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bjt1977's review against another edition
3.0
a frantic pace to a book that I had trouble finding anyone to root for. the writing is solid and highly descriptive, but the pace, and particularly jumping from scene to scene, was a bit much for me.
In defense of the author, the pace and style fit well with the tone of the story, it just wasn't the right book for me.
I did enjoy it, just didn't love it.
In defense of the author, the pace and style fit well with the tone of the story, it just wasn't the right book for me.
I did enjoy it, just didn't love it.
mjtucker's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
2.75
shanbro's review against another edition
4.0
All right! A little misogynistic novel for subway reading featuring a few female characters in various states of peril (victims of incest, meth, pills, attempted rapes, beatings, gunshots). Two men fighting their way to Donnybrook for a payoff. Also a random Chinese martial arts pro. Another character with a randomly redneck reason for going to Donnybrook. Racism. When all is said and done, there is barely a full mouth of teeth left among them.
That's right, in case you were unsure, this novel is a brutal bloodbath! It builds to the last section, which is aptly titled, "Pandemonium." The novel is saturated with violence, but for the most part I didn't feel any of the blows. The first section promises characters who will do anything to survive in a depressed economy and with their own private pain. The subsequent sections are men who can survive more than is believable. And the Donnybrook is absurd. But I have to say, the novel certainly presents predicaments not seen very often in literature. Four stars for that.
That's right, in case you were unsure, this novel is a brutal bloodbath! It builds to the last section, which is aptly titled, "Pandemonium." The novel is saturated with violence, but for the most part I didn't feel any of the blows. The first section promises characters who will do anything to survive in a depressed economy and with their own private pain. The subsequent sections are men who can survive more than is believable. And the Donnybrook is absurd. But I have to say, the novel certainly presents predicaments not seen very often in literature. Four stars for that.
ewo2's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings about pretty much everything regarding this book. On the one hand, I really like how the writing style is evocative and avoids repetitiveness with its vivid descriptions of violence - on the other hand, it can get to be a bit heavy-handed at times. On one hand it's mostly grounded in gritty reality, but on the other hand it requires serious suspension of disbelief to get over how much abuse these characters are made to endure, and that fact that one character is imbued with magical foresight that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book. It sets up the Donnybrook as its nexus and leads the reader to believe that most of the action is going to take place there, but it actually only features that event towards its tail end, and even then only in flashes. At first that bothered me, but once I realized that these characters' entire lives were built out of the same kind of chaos on display at the Donnybrook, the title and focus of the book made a lot more sense - so just like everything else in the book, I appreciated it while also being a bit let down.
Ultimately I enjoyed it, despite cringing at some of the more violent parts, because it leads to a satisfying end. There aren't really any loose ends or wasted pages, so in terms of storytelling this book is solid. Aside from that it's a real crapshoot - the same things that work really well in some parts of the book work against it at other times.
Ultimately I enjoyed it, despite cringing at some of the more violent parts, because it leads to a satisfying end. There aren't really any loose ends or wasted pages, so in terms of storytelling this book is solid. Aside from that it's a real crapshoot - the same things that work really well in some parts of the book work against it at other times.
greggmpls's review against another edition
4.0
This is a mean and nasty book but with humor and authentic fighting seqences. Greasy, meth head, alchoholic bare knuckle brawlers with names like Elbow and Chainsaw Angus, this would make a great Grindhouse movie.
sarah1984's review against another edition
4.0
13/1 - This is some seriously sick writing! I don't know why the police even bother trying to catch the criminals, just let them kill each other (and themselves) and don't get in their way. Frank Bill has one of the most twisted imaginations (well, I hope it's his imagination) that I've ever read. He's possibly only bested by Edward Lorn, due to the horror factor that's an added bonus in Lorn's books. Bill's writing doesn't really have horror, as it feels too close to the truth of life in Southern Indiana (or anywhere else where corrugated iron shacks and rundown caravans are the best you can expect when it comes to accommodation). This is my second Bill book and now thanks to his horrifying imagery I now get the same feeling regarding visiting Southern Indiana as I do when contemplating the likelihood of my entering a dank and dark basement whose lights don't work - it is NOT happening. To be continued...
14/1 - There's just dead people (and their blood, brains, and guts) and meth everywhere. We're following a number of different characters on their individual journeys to Donnybrook (some kind of giant, famous, bare-knuckle fight with a $100,000 prize). Everywhere the characters turn there's dead people, or people that need to be made dead, getting in their way. Meth and death, makes for an interesting combination. There's only one possibly sympathetic character - Jarhead, a husband and father who committed armed robbery in order to acquire the money necessary for the buy-in at Donnybrook. He's the only one who hasn't killed anyone or cooked some meth, quite an achievement for this area of Southern Indiana. To be continued...
