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mavi04's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mham's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
The most interesting take on a 33 1/3 thus far. Probably the most literary, but maybe the furthest from the music. Soooo close to a 4.
ivaorlic's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
stucifer_'s review
3.0
This is probably landing at a 3.5 for me; I'm rounding down to emphasize that his later work, that I have rated 4 stars iirc, is stronger IMO, as well as due to some casual homophobia*.
I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books, but I feel pretty comfortable in thinking that Darnielle's approach here is unusual. Instead of doing a straightforward discussion of the album in question, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Darnielle writes the fictional diary of a teenager who is institutionalized against his will, in which he tries to explain how important the album is to him in the hopes that his copy will be returned to him by the hospital staff. So, yknow, a bit of an unusual take on the premise of this series, which is itself pretty great! I think Darnielle came into this motivated by his experience working as an orderly in a state psychiatric hospital, possibly seeing an overlap between people who cared passionately about this band and young patients there, and strives to find compassion in the reader for the inhumane treatment of these children via the MC's articulate and full love of this album. And yknow, as a character study, this works. Roger is an angry and vulnerable kid whose life gets fucked over, and he is trying desperately to hold on.
I think though, that as much as I feel for Roger, the album aspect - which is, in fact, the point - feels a bit shoehorned in. I think Darnielle was inspired to write this story, which as far as I know is his first published prose fiction, by the album and the 33 1/3 imprint, but may not have recognized that the story took on its own life, or knew it did but kept trying to force focus back on to the album anyway. No question that Darnielle is an incredible storyteller; both his prolific musical output as well as his later novels prove that. I just ultimately don't think the parameters of this publication serve the story he wants to tell here.
*Elaborating on the homophobia : Roger is a teen boy of the 1980s, the MC is casually, naturally homophobic and throws out slurs a few times. It's a pretty minor facet of the book, and it does feel true to character, but nevertheless it's worth a mention.
I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books, but I feel pretty comfortable in thinking that Darnielle's approach here is unusual. Instead of doing a straightforward discussion of the album in question, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Darnielle writes the fictional diary of a teenager who is institutionalized against his will, in which he tries to explain how important the album is to him in the hopes that his copy will be returned to him by the hospital staff. So, yknow, a bit of an unusual take on the premise of this series, which is itself pretty great! I think Darnielle came into this motivated by his experience working as an orderly in a state psychiatric hospital, possibly seeing an overlap between people who cared passionately about this band and young patients there, and strives to find compassion in the reader for the inhumane treatment of these children via the MC's articulate and full love of this album. And yknow, as a character study, this works. Roger is an angry and vulnerable kid whose life gets fucked over, and he is trying desperately to hold on.
I think though, that as much as I feel for Roger, the album aspect - which is, in fact, the point - feels a bit shoehorned in. I think Darnielle was inspired to write this story, which as far as I know is his first published prose fiction, by the album and the 33 1/3 imprint, but may not have recognized that the story took on its own life, or knew it did but kept trying to force focus back on to the album anyway. No question that Darnielle is an incredible storyteller; both his prolific musical output as well as his later novels prove that. I just ultimately don't think the parameters of this publication serve the story he wants to tell here.
*Elaborating on the homophobia : Roger is a teen boy of the 1980s, the MC is casually, naturally homophobic and throws out slurs a few times. It's a pretty minor facet of the book, and it does feel true to character, but nevertheless it's worth a mention.
gustoghoul's review
5.0
John Darnielle is a master of writing people who face insurmountable barriers.
avalanchedrops's review
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
estefaniavelez's review
4.0
This book goes by in a flash. I'm admittedly not a Black Sabbath fan, but I've adored John Darnielle's music and, shockingly more so, his writing. Universal Harvester absolutely blew me away and I've been dying to return to the lyricism and emotional gravity of his writing ever since. Master of Reality .. sneaks up on you. The protagonist is so clearly angry, so intensely young, but almost instantly I wanted to protect him- the way, I think, you want to hug someone when they're hurting and know that if you do, they're probably gonna shove you hard for the attempt. There is a moment's time jump in this novel that just devastated me. As someone who saw a family member experience just a measure of what this narrative depicts, I found this heartbreaking, honest, too authentic, almost. I'm a YA librarian and I read YA literature for work. I also work with teens. It's really, really easy to fuck up writing from a teenage POV, but the writing- the tone, the grammar, the turn of phrase- feels believable. It makes the ending portion of this novel especially difficult. You sense a lifetime has passed. You sense there's anger below the surface and tremendous mourning. I wanted, as the protagonist wanted, to wrangle the people responsible into a chair and shout at them, be heard, get an apology for the ways in which apathy and the failures of the mental health system ruin and devastate young lives in need of dignity and empathy. Such a great read.
littletooey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mxinky's review
4.0
Jesse and Stacy gave me three books in this series and I'm really thankful. I read this one while in the ER yesterday, which was just perfect.
A story of a boy sent to a mental hospital and denied all of his tapes, including Master of Reality. I was worried about this form of storytelling, at first, but in the end it worked out well.
I didn't listen to Black Sabbath until college, and the book brought out some qualities of the band that I didn't appreciate.
A story of a boy sent to a mental hospital and denied all of his tapes, including Master of Reality. I was worried about this form of storytelling, at first, but in the end it worked out well.
I didn't listen to Black Sabbath until college, and the book brought out some qualities of the band that I didn't appreciate.