story about a thief, who supports himself by repeatedly stealing from his "clients," and then gets caught up trying to help them. In one such activity, he finally meets a nice girl, and then gets seriously hurt saving a client from a vicious attack, but pledges to change his ways.