Review of Man Mission

[Sarah Zain]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Man Mission" by Eytan Uliel.]

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Man Mission: Four Men, Fifteen Years, One Epic Journey by Eytan Uliel, a story begin with a youth's dream of travelling to new places, tasting delicious food, and engaging in activities like biking, hiking, and kayaking to avoid feeling bad about eating. Until the dream became a reality, it was carried out by four friends: Sam, Daniel, Alec, and the fourth friend, the protagonist, through whom we listened to their stories about trips to many places with different cultures, such as South Korea, Japan, Fiji, and many others. Journeys spanning fifteen years full of adventure, self-discovery, challenges, and pushing their limits—that's what they called it "Man Mission."

Here we do not only see a group of friends traveling, but we witness the development of their personalities from the stages of youth and dreams to the stage of maturity and commitment to work, marriage, founding families, having children and facing life challenges of a different kind. Through these trips, the author tried to show us how men accept the stage of maturity. You feel what they are going through in terms of their sense of a partial loss of their freedom, despite the difference in severity of this between them. What they go through in their daily lives and with their families is shown in glimpses that the writer mixed in between those trips, so you find yourself hearing their conversations about buying a house, preparing for a wedding, and changing diapers while at the same time they are planning trips or sitting on the banks of a river. The author has been creative in narrating the events, mixing all these elements.The trips themselves are brilliantly described, including the cities and countries they visited —Thailand, Peru, Taiwan, and many others— their fusion with different cultures, and how they applied the set of rules they developed over the course of those trips. "Man Mission Rules" pushed their limits to the fullest extent they could bear, as the protagonist of the novel stated that it brought out things in him that he never knew he had.


The use of the protagonist, the friend, as a narrator was a point of creativity from the author because he made it look like conversations between friends, as if you were listening to your good friend, who tells you everything that happens with him without omitting any detail, and this makes you more attentive, as in his description of the roads they went through while cycling in Japan or when he was revealing his fears about home loans and preparing for marriage. This commitment to these trips and their rules, I felt, turned from just achieving a dream to escaping from the obligations and daily routine crises in the lives of adults in search of some freedom that they had in their youth. As a woman, I may not feel much pity for them, but I can understand the one's desire to escape and feel again his freedom, even for a short period, while respecting his duties towards his family.


All these feelings and fluctuations that we see through this story add to its characteristic of realism. I have seen normal men like the ones we see every day change with time, mature, suffer, travel, try to build a life, and experience new things. Even the journeys they took were not as easy as you can imagine, as they faced many challenges and injuries as well. Therefore, I did not find anything negative here that I could say. I really enjoyed reading the book and the parts in which the writer showed the nature of relationships and how many obstacles are faced along the way. Some people can pass peacefully while the road becomes difficult for others, and it takes time to mend their lives. Maybe I wished that the author had given us a name for the protagonist, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed the side statistics after each trip as they summarised the trip in points.


For these reasons, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was fun, full of adventure, with sometimes even humour added by the protagonist, wrapped in sarcasm, criticism, or even admiration in his narration, and it was well edited. As I understood the "man mission" concept, it is what all women and men are looking for at some point in our lives, even if the method differs due to the difference in our natures. In the end, we are all humans, and we need an outlet and some peace of mind from the pressure of our daily lives and our obligations. I was hoping to recommend reading it to everyone, but because of the profanity, I recommend it to adult readers, whether men or women, and to everyone who loves travel, trips, and new places.

******
Man Mission
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes

[Julie Marie Basil]

This is a very thorough and engaging review. You gave a great overview of the book and I appreciate how you highlighted the narration style that the author used as an interesting feature of this book.

[Odichimma Okoye]

Oh wow, the plot sounds thrilling, and 15 years of adventure seems like quite a long time. I know it'd be thrilling to do all those fun stuff though. Your writing's wonderful Sarah, keep up the good work.

[Sarah Zain]

This is a very thorough and engaging review. You gave a great overview of the book and I appreciate how you highlighted the narration style that the author used as an interesting feature of this book.

Thank you Julie for your kind comment and uplifting words.

[Sarah Zain]

Oh wow, the plot sounds thrilling, and 15 years of adventure seems like quite a long time. I know it'd be thrilling to do all those fun stuff though. Your writing's wonderful Sarah, keep up the good work.

Ya, long time, but as you said, it would be great to engage in such a habit. Thank you, Odichimma, for taking time to comment.

[The Keeper Jr]

I'm glad you read this book. It really is wonderful reading about 4 friends travelling every year to a new place. Your review made me remember all those great moments from the book. I liked your thoughts and points about it. Thanks Sarah for creating an excellent piece of writing!

[Sarah Zain]

I'm glad you read this book. It really is wonderful reading about 4 friends travelling every year to a new place. Your review made me remember all those great moments from the book. I liked your thoughts and points about it. Thanks Sarah for creating an excellent piece of writing!

Thank you The Keeper Jr for your very kind words. It's really was a great read I actually enjoyed it despite I considered more manly, but it was fun to read how they mange to went through all these adventures.

[Cara Wilding]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Man Mission" by Eytan Uliel.]

Man Mission: Four Men, Fifteen Years, One Epic Journey by Eytan Uliel, a story begin with a youth's dream of travelling to new places, tasting delicious food, and engaging in activities like biking, hiking, and kayaking to avoid feeling bad about eating. Until the dream became a reality, it was carried out by four friends: Sam, Daniel, Alec, and the fourth friend, the protagonist, through whom we listened to their stories about trips to many places with different cultures, such as South Korea, Japan, Fiji, and many others. Journeys spanning fifteen years full of adventure, self-discovery, challenges, and pushing their limits—that's what they called it "Man Mission."

For these reasons, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was fun, full of adventure, with sometimes even humour added by the protagonist, wrapped in sarcasm, criticism, or even admiration in his narration, and it was well edited. As I understood the "man mission" concept, it is what all women and men are looking for at some point in our lives, even if the method differs due to the difference in our natures. In the end, we are all humans, and we need an outlet and some peace of mind from the pressure of our daily lives and our obligations. I was hoping to recommend reading it to everyone, but because of the profanity, I recommend it to adult readers, whether men or women, and to everyone who loves travel, trips, and new places.

It sounds like you've stumbled upon the male version of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" meets "Eat, Pray, Love"! The point of view presented by the protagonist in the narration is unique. I love the storyline... Aside from 'bromance' movies, I haven't come across any books or even real-life examples of male buddies traveling together like this! I could certainly relate to this "mission" and I'm curious about the travel descriptions. I've added this to my "want to read" list, thanks so much for sharing this review!

[Qwerty Writes]

You did well! Your review was detailed enough for me to understand the jest of the book. I can understand the author's feelings. Traveling around the world with your buddies and somehow making it work with a growing lifestyle sounds tough but I wouldn't mind giving this book a read.

[Sarah Zain]

You did well! Your review was detailed enough for me to understand the jest of the book. I can understand the author's feelings. Traveling around the world with your buddies and somehow making it work with a growing lifestyle sounds tough but I wouldn't mind giving this book a read.

It's quite interesting how they managed this and how their lives changed in between. I will be happy to read your thoughts about the book when you get the chance to read it. Thank you

[Seetha E]

I missed out on picking this one. Have read several positive reviews. You provide a wholesome overview of the book. The bonding and the dynamics among friends amid adventures promise an engaging read. Thanks for your honest review.