Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Review - Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore


TITLE: Same Kind of Different As Me
AUTHOR/EDITOR: Ron Hall & Denver Moore
INFO: Paperback, Non-Fiction, 245 pages
PUBLISHED: Thomas Nelson, 2006
ISBN#: 978-0-8499-1910-7
HOW'D I GET IT: Received from Booksneeze

FROM GOODREADS:
Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.   

But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?

MY TAKE: I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was heartbroken for the life that Denver led in the early part of the story. It's horrifying to think what he went through and saw. Ron, on the other hand, irritated me pretty much from the start with his $160,000 car. While I think the story of the two men's friendship is important in that they had such different childhoods and backgrounds, I really don't see why they think it is such a "miracle" that a wealthy man and a poor man could connect as brothers ~ be they black or white.
   
The writing was mediocre and seemed to concentrate a lot on Ron's patting himself on the back with all of his possessions. I do feel that the men both loved Deborah very much, but I think the "ghost writer" went a little far in trying to showcase the differences in the two men with their grammar and storytelling styles. 

I had looked forward to reading this book and I came away disappointed.  First of all, I didn't know that I'd be reading a very descriptive account of cancer and what it does to a person and their loved ones.  (I try not to read other reviews of a book that I will be reviewing ahead of time.) 

The other issue I have is the flat out being preached at. I don't like people getting in my face about their beliefs and find it extremely annoying when it is done in a sneaky way in a book. I'm a spiritual person, but not religious.  I have my own belief system and I choose when, where, and who I will get my religion from.  I ended up skimming over many of the sections because of this.  It just went over the top a bit for my tastes and took away from the premise of the book which was to be about the bond of these two men.  I feel that if this book had just been about Denver and his life, it would have been a much better and more real story.

MY RATING: 2.5/5

WHERE TO BUY IT:   Same Kind of Different As Me


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2 comments:

  1. Sorry you didn't enjoy this one. I too hate to be preached at! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. As with most books, it has some good points. Just not what I was prepared for :(

    Thanks for stopping in!

    ReplyDelete

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