This is the kind of novel that a guard in a locked room must force you to keep reading ... Generic moments skim by. ... As Alfie gets older, he gets bolder, but Albom grows no more interested in making his experiences engaging. It’s as though Alfie’s ability to cheat consequences has drained urgency from the prose ... Absolved of the possibility of death, the novel suffers the ennui that vampires endure. Alfie’s memory of taking 'a bullet during a Mexican bank robbery' feels less vibrant than my memory of dinner at the Olive Garden ... The truth I learned in Twice is that once is more than enough.
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