Yes, I rated it a half a pencil higher than a book that just won the Pulitzer. I'm not sure I like the five-pencil system. The Goldfinch was excellent, but not on my year's best list. So. Four pencils, right? And I simply enjoyed this one more. It made me laugh. And it was wonderfully crafted and written. So. Five? Well, not exactly. If five is the top mark, then I need to reserve it for my all-time favorites--the ones up there with Geek Love and Black Boy and To Kill a Mockingbird. Well, how about a ten-pencil system? Offers a more accurate rating, perhaps, but gets a zero in the visual literacy department. ✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎? Not. Switch to letter grades? (A- for the Pulitzer book, A for Dry, A+ for Black Boy.) Damn, this blog is 'posed ta be teacher's time off. Besides, I'm partial to the little pencil icons. And no matter what rating system, a four or a B+ or a 'Very Good' could indicate so many different things about the strengths and weaknesses of a book. This is why I didn't rate the books on this blog from the get-go. I hate grades. As a teacher, and as a blogger. Yet somehow, they offer up a handy road sign.
As for Dry, Burroughs' memoir of getting clean, he manages to make a harrowing story breezy and seriously funny, while in no way diminishing its potency. His writing is terrific, and the story is put together beautifully.
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