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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
its good. frankly a miracle that a book can sustain itself on "get a load of this guy" sorts of humor. turns out being pathetic is really fucking funny.
A tale of a few men who become embroiled in the formation and propagation of a secret society, told in halting deadpan. A humorous look at how easily men can delude themselves, and the lengths they go to in an effort to confirm to themselves that they have worth on this earth, because by god they knew the secrets of Pletho Pappus and the Atlantean empire! It makes no difference they have relied upon the financial support of good-natured women, the state welfare system, and the dollars of people more foolish than themsleves to keep from shuffling quckly off of this mortal coil - because they know the secrets of the Cone of Fate and the Jimmerson Spiral!
This was enjoyable, but I really wished instead of the surface level commentary we get about our cast of characters, that we would get some depth, to maybe understand why they were susceptible or drawn to the philosophical, mysterious, and absurd nature of a secret society guarding some "ancient truth." The closest the book gets is in the Austin Popper storyline where he drifts from Golescu and their pursuit of alchemical plants and into alcoholism. He wakes one day, swears off the hooch, and within 24 hours is nursing a beer in the pub avoiding the FBI and losing his love interest to his former associate. As he returns to their house to retrieve his bird friend, fleeing pursuit by the FBI, only to find him dead, was crushing. His one true friend in the world, who didn't judge him as other men did, gone. A rare moment of emotion not draped in deadpan comedy, as he escapes an accidental house fire and curls up in the mouth of an abandoned mine, with his bird in tow. More moments like this would have greatly ratcheted up the impact for me.
These characters, unfortunately, have no arc. They show no change, let alone any growth. They manage to get through life on what seems to be pure circumstantial luck. I was thirsty for this type of character development, bu sadly didn't find it.
This was enjoyable, but I really wished instead of the surface level commentary we get about our cast of characters, that we would get some depth, to maybe understand why they were susceptible or drawn to the philosophical, mysterious, and absurd nature of a secret society guarding some "ancient truth." The closest the book gets is in the Austin Popper storyline where he drifts from Golescu and their pursuit of alchemical plants and into alcoholism. He wakes one day, swears off the hooch, and within 24 hours is nursing a beer in the pub avoiding the FBI and losing his love interest to his former associate. As he returns to their house to retrieve his bird friend, fleeing pursuit by the FBI, only to find him dead, was crushing. His one true friend in the world, who didn't judge him as other men did, gone. A rare moment of emotion not draped in deadpan comedy, as he escapes an accidental house fire and curls up in the mouth of an abandoned mine, with his bird in tow. More moments like this would have greatly ratcheted up the impact for me.
These characters, unfortunately, have no arc. They show no change, let alone any growth. They manage to get through life on what seems to be pure circumstantial luck. I was thirsty for this type of character development, bu sadly didn't find it.
4.5 Stars
No real plot to be spoken of here, rather almost a history of a gang of idiots making things up as they go along. Popper's monologues in the last 1/4 of the book are absolutely hysterical. This has a lot to say about the conspiracy/QAnon/Confirmation Bias culture of today where everyone is an expert in something just because they say they are and have a platform. Books don't get written much this way anymore. Really glad I read it. I'm sure I'll return at some point in the future when things feel as bleak as they do now. I know then it will help me remember that we're all just a bunch of self-deluded dummies looking for meaning in the void.
No real plot to be spoken of here, rather almost a history of a gang of idiots making things up as they go along. Popper's monologues in the last 1/4 of the book are absolutely hysterical. This has a lot to say about the conspiracy/QAnon/Confirmation Bias culture of today where everyone is an expert in something just because they say they are and have a platform. Books don't get written much this way anymore. Really glad I read it. I'm sure I'll return at some point in the future when things feel as bleak as they do now. I know then it will help me remember that we're all just a bunch of self-deluded dummies looking for meaning in the void.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up due to a recent story in Slate about the book's popularity with comedic folk, but it didn't do much for me. (It's certainly not [b:True Grit|257845|True Grit|Charles Portis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436277655l/257845._SY75_.jpg|1320617].)
