Reviews

Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie

taylormoore6's review

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

4.25

real_pansy's review against another edition

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

3.5

werdfert's review

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4.0

I read this book ... why did I read this book? I didn't really like the one story of hers I read that was published in the New Yorker. But people compared her to [a:Tao Lin|161218|Tao Lin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257969804p2/161218.jpg] and I wanted to read something like what he writes and I've read all of his books already. So I read this book. And I really liked it. Like really really liked it. Nothing tremendous happens and things are pretty normal and sometimes you don't know why this is a book, which is what makes it wonderful. I kind of felt like I had crawled up inside it and I didn't want my real life to go on without the characters. That sounds melodramatic. I guess I just mean they became real for me, which I think is something I like books to do. I think I hesitated giving this five stars out of sheer spite. Because I resented the book not actually being real, that I didn't know these people or even Ann Beattie.

jeremiah's review against another edition

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"It occurs to Charles that songs are always appropriate. No matter what record is played, it is always applicable. Once, on a date in high school, when he was going to tell his date he loved her, Elvis Presley came on the radio singing, 'Loving You.' It always happens: politicians are always crooks, records are always applicable to the situation. Charles shrugs off his sweater. Martha and the Vandellas start to sing 'Heat Wave.' Charles laughs."
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