Reviews

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

buchhoar136's review against another edition

4.0

I may be biased due to being a Mountain Goats fan, but I enjoyed this book.

I really enjoy John's writing style I am excited to see him grow as author as I how i have seen his lyrical writing progress through the years.

If you read the back cover of Universal Harvester, you may be expecting some sort of mystery thriller, not the story the evolved into an exploration of grief that this book actually contains... so I understand that there are some reviewers rating this low.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story telling of this book, and the writing kept me engaged through the whole book.

wrenwreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

trinkets_jar's review against another edition

1.0

John Darnielle is the primary member of The Mountain Goats? How am I just learning this?? I love his music, but I wish he would stop writing novels. This is the second book of his that I’ve read in the last year, and I wouldn’t have picked it up if I’d made the connection to Devil House. I’m mainly upset because I love the conceit of the story so much, and the writing itself is solid. It’s like he lays out all these cool toys and then throws them in the trash with how everything fizzles into nothingness. I like a bit of literary horror, but I still want my literary books to have a point

sarahjx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.25

stasibabi's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

2.5

accacianepote's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

heyimaghost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

hbrxnnxmxn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Universal Harvester stands out as such an odd novel less because of its content (although parts of the content are also bizarre) and more in its form. Told in multiple POVs through the course of several decades, the central focus is a disturbing series of videos that are added into movies being distributed by a VHS store and the surrounding events as a part of it. This is not the kind of book you can skim through in any regard, there were times I found myself reading paragraphs multiple times to try to understand what was being told due to the sort of winding, folky writing. Regardless, I did still enjoy reading this book. There’s something distinctly small town America about it, more Ethel Cain in nature then say, Friday Night Lights, striking an interesting balance between resenting the place you are in and knowing it’s an essential part of you, mixed with themes of loneliness, grief, and the passing of time. Worthwhile read for something thought provoking and at times out of reach. 

wiltedlavender's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

avalin1's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0