Overall, what did you think of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down? (No spoilers in this thread, please!)
I was really intrigued by the idea of the book â nine interconnected short stories (I donât usually like short stories that much, but linked ones are fun!) about global capitalism and greed, and characters around the world. Most of the short stories had a surprising twist, which was fun. My main reservation was with the writing itself â I found myself often wanting to edit out excess verbiage and cliched phrases! But neither of the authors (also interesting to have dual authorship â I kept wondering how they worked, if each had written different stories) seemed to be writers â an economist and an architect â I just wished the editors had stepped up more to clean the writing up
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I found the narative of the stories related to finance, stocks etc. to be considerably more authentic, although sometimes overly thorough, than those concerned with manufacturing, reflecting the career in finance of co-author David Woo. The links from one story to the next appear somewhat tenuous and coincidental; each new protagonist usually having no link to the previous. Unlike, for example, in Joan Silberâs âMercy.â I too found the writing to be subpar and at times âclunkyâ - in review on Goodreads, a reader aptly describing it as âsee Spot runâ writing. I was left wondering if a manuscript 3 or 4 drafts back from final edit had been sent to the printer by mistake. All that being said, overall I did enjoy some of the stories and their plot twists - FYI my favorite was the Japanese housewife.
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Authors David Woo and Margalit Shinar examine and illustrate the âbutterfly effectâ active in global economics and politics through a series of interconnected parables. The story begins with a violent invasion of a bar in the basement of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel during a global conference. Most customers escape, but 7 hostages remain. As it turns out, and apparently unbeknownst to at least most of them, their lives are interconnected by a series of small economic and /or political events, beginning with the sale of a Chinese factory to an American industrialist looking to off-shore production. The stories are clever and realistically connected, but I wish the writing had been a less âSee Spot runâ in its style-- the writing was so bare-bones and it felt pitched to a very uninformed audience. I felt like I was being talked down to. If the bookâs purpose was is to illustrate the reality of global interconnection it is, however, successful.
I loved it! In fact, Iâm going to give my copy to a friendâs husband who will be teaching Economics for the first time this year. I saw this book as explaining global economy in a way anyone could understand. It was a five star read for me.
I loved it too! I hesitated to start this book as I wasnât drawn in by the description. Boy, was I surprised. I couldnât put the book down. It hooked me from the very beginning, and I absolutely love the structure of the book and various characters and how they were linked. Fascinating.
I liked the concept of the book as it was described in the blurb, but I have to admit that I really didnât like this book at all. The characters were 2-dimensional caricatures, the dialogue was wooden, the storylines were often ridiculous (why would a committed ecological activist suddenly run off with the son of the local official who allowing the cutting down the rainforest? and donât get me started on the weird tennis plotline . . .) In addition, many of the characters were just plain disagreeable. Tomoko, the Japanese housewife, was the only sympathetic character in the book, although Ernesto and Tyler had some very bad breaks, they also made some incredibly stupid decisions.
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The previous comments reflect my thoughts as well. I did like the book although the connections at times were too forced. e.g. dead body on Floridaâs shores. This and others chapters/stories were a bit stretched. Setting those episodes aside, the book does suggest the linkage in a global economy; the butterfly effect in monetary terms.
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I have never read a book quite like Merry-Go-Round-Broke-Down. I enjoyed the connections from one story to the next. I enjoyed the way the authors used realistic situations to spotlight global issues. I thought it was a fascinating, unique, novel.
I enjoyed it. It was an easy read and I feel I really learned something about globalization and world economies.
This book really surprised me! I requested this book because it would get me out of my comfort zone. I dove right in expecting to be lost and confused, but to the contrary I am so engrossed in the characters as well as the time-line and how they all fit together. Kudos to the authors for this format! I also wondered if the authors had any connection to Gates Mills. I read they do not, but they choose that community because: âThe villageâs secluded, estate-heavy geography serves as a metaphor for the insulated bubble of the ultra-wealthy, who are often shielded from the broader global and societal consequences of their financial decisions.â
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I think the author did a good job of showing how globalization works. And his description of the transactions in the stock market was realistic.
I probably would not have picked this book up on my own, but Iâm glad I did. It gives a nice look at how globalization has affected the world, not just my little corner of it. I also liked how all the characters were so different, but yet the same in attitudes about money and power. These attitudes have âruleâ the world for centuries, and I donât see anything changes in the future.
This is easily one of the best books I have read this year and it is not one that I would have picked on my own, so glad that I requested it and stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit. I found I couldnât put it down when I started and thoroughly enjoyed each chapter and the characters. And i learned a little bit as well.
Even though it wasnât my genre of book, I enjoyed the read. But not being versed in the financial workings of world economic matters, I admit to being a little lost at times.
I think it was an ok book. I probably would not have chose this book but I am glad I did. It is no doubt a thought provoking read and definitely relevant to today.
I agree with your assessment of the subpar writing which had a juvenile air to it. I also found that many of the stories seemed so far fetched and overly dramatic such as chapter 7 with Brigit and her sister in the Amazon.
It was an interesting book, well written. Wow the ending pretty much tied all these people and their stories together. I enjoyed the book.
I wasnât sure what to expect of this book from its title (and the coverâs implied sub-title); however, I found myself liking it very much and being quite impressed with how the authors brought together disparate but related story lines to make a satisfying and unexpectedly touching meta-narrative. Each of the vignettes managed to be compelling story lines on their own, and I was always interested to see how the connections would manifest themselves as the novel went forward. Other similar novels with overarching connected narratives, such as Winesburg, Ohio, are brought together by place or a central event to which each story relates. This was unique in that the authors created a world narrative of sorts, which I found compelling and, actually, a little scary in its implications. As an English major who never had an Economics class, I was afraid that some of the book would be difficult for me to follow or understand, butâeven with my limited knowledgeâI was able to follow more technical parts of the narrative. I really was not sure how they could pull off what the title and its characterization as âa novel of guilt, greed, and globalization, but they succeeded spectacularly. I recommend this book; it is thought-provoking, well-conceived and written, and surprisingly moving.
It is an interesting way to present a point of view, and the individual stories held my interest. I well remember this time in our nationâs history!