15/1 - God, what a mess! Not the writing, that was perfect for the type of book it was - broken, jumpy sentences with some of the best 'fight' writing I've ever read. The mess was the climactic Donnybrook scenes at the end - hundreds of drunk and drugged spectators turning into hundreds of drunk and drugged attackers. Everyone attacking everyone else, using anything that came to hand as a weapon, even (I can imagine, it wasn't actually said) other attacker's body parts when necessary. The end of the book talks about something bad coming, and it feels like there's going to be a sequel or some kind of follow up book. 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous.
PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge: A Book with a One-Word Title
14/1 - There's just dead people (and their blood, brains, and guts) and meth everywhere. We're following a number of different characters on their individual journeys to Donnybrook (some kind of giant, famous, bare-knuckle fight with a $100,000 prize). Everywhere the characters turn there's dead people, or people that need to be made dead, getting in their way. Meth and death, makes for an interesting combination. There's only one possibly sympathetic character - Jarhead, a husband and father who committed armed robbery in order to acquire the money necessary for the buy-in at Donnybrook. He's the only one who hasn't killed anyone or cooked some meth, quite an achievement for this area of Southern Indiana. To be continued...
15/1 - God, what a mess! Not the writing, that was perfect for the type of book it was - broken, jumpy sentences with some of the best 'fight' writing I've ever read. The mess was the climactic Donnybrook scenes at the end - hundreds of drunk and drugged spectators turning into hundreds of drunk and drugged attackers. Everyone attacking everyone else, using anything that came to hand as a weapon, even (I can imagine, it wasn't actually said) other attacker's body parts when necessary. The end of the book talks about something bad coming, and it feels like there's going to be a sequel or some kind of follow up book. 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous.
PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge: A Book with a One-Word Title
brandonjones05's review against another edition
4.0
Things I Now Need:
Hot shower
Box of butterfly stitches
Fresh underwear
A round of antibiotics
Fighting lessons
Six weeks in rehab
And yes, this is a good thing.
Hot shower
Box of butterfly stitches
Fresh underwear
A round of antibiotics
Fighting lessons
Six weeks in rehab
And yes, this is a good thing.
alexcarbonneau's review against another edition
4.0
I swear there is some Cormac in Frank Bill's writing.
Some Ben Whitmer too, and that is fine by me.
The violent and gritty stories of good - and not so good - folks from KY and IN trying to survive their lives with what they were dealt and seeking redemption though blood, adrenaline and gravel, all of it taking place in Southern Indiana and sporting the name everyone out in the sticks are talking about : Donnybrook.
A novel that isn't for the faint of heart and where lovers of Grit-Lit filled with meth, blood, puke, bareknuckle fights, murder, violence, spit, mud, dirt, and sometimes, sometimes, a little bit of grace, will most definitely enjoy.
Frank Bill's prose is one that you don't see on every corner of the street. Reminiscent of Benjamin Whitmer, Larry Brown some David Joy, William Gay and yes, Cormac McCarthy, he puts words on the pages that read as fast as a lightning bolt but that your mind and body and soul take a few paces to absorb.
Brace yourself for Donnybrook is only the beginning of it.
Savages out very soon.
Some Ben Whitmer too, and that is fine by me.
The violent and gritty stories of good - and not so good - folks from KY and IN trying to survive their lives with what they were dealt and seeking redemption though blood, adrenaline and gravel, all of it taking place in Southern Indiana and sporting the name everyone out in the sticks are talking about : Donnybrook.
A novel that isn't for the faint of heart and where lovers of Grit-Lit filled with meth, blood, puke, bareknuckle fights, murder, violence, spit, mud, dirt, and sometimes, sometimes, a little bit of grace, will most definitely enjoy.
Frank Bill's prose is one that you don't see on every corner of the street. Reminiscent of Benjamin Whitmer, Larry Brown some David Joy, William Gay and yes, Cormac McCarthy, he puts words on the pages that read as fast as a lightning bolt but that your mind and body and soul take a few paces to absorb.
Brace yourself for Donnybrook is only the beginning of it.
Savages out very soon.
drewsof's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 out of 5. I'm tempted to rate the book higher, give it a full four stars (which I'll do here on Goodreads, for the hell of it) - but there's something stopping me. It's not the violence or the content - in fact, I actually rather enjoyed how many different ways to inflict pain or describe said pain Mr. Bill was able to deploy. I think it just was the maelstrom of characters and choppy structure that got to me. I wanted, of all things, just a little more cleanliness to the whole shebang - considering there's so much mess in the story itself. But gawtdamn this was a bullet crack of a read. I was shaking my head when I put it down - and laughing, too. It's as insane as all the hype tells you. I'd suggest taking the trip, if you're in the mood. You won't regret it, that's for sure.