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omitutu's review against another edition
3.0
What is the black man coming to? Paula Beatty says the B lack man is now “passé.” I have come to the conclusion that with slumberland and tuff, beatty shares a large chunk of responsibility of killing the black man.
What is Blackness – to Beatty it seems to be Self-centered ubercool ogre savant. I have a love hate relationship with slumberland. With Beatty’s gratuitous display of intellectualism. With his arrogant defining of Blackness and sweeping generalizations. His writing substitutes cultural references for character development. Am I reading a novel or a dissertation on African American culture?
Still he is on to something. It’s not a hate-hate relationship. I finished the book and though I threw it on the floor about 26 times I kept picking it back
What is Blackness – to Beatty it seems to be Self-centered ubercool ogre savant. I have a love hate relationship with slumberland. With Beatty’s gratuitous display of intellectualism. With his arrogant defining of Blackness and sweeping generalizations. His writing substitutes cultural references for character development. Am I reading a novel or a dissertation on African American culture?
Still he is on to something. It’s not a hate-hate relationship. I finished the book and though I threw it on the floor about 26 times I kept picking it back
tex2flo's review against another edition
4.0
"Is there a God?" I weigh the arguments pro (Hawaiian surf, Welch's grape juice, koala bears, worn-in Levi's, the northern lights, the Volvo station wagon, women with braces, the Canadian Rockies, Godard, Nerf footballs, Shirley Chisholm's smile, free checking, and Woody Allen) and con (flies, Alabama, religion, chihuahuas, chihuahua owners, my mother's cooking, airplane turbulence. LL Cool J, Mondays, how boring heaven must fucking be, and Woody Allen)..."
The end to the book was not as good as the body and that's the only reason for not giving it a higher mark.
The end to the book was not as good as the body and that's the only reason for not giving it a higher mark.
africker's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what to make of this book. There is lots to love in the language, the fun and the insights. On the other hand - there is a lot of unexciting showing off, random BS and gratuitous shock tactics.
snumunki's review against another edition
3.0
The writing was good, I enjoyed the setting and it introduced me to the song 'sugarman'. It was also surreal, a bit confusing and took a while to settle into
stanley_nolan_blog's review against another edition
4.0
The perfect fitting book for me in many ways: American expat living in Berlin who went to El Camino Real HS who's into (and has great taste in) jazz with a postmodern (in a good way) Amisesque writing style who wants to re-erect the Berlin wall in a new aestheticized way.
raymond_murphy's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked "White Boy Shuffle" and then "Tuff." It's been ten years since Beatty published a book, and while this one was extremely well-written, it just didn't grab me the same way. It's like Beatty kind of likes magical realism but kinda scorns it too so a lot of his plot twists and arcs seem kind of half-assed. Same with political analysis/emotional depth. Kind of flat unfortunately. Well worth the read if you are a Beatty fan.
patrick_dale91's review against another edition
3.0
Another insanely smart and witty book by Paul Beatty, having read the sellout a few years ago. Every page, nearly every sentence is packed with jokes, references, and he has an utterly unique style. This may be to his disadvantage at times, it does make the book SO dense and it took me a while to get into. Perhaps also it is just a bit too surreal at times. Really I'd say it's a bit too clever for its own good and occasionally stopped me from enjoying it. However, there are a lot of laugh out loud moment and memorable characters for this to stay in my mind. 7/10
audaciaray's review against another edition
3.0
Beatty's White Boy Shuffle hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it a few years ago, so I'll pick up anything else he writes. Slumberland, set in Berlin around the fall of the Berlin Wall, is fast paced, dark, and funny. Beatty is a master of writing characters - the characters really shine and are just the best part of the book. I'm a sucker for weird, funny, self-deprecating characters, so I totally ate it up. However, though I really enjoyed the read I don't know how much this book will stick with me.
rocketiza's review against another edition
5.0
Reading Beatty is like getting hit by a tidal wave. Lyrical writing and sharp satire that never lets up.