Rating: 
Summary: BIG SURPRISE FOR FANS OF THE MOVIE
Review: If you have seen the movie and are contemplating reading the book, my advice to you is DO IT! While the movie was excellent, the book is truly a masterpiece. For those of you who don't quite buy the niave Forrest of the movie, he is portrayed as less inexperienced in the book. Winston Groom ranks right up there with Vonnegut as a critic of modern life and a great satirist.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than the movie
Review: This book has been one of my favorites for years. I bought the first edition hardback back in '86 when it came out, at, of all places, the grocery store. I just picked it up by chance and read the first paragraph, and I was instantly hooked. It's alternately heart-touching and hilarious, but never shmaltzy or sentimental. "Forrest Gump" is first and foremost a satire, and always retains an underlying current of cynicism, not surprising since the book is actually modeled after Voltaire's "Candide". Pick up a copy of "Candide" from the literature section of your local bookstore and you'll see what I mean. It's funny, but after reading and re-reading it, for years I said that it should be made into a movie. I never really believed that it would happen, but it was something I always hoped for. You know that old saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it?" Well, that sums up my feelings for "Forrest Gump", the movie. I found it to be a big disappointment. Not that it's a bad movie, it's just lacking something, mainly, an edge. It's the biting satire that makes the novel so much better than the movie. The movie has a little bit of a satirical edge to it, but it's too sentimental--and sentimentality and satire do not go well together. Of course, if I hadn't read the book before I saw the movie, I probably would've enjoyed the movie much more. But them's the breaks, and I'll take Forrest in print over Forrest on celluloid anyday.
Rating: 
Summary: Gives a unusual a good definition
Review: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom was an outstanding book. It portrays that with inner strength as strong as Forrest's anyone can accomplish great things. There was so much going on in this book that it always kept me on its constant adventure. Although at first it slowed me down to translate his words, but, after more reading it was just another facet to his intricate character. This book shows that everyone can be interesting if taken the time to be understood. I would read this book again if Winston Groom did not have as many other novels and sequels. In conclusion, I recommend this unique and laughter-filled story to anyone who craves a great book that touches on every human emotion.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: I thought Forrest Gump was one of the best movies I had ever seen, so I came to read the book with high expectations. I was in for a surprise, however, but a really enjoyable surprise it was. The surprise was that the movie had very very little to do with the book (even less than you would usually expect) but the book had its own smorgasbord of utterly unbelievable events and comedy. The undercurrent is pretty much the same as the movie; Forrest is not as stupid as we would like to think. The ending was quite tame for such a rollicking story, however. Anyway if you're in need of something funny, pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Read it! Just read it!
Review: I read the book before the movie was released. People who saw me reading it had never heard of it. I made the mistake of lending it out and I never saw it again. Pity. I really want to read it again. I am amazed at the negative comments about this book, especially those who thought that the story line was too improbable. Of course it was improbable. The book is a fable. It was intended to be outrageous and unbelievable. No one complains that Star Wars was improbable. Let it go. Gump is a football star, an astronaut, a politician, a rock star, a chess master, and a scholar. He is also a self-described idiot. The story is completely outlandish and unbelievable. Groom does not want you to believe that these events could have ever happened. It is pure escapism and fun. It is like reading your nuttiest dream. As an extra bonus, Hollywood took the story and made an excellent movie. How many times have you enjoyed a movie as much as the book? That's rare! Still, the book is much different from the movie. So if you haven't read it, you're missing out.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good.
Review: "My momma says that life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get", says Forrest. Forrest Gump is a young man who is mentally challenged. He talks slow and he doesn't comprehend things well, but he does many things that most normal people don't do. Forrest starts his extraordinary journey through life by playing college football for Alabama. Alabama is a really big college and it has a lot of talent on it's football team. A normal person couldn't just go play football for Alabama. Then he went to the army and saved many men's lives. That is very extraordinary, don't you think? This is a really good book. The author used a style of grammar that I have never seen before. Since Forrest is a little retarded, he says some things different. The author writes the book in the way that Forrest talks because Forrest is the narrator. This is bad because it is kind of hard to read and comprehend. I had to read some sentences two or three times to get it. I would recommend this book to everyone because it is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: I Laughed, I Cried, And I Laughed Some More!
Review: You will definitely look at the world quite differently through the eyes of the Gumpster. This is one halirous book as I found myself laughing out loud. Not many other novels have affected me in this manner. Forrest may be stupid,but he sure knows what he's doing when it comes to the special love of a mother or a girlfriend. I just wish that my life was as exciting as that of Forrest Gump. Though the movie was better,I still love this book.
Rating:
Summary: After the film is long forgotten,the book will still be read
Review: This intelligent novel deserves to be made into a truer film, since the smarmily heartwarming movie Hollywood produced captures neither the thought, nor the characterization, nor the ideas of the novel. Kudos to Groom for one of the important novels of the last half of the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: Forrest Gump The Best
Review: I first saw the book at O'Hare airport in 1986, and purchased it. I read it in about 4 hour could not put the book down. My stomach hurt so much the next day from laughing. The movie was good, but the book is 100x's better. Everyone should read this book!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not anywhere near as good as the movie
Review: The movie was absolutely great, I have no idea how the makers of the film got such a great story out a trashy novel like this, but thank god they did. I was one of those who saw the movie first, then got the novel out of interest. I was severely disappointed. It's just horrible. You'll definitely have to see the movie again, to get the bad taste this novel leaves, out of your mouth.
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