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Random Acts of Heroic Love

Author: Danny Scheinmann
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

55 reviews
Sales Rank: 72

Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.8 x 1.1

ISBN: 0552774227
EAN: 9780552774222
ASIN: 0552774227

Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 55

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Disappointing June 15, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I couldn't get into this book at all. Gave up one third of way through & glad I did. I thought the beginning was excellent, concerning Eleni & what happened to her but then went downhill fast. It just didn't hold my interest. I thought all those pictures of animals & sayings extemely annoying!

4 out of 5 stars

So good, I've written my first review... June 9, 2008
This book is a stonker. The emotional description starts off fairly crudely and feels laboured, but is quickly replaced by a story that embraces the reader. Two tales of love, weaved brilliantly together and written in a way that managed something rare - to bring a brief tear to my eyes. Absolutely brilliant.

2 out of 5 stars

One of the most romantic titles around, but the content disappoints June 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Ok, have to admit the book title itself deserves 5 stars, and I really wanted a good read about love, loss and emotional journeys - to the extent that I picked up only on the positive reviews, having seen other books I'd read and loved attract their own fair share of detractors.

However, it's been a struggle - the characters are strangely...I can only describe it as 'unevocative'. Some of the means employed to give insight into the wellspring of characters' emotions are almost clumsy, and the dialogue is another thing again - I could only imagine that the author must have lived through similar unfortunate tragedy, and is faithfully reproducing his true experiences under the guise of fiction, because as one of life's little ironies we know that truth exists in the phrase "If you wrote a book about it, people wouldn't believe you" - because I find the dialogue (only in the Leo episodes granted) thoroughly unbelievable.

The most interestingly drawn and lovingly described character is dead from the very get go, so you only get to see her through flashbacks and the occasional dream. You almost feel cheated, like you've just got to a wine and cheese party, and find that there's only the mild cheddar left.

As a reader, I found the storyline overly dependant on the book jacket's promise that "two men('s)...hidden connections are revealed in a stunning climax that lives long in the heart", because there is little if any poetic tension between the two tales in the book itself - if it hadn't been spelt out that there was going to be a "stunning climax" you'd think that it wasn't just the lorry and the bus - two books had also collided together and "Random Acts..." was the result.

I Really wanted to like this book, and I'm sure that some people will love it (just look at the real mix of reviews). My personal recommendation would be to borrow it from the library or a friend, so if you end up indifferent to its charms at least you won't resent being out of pocket too.

1 out of 5 stars

Against The Grain May 31, 2008
5 out of 9 found this review helpful

OK I'm fighting a losing battle here, and I hold my hands up.

All the reviews of this book are great except perhaps mine.

I gave up after 100 pages because the writing style was not easy on the mind, and it didn't flow at all, almost as if the book had been translated from another language.

At this point I surrendered, finding the experience of this book annoying.
Perhaps I didn't give it a fair crack, as I'd just finished Ellory's A Quiet Belief In Angels - a book that simply left me stunned by it's magnificence.

5 out of 5 stars

absolutely wonderful May 12, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

i came across this book truly by chance. i needed one other item to qualify for free delivery on amazon and i thought id treat myself to a book!!! and this certainly was a treat. everything else was pushed aside just so i could finish it. i was totally captured up in the emotions that are described so rawly and truthfully. i also loved the little notebook entries. these inspiring little facts, quotes and theories really added to the sense of being completely involved with Leo's story. i was in tears in some parts! very moving stories cleverly linked together in one book.