Winston Groom (1944–2020)

Having read this many years ago, I decided to revisit it if for no other reason than laughs. What I'd forgotten was that Gump was an 'idiot savant', something left out entirely in the film. Capable of high level math and good with the harmonica, Forrest was higher functioning that Hank's character would have us think; he was also a rather large fellow and didn't run across the country. His adventures included others not shown in the movie, though its not unusual at all. A good laugh when he meets Nixon who pulls him aside, rolls up his sleeve and asks, "wanna buy a watch?"... Not a Pulitzer winner but fun just the same!… (més)

This book swings from profound to utterly ridiculous so fast and back again, that I have mental whiplash. I can't tell if this book has aged terribly or exceptionally when it comes to how offensive some statements are, since it's meant to offend, and society has become a lot more sensitive towards some of these things since the 80s.

Either way the first 5 or 6 chapters and the last 3 or 4 chapters are worth thinking about when it comes to how society sees and treats people with deficiencies, and also how a person can have everything they could ever want, without actually having what they want - and only someone who thinks simply, would choose to leave it behind to pursue a life that he enjoys. Everything in between though, is a comedy of errors that, in my opinion, go way too far for the sake of a cheap laugh.… (més)