I am reading a Kindle Book that makes me very uncomfortable because I have personal experience with the subject matter in a very specific way. I've been personally raked over the coals by the company and SEEN the manipulative way their parent company gaslights them. I'm very upset and feeling like I'm going to have a Panic Attack. AND, there is an admonishment to comment on the work and so far I can find no way to do it. I paid for the Book and think that it will be best to walk away from it. I can be a lot more specific but then Erin will be very upset. Dropping the Mike now.
Gwen OUT!
Comments
Not about You
That book is about MY personal experiences. Sorry if fiction ran too close to your life.
Do what I do when reading a book makes me very uncomfortable. Quit reading
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Very Sorry To Get So Emotional
I apologize unreservedly.
Gwen
You are not alone
I had to stop after a few chapters, too.
This is not about the book's quality (which is fine, that is part of the problem: a well written book will affect you more than a badly written one), but about the subject matter. Maybe some time I will be able to "muscle through" the parts that make me feel bad ...
I Can't Apologize
The blurb for the book said, "Your past is always there. Erik discovers that his will force him to make choices about his future and decisions about those he can trust.
But is anything quite what it seems in this tale of profit, manipulation and loyalty?"
What in that blurb made you think it was going to be about rainbows and puppy dogs?
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
No apology needed
It is the very specific way that Eric is manipulated which is my problem with this story (and yes, it is definitely my problem, not something wrong with the story). Not your fault, and at some time I may be able to get past a certain point and enjoy the book. Until then it will stay on my "stack of unread books" ...
Sometimes you have to take a risk, if you always try to play it safe you may have a very boring life. ;-)
Different book
A different book but the same kind of feeling, "Corporate Dress Code" by Daring Diane. I got less than half way through it and didn't like where I perceived it to be going, I could have been wrong but just couldn't force myself to go on.
And thank you for comment on "The Handshake that Hides the Snake", I will probably give it a pass.
Is that a snake in yer handshake or are ya just happy to see me?
.
I seem to recall being very impressed with this one, and that for all their manipulations [SPOILER-] the protagonist eventually triumphs, even if just through being happy with her new life. If there's a copy of my comment on it extant somewhere PM it to me. I'd be happy to rephrase it (minus whatever silly personal asides, digressions and plugs for my own stories I'm sure I threw in there) and post it as a four out of five star review for your kindle edition.
~hugs, Veronica
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Laika - Here's what you said.
The following is the comment you made in April of 2008
Wow Angela, just amazing! All those twists, turns, duplicities, double and triple crosses; and for every degradation and betrayal Bethany suffered, I just sensed there would be a (vaguely now, Laika...) slam-bang ending. The momentum- no this WOULDN'T have worked as a serial. It's one to sit down and read on your next day off .......... Loved Bethany's history with her wonderful Mom, and how the Alzheimer's unwittingly complicated the present & set all this in motion. The villains of this piece, their motives, logic and how they operated reminded me of that snakepit in Dante's Inferno- a hell of absolute and unending predation. The plot reminded me a bit of Shawshank Redemption, and was every bit as engrossing. But this story's HEART was right out of Frank Capra (if not so cornball). That there are good people in business, and that accountability, transparency, respect and even compassion are better long term strategies than ruthlessness
born of some half-baked bastard-Darwinism. I just loved it!
~~~hugs, LAIKA
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
I Did Finish Reading the Book.
Once we got into the Transition phase of the Book, it became easier for me. It ended very nicely.
In terms of certain other aspects of Multilevel Sales, my own involvement was traumatic. And certain people in my life were just as lacking in loyalty.
Thank you.
Gwen
Multi-Level Marketing
I have strong opinions about the bad people who use other peoples' ambitions to fleece them.
If only I could do more than wrote about them in fiction.
I'm sorry you were hurt.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
MLM
Some time back, I read quite a bit about multilevel marketing. It's been known to ruin lives, break up families, ultimately cost a fortune.
Pyramid schemes never work.
-- Daphne Xu
Heartwarming
Given the lack of compassion needed to sit on top of of a MLM pyramid it's chilling to think that our Sec. of Educ. is married to a once CEO of AMWAY.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Eek!
Eek! Of all MLM companies, Amway!
I try not to visit the sins of the husband on the wife or children. Right now, I'm trying to think back to her own history and current policies.
-- Daphne Xu
A neat little secret I learned a long time ago
to help me power through difficult to read books . . .
There is no shame in jumping to the end to see how things turn out and make sure it's worth the pain.
That's one of the wonderful things about literature, is that we can experience a completed book -- such as Handshake -- with the assurance right there of how things will turn out. We can know ahead of time whether the hero lives or dies, wins or loses, and choose whether it's worth the pain of the experience to see that triumph or not.
Some people will say that's cheating, or ruins the suspense. Me? I read because I want something that inspires me emotionally.
That's why I love Angela's books. They don't always have happy endings, necessarily, but they're always complete, so you can make sure ahead of time whether you want to finish it or not, and any pain along the way is always taken into account as part of the growth process of the story. Nothing is gratuitous.
I haven't completely read every story she's written . . . but every one I have has been more than worth the pain that sometimes affects the characters along the way.
Hugs for Gwen, and hugs for Angela too. You're both awesome women.
Melanie E.