We follow (mostly) the history of Lamar Jimmerson, his somewhat accidental founding of a secret society reclaiming Atlantean knowledge called Gnomonism, and the travails of its followers. There's a huge focus on strange and misguided men and what they will choose to believe in. (One of the few bits I found truly funny is a hearing by Texas state senators interrogating a leading Gnomist about beliefs even crazier than what he espouses: "You can tell us nothing about his plans to conquer the earth and divide it up into triangular districts?" "Mr. Jimmerson has no such plans.")
The problem I had is that there is no driving impetus for the plot; a chapter usually has a time jump and details some bit of Gnomonist history, and then we move to the next chapter. It feels more like a set of connected short stories than a novel. And the relative lack of dialogue (sometimes for pages at a time) left me tired of reading exposition. It's often humorous, but rarely struck me as truly funny.
We follow (mostly) the history of Lamar Jimmerson, his somewhat accidental founding of a secret society reclaiming Atlantean knowledge called Gnomonism, and the travails of its followers. There's a huge focus on strange and misguided men and what they will choose to believe in. (One of the few bits I found truly funny is a hearing by Texas state senators interrogating a leading Gnomist about beliefs even crazier than what he espouses: "You can tell us nothing about his plans to conquer the earth and divide it up into triangular districts?" "Mr. Jimmerson has no such plans.")
The problem I had is that there is no driving impetus for the plot; a chapter usually has a time jump and details some bit of Gnomonist history, and then we move to the next chapter. It feels more like a set of connected short stories than a novel. And the relative lack of dialogue (sometimes for pages at a time) left me tired of reading exposition. It's often humorous, but rarely struck me as truly funny.
funny
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Might be the absolute worst book I've ever read. I am just beyond confused and wished that this made a lick of sense. Hate that I read this, but someone in my book club chose it. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND EVER. YIKES!
Another very high 4 stars--it's hard for me to give 5s unless I have an emotional reaction, otherwise the book has to be absolutely perfect at what it sets out to do.
This is a Very Strange Book (which is a good thing--not remotely formulaic). It's the only Portis I've read, so not sure how it relates to his oeuvre, or if this is his normal style or not. It reads, to a large extent, as if one were reading a religious or mythological book (e.g. the Simarillion, the Ramayana, the Bible, etc.), rather than a novel--the plot sweeps along, there's not a lot of psychological introspection, and every so often the plot halts for the sake of a list, or a scene becomes excruciatingly minutely rendered, in huge contrast to the normal goings-on. I thought it was nifty, and suited the subject matter (the history of a weird made-up (or is it?) religion/belief-system and the people who discovered/invented it). In that sense, it's barely a novel--it reads more like the romances (in the old sense of the word) which preceded the invention of the novel in the 18th century.
I was also reminded a bit of The Hearing Trumpet or The Towers of Trebizond ... it's just a wonderfully off-kilter book, like its characters. Worth checking out--you'll know right away if you appreciate the style or if it will not be for you.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
This is a Very Strange Book (which is a good thing--not remotely formulaic). It's the only Portis I've read, so not sure how it relates to his oeuvre, or if this is his normal style or not. It reads, to a large extent, as if one were reading a religious or mythological book (e.g. the Simarillion, the Ramayana, the Bible, etc.), rather than a novel--the plot sweeps along, there's not a lot of psychological introspection, and every so often the plot halts for the sake of a list, or a scene becomes excruciatingly minutely rendered, in huge contrast to the normal goings-on. I thought it was nifty, and suited the subject matter (the history of a weird made-up (or is it?) religion/belief-system and the people who discovered/invented it). In that sense, it's barely a novel--it reads more like the romances (in the old sense of the word) which preceded the invention of the novel in the 18th century.
I was also reminded a bit of The Hearing Trumpet or The Towers of Trebizond ... it's just a wonderfully off-kilter book, like its characters. Worth checking out--you'll know right away if you appreciate the style or if it will not be for you.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).