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nathansnook's review against another edition
4.0
For such a dime-sized book, it packs a lot of what I could never recreate - the expansiveness of America. Previously said in other reviews, the mere wide angles, the Kubrich-ish vibes, the long scenes that seem to fill the pages, as if there enough space to fill up the pages with the grandiose beauty that is America.
What didn't satisfy me was the relationship between Frank and his wife. For lack of empathy, there were many fantastic scenes that created their intimacy, but all done blandly and convincingly enough just for a Television soap opera screen.
What didn't satisfy me was the relationship between Frank and his wife. For lack of empathy, there were many fantastic scenes that created their intimacy, but all done blandly and convincingly enough just for a Television soap opera screen.
leaflinglearns's review against another edition
3.5
Let us be clear.
The time you spend reading these words
will not be returned.
Can we give a shout out to the best opening lines ever written? Luckily, the rest of this novella is about as bold as those first two sentences that confront you before the story begins. I was at first startled by the format of this delightfully sized little book, but soon came to fall in love with it. The whole thing is like a transcript of a documentary. Sort of. It's a transcript of a documentary, and yet it doesn't feel dry. It's lyrical, though sparsely written. Kiefer's writing first impressed me in The Animals and it didn't fail to impress me here. Every once in a while, the book references you as the viewer, or one of the characters looks at you/the camera. I wholly felt as if I were watching humans the entire time, so this experimental format was a success.
The story was at once intriguing. An artist, Frank Poole, who creates huge installations (like a replica of a Starbucks in a strip mall that is forever locked) begins work on his largest-scale project yet. In this project, he attempts to capture perfect moments in time through creating an entire, completely and perpetually sealed off neighborhood in the middle of the desert; all painted white.
As his project gets more difficult and unwieldy, we learn more about Frank and his dysfunctional childhood through interview. We also learn more about his young wife and manager, Caitlin, who gave up her own artistic dreams and is now pregnant. The experimental format and Kiefer's beautiful writing lend to some really visual scenes that show us important things about their relationship and Frank's worsening struggle with his project and life.
The novella is chock-full of poignant vignettes and bits of dialogue, but I'm still unsure about the ending. I actually ended up rereading most of the book to see if I was missing something. I liked it, but it felt a little too easy. I would love to hear what anybody else thought of it.
Overall, this is a good pick for the Weirdathon if you're looking for an experimental format. It's easily a book you can finish in one sitting.
Full review: Outlandish Lit
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