Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

BIOGRAPHICAL FICTION? I get muddled just trying to decipher what that means. After the first three chapters, I gradually lost my emotional involvement in Cerefino Carrion when he changed his name to Jean Leon. More and more historical incidents and people were seemingly just thrown into the mix and the storyline for me became incidents that could’ve been taken from newspapers and Hollywood magazines. INTRIGUING EARLY YEARS. To its credit, this book got me interested in the life and works of Jean Leon . As a boy approaching military age in Spain during the fascist regime of dictator Franco. Cerefino escaped from being forced into the dictator’s army by hiking over the Pyrenees into France. Then after eight attempts to stow away on ships, he finally landed in New York City. His dreams of a free life increased my sympathy for the millions of migrants today seeking freedom and opportunity in other countries. LANGUAGE. As a native Spaniard, the author didn’t have a full grasp of American lingo and life -- sometimes it shows. For instance, he refers to Frank Sinatra leaving “a tape” on the backseat of the taxi. At first I pictured a cassette tape, but that form hadn’t been invented yet. It had to be a tape reel and stored safely in a metal container. Likely, too, Sinatra would have had it in a briefcase. I couldn’t believe he’d leave such a big item behind in the taxi since it contained hours of his song recordings. The translator and editor should’ve picked up such slips of language and facts. Many other loose inaccuracies like that. FACT OR FICTION? By chapter five I got too bogged down in figuring out what was fact and what wasn’t. Also, the lack of in-depth emotions and lively interactions lessened my involvement in the book. So I went to the internet and searched for the real Jean Leon. Found a gripping article with dozens of photos and captions, and I became overwhelmed with what Leon had accomplished and how he did it! Very inspirational. Those dozens of real photos with captions revealed him to me much more than the book did. THE BOOK ITSELF? I just couldn’t get interested in reading the last half or so – no plot, no in-depth characters, little conversation. The biography part was too muddled and the fiction was too flat. (I hope for the author’s sake, some of you disagree with me! Thanks.)