⭐⭐ Dreamland by Quinones
| Full Title | Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sam Quinones |
| Year Published | 2015 |
| Date Read | October 12, 2018 |
| Rating | 2/5 stars |
This book struggles to get pacing right. Many titles use the strategy of having multiple story lines that are happening at different points in time, in which the author switches back and forth to keep the reader’s interest. But the handling by Quinones is clumsy and ends up making the book very repetitive, to the point where I had to check my audiobook timestamps to make sure I didn’t somehow accidentally jump back to a chapter I had already listened to. He’s always seemingly introducing concepts that have already been introduced (how many times can you tell me where Nayarit is located?)
I also thought the book could have done a much better job of connecting the reader to individual characters in the story. In some chapters, particularly the ones on drug marketing, Quinones accomplishes this pretty well by giving more backstory to executives, or tracing the use of a specific piece of research through time. Other times, he is not as successful, and the storytelling
suffers.
Ended up listening to ~40% before having to stop.