Official Review: The Life That I've Lived"NREALYFE&q...
- mmm17
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Official Review: The Life That I've Lived"NREALYFE&q...

1 out of 4 stars
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I usually admire the courage it takes for someone to tell a challenging life story, especially when it eventually hints at the possibility of redemption and fosters hope. With that in mind, I was initially intrigued by what Roy Vaughn would have to say in The Life That I’ve Lived“NREALYFE” – a non-fiction book written using the first person, narrating the rough experiences of an underprivileged black man in a low-income community.
The protagonist walks the reader through the circumstances of his very difficult and unfavorable life. His older brother Wayne – a bully and gang member who beats him – goes to jail when he is just a kid. On top of that, his mother moves to a shelter, which forces him to live with an aunt. Against this backdrop of hardship, the protagonist gets entangled in criminal activities, and he ultimately goes to prison too. In fact, he is in and out of prison several times, but no spoilers are allowed!
Although this is clearly a candid story, which is the only positive point I found, it is remarkably shallow and bland. There is no coherence whatsoever in the narrative. It consists mainly of loose dialogues that are awkward and repetitive, with a somewhat obnoxious main character bluntly saying and doing things for no apparent reason. Also, the characters are extremely foul-mouthed and most of the dialogues have a lot of swear words and unnecessary vulgarity. As an example, the protagonist rather proudly – and in a womanizing, sardonic manner – describes the sexual diseases he transmitted to women. I often felt as if the author’s sole intention was to shock the readers.
Additionally, the lack of editing is stupendous. I found more than ten errors in the first three pages, and it actually got worse from there. It doesn’t seem that this book was proofread by anyone, much less edited. So, due to the overwhelming quantity of mistakes, I stopped taking note of them altogether. The poor writing also forced me to dedicate additional time to figure out the meaning of sentences, and I found it a real challenge to get through the story.
Lastly, it goes without saying that I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. It has the worst editing I’ve seen, and the storytelling was awful. I suppose it could appeal to readers interested in crude life stories, provided that they don’t mind the poor editing. I wouldn’t recommend it to readers who are put off by violence or strong language.
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The Life That I've Lived"NREALYFE"
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- AntonelaMaria
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- mmm17
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AntonelaMaria wrote: ↑04 Dec 2019, 17:36 Oh, it sounds like this one was a mess, besides so many grammatical errors. I hope your next read is better. Great review!
Thanks!
- mmm17
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I agree. Thank you for reading the review.kandscreeley wrote: ↑04 Dec 2019, 19:50 Well, I can tell from your review this isn't for me. It sounds like it needs a lot of work. I'm not sure it's organized well, and I'm not after a piece of writing just for shock value. Thanks!
- mmm17
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Thank you. I appreciate your comments.Sexymomma1010 wrote: ↑04 Dec 2019, 23:06 From the review you given. I’m not sure if this book is for me. Nice review.
- mmm17
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Agreed. Thanks for reading.
- mmm17
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It was challenging, indeed! I appreciate your comments. Thanks!
- mmm17
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Thank you for commenting!Cruisemomma wrote: ↑05 Dec 2019, 17:04 As a new member to the team I am glad I decided to peruse the lower scored review first. This is definitely not a read I would entertain but other readers may find it enlightening??? Thanks for the post.
- mmm17
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Thanks!