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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
DNF. Another deapan farce from Portis that fell really flat. I gave it my best shot, but when I'm reading a comedy and I don't crack a laugh or even smile after an hour I know it's not worth my time continuing...
Didn't grab me as much as Portis' other books. It could be that this book jumps around a lot with lots of different and less personal perspectives, whereas his other books stick to one protagonist encountering lots of eccentric characters. Still very funny, especially when there are long stretches of dialogue.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Funny and sweet and full of life. I was riding my bike around Key West and a first edition of this caught my eye. It was $2 and I gave it to my friend Johnny. My copy is still being "borrowed" after three years by Benzler. Help!
It’s not easy to lampoon secret societies, since they’re mostly an unintentional parody of the world we live in. Portis’s journalistic narrative allows the reader to determine the route the parody takes, which dives from humor into absurdity many times.
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Loping, dry, and utterly unconcerned with the Atlantean mysteries one might imagine at the center of this book. Absurd. It seems on the one hand worth lumping in with other weirdness books like Foucauld's Pendulum but then on the other hand, with the very American scammers and dopes of Mark Twain. Highly enjoyable.
I want to give Portis another try after this because I loved True Grit so much, but this just wasn't for me. It just skipped through time too quickly for me to get my bearings. It was really funny, but also not engaging...weirdly. I think it would make a great Wes Anderson movie, though!