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mathew's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chirson's review against another edition
DNF-ing. I'd read the first three or four stories six years ago and I'd enjoyed them well enough, then I needed to give the copy back and I planned to finish in e-book, but kept putting it off. And now an acquaintance I don't really like (and whose literary taste is the opposite of mine) has been going around quoting DFW like it's the height of taste for months and I think I won't be able to get back to it without associating it with the person, so off my shelf it goes.
drewbutler's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ewascibior's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ferris_mx's review against another edition
4.0
Hahahaha, what did I just read? I enjoyed it, the way Wallace plays with time. Making a second last for many pages, or summarizing an intervening plot period with a few words, or brutally foreshadowing the future, whether relevant to the plot or not. But I don't really know what it was about.
ichirofakename's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could write like this.
Though a little aggravating in uniformly omitting final resolutions.
Somehow he manages to make a meaningful, insightful, perceptive, and almost believable story on the subject of a guy who defecates sculpture.
Recommended for fans of the extremely talented.
It appears that short stories can in fact be readable.
Though a little aggravating in uniformly omitting final resolutions.
Somehow he manages to make a meaningful, insightful, perceptive, and almost believable story on the subject of a guy who defecates sculpture.
Recommended for fans of the extremely talented.
It appears that short stories can in fact be readable.
patrique's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
matosapa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thebookofdanny's review against another edition
4.0
The views expressed in this review are mine and do not represent those of the educated. I probably misinterpreted every story in Oblivion - but it's too late to get smarter now.
Mister Squishy - Read Mister Squishy whilst telling yourself this laborious exercise will be worthwhile, knowing full well you’re kidding yourself. Seriously, it was like reading html. I had Myspace flashbacks.
The Soul Is Not A Smithy -You know when you’re watching a film in the cinema and the last twenty minutes has been set in a cave or some other dark place? Then BAM! Bright light desert and your reeling in pain as your pupils dilute to the size of a mosquito’s twat. The radiant light of coherence shines bright.
Incarnations of Burned Children - Three pages long. Reader, I was in my element.
Another Pioneer - This one was probably the funniest. I was just hoping that what was whispered into the brilliant child’s ear was going to blow my mind à la ‘The Nightmare Box’ in Palahniuk’s bowel-loosening masterpiece ‘Haunted’ - It did not.
Good Old Neon - Who doesn’t want to blow a suicidal yuppie who can’t love?
Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature - Had me at plastic surgery gone wrong, lost me at the spiders.
Oblivion - All that’s missing is a troll emoji on the last page. It’s almost begging you to chuck it across the room. I loved it.
The Suffering Channel - If Lady Gaga’s disastrous 'Artpop’ era had focused more on the work of Michelle Hines than Jeff Koons then I can guarantee her column inches would be unscathed by a terrorist attack. Gaga would be a Vogue covergirl, holding a turd, just like Divine in Pink Flamingos. There would be no retch and wink to the camera, we’re past irony here.
Post 9/11 and we’re still talking shit.
Mister Squishy - Read Mister Squishy whilst telling yourself this laborious exercise will be worthwhile, knowing full well you’re kidding yourself. Seriously, it was like reading html. I had Myspace flashbacks.
The Soul Is Not A Smithy -You know when you’re watching a film in the cinema and the last twenty minutes has been set in a cave or some other dark place? Then BAM! Bright light desert and your reeling in pain as your pupils dilute to the size of a mosquito’s twat. The radiant light of coherence shines bright.
Incarnations of Burned Children - Three pages long. Reader, I was in my element.
Another Pioneer - This one was probably the funniest. I was just hoping that what was whispered into the brilliant child’s ear was going to blow my mind à la ‘The Nightmare Box’ in Palahniuk’s bowel-loosening masterpiece ‘Haunted’ - It did not.
Good Old Neon - Who doesn’t want to blow a suicidal yuppie who can’t love?
Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature - Had me at plastic surgery gone wrong, lost me at the spiders.
Oblivion - All that’s missing is a troll emoji on the last page. It’s almost begging you to chuck it across the room. I loved it.
The Suffering Channel - If Lady Gaga’s disastrous 'Artpop’ era had focused more on the work of Michelle Hines than Jeff Koons then I can guarantee her column inches would be unscathed by a terrorist attack. Gaga would be a Vogue covergirl, holding a turd, just like Divine in Pink Flamingos. There would be no retch and wink to the camera, we’re past irony here.
Post 9/11 and we’re still talking shit.