Marra's use of vocabulary and sentence structure

There were frequent times when I stopped and reflected on a sentence which was so evocative or provocative that it really made me think (sometimes gasp) and admire the writing. Is that reaction shared and if so, would it impede or facilitate the flow of the reading experience?

I found the prose to be excellent and very dense. It required me to really pay attention as a reader, and made it somewhat difficult to engage in late night reading. But seriously - wow - I loved it!!

Each sentence was maximized, sometimes to the detriment of the story, I think. But more often than not, it captured the tension and essence of the moment. It was dense writing, but beautiful at times and evocative at others. It captured the tone of the characters and their experiences. You could hear the jackboots in the theater and the fire bombs in the desert. You felt the disorientation and loss.

Both the vocabulary and sentence structure was written with purpose of involving the readers by requiring them to pay attention to the details of what was happening in the narrative and what the characters were thinking or responding and how they evolved within the story.

The details she presented gave depth to the story. I thought her writing was wonderful. I found myself rereading certain passages because I thought they were so expressive. I liked her writing.

What an awesome writer. There were so many profound moments in writing as I read that if I were someone who marked up books with pens or highlighters the entire book would have been desecrated (LOL). And the humorous moments in the book were for me the most touching for me for some reason. He's a superior writer for sure.

Perhaps I was just not in the mood for "heavy" reading, but the vocabulary and sentence structure distanced me from the story. I often ended up impatient and started scanning rather than truly reading. I think this is why I never really engaged with the story.

Just the notion of "competitive nostalgia" is brilliant, and very useful. The introduction of random people and then giving them a life and a journey (p.111) is life like. Just yesterday I directed a man to a a French restaurant and as we walked along Hayes Street in San Francisco he told me that he lived in a silver mine in Nevada. And then we parted ways and now I am telling you. "Declaration [is my] favorite form of discourse after denial."

I delighted in the author's skill and power with short sentences akin to a boxer's jabs. Some examples are found on pp. 20-22.

I think Marra's use of vocabulary is wonderful. I underlined so many sentences just because his use of words was so deft and kept me reading for more! My favorite was an early description of Nino, that he was "to bullies as the Holy Family was to Raphael". Perfect!

I think his vocabulary choice, and writing style was brilliant. I loved it. So descriptive; I often could place myself at a scene, or feel the emotions of a character. It is not a book to quickly read through for that reason, and not a good book to read at night when one is a bit tired!

I found Marra's use of language masterful. I appreciated that I occasionally had to use my dictionary.I found some words challenging, but I
never found them competing with the narrative

Marra is a poet, in my eyes, his use of language is a true art. Several times, I re read lines to get the full meaning, and just to think of how the words worked together to make a beautiful sentence. So much detail, the images were so vivid to me. I definitely want to read more of his writing!

I agree with another reader, I more than occasionally needed to use my dictionary to get its meaning. It made it a book that one could not read quickly and often by having to seek the word's definition it stopped the flow of the narrative.