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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
This was nothing that I was expecting. For whatever reason I was under the impression this book was science fiction. And then the first quarter was so boring, rife with analysis of poetry, that I’ll admit to losing the thread. Thereafter the protagonist became paranoid and ventured through East Germany and was somehow involved with the Stasi? Then it cycles on and he talks about the decent of mankind manifested in the election of Trump. Was there time travel? Or did I miss something huge? I don’t know. I must’ve blacked out due to boredom. Just average.
julieuh's review
4.0
existentially disturbing! I think this might be the first novel I've read that is explicitly about the 2016 election and it takes such a winding path that when we finally arrive on the day of, the date is dropped like the defining reveal of a thriller. the third section is particularly hard to read now, in spring 2024. but it's almost funny to reflect on the beginning of this book and how it's about a guy to didn't read the description of a writing fellowship closely enough and now finds himself stuck in a nightmare of open floor plan office spaces and communal dinners. this book is incredibly restrained, which is kind of surprising given the provocative title.
dnietoperafan's review against another edition
4.0
If having an existential crisis was book formatted, this would be it. Never have I ever read a book where I hated AND related to the main character. I feel like I would just scream at him to wake up from his mindset, but also have empathy because I’ve been there, done that.
I really liked this book, and maybe I would recommend it for people who also feel dread from the state of the world nowadays. But if you haven’t felt that, I wouldn’t think you’d enjoy it.
I really liked this book, and maybe I would recommend it for people who also feel dread from the state of the world nowadays. But if you haven’t felt that, I wouldn’t think you’d enjoy it.
sam_bizar_wilcox's review against another edition
3.0
Kunzru touches his finger on the pulse what seems to be a mainstay of online life. There's a lot of really good, really academic stuff here, but the book as a whole is uneven in places, too slow in parts, too fast in others. Writing in one of its highest forms here, but Red Pill maybe doesn't have enough to say about what it truly wants to discuss. Still, an interesting read.
dan31086's review against another edition
4.0
Well this captured the dread I’ve felt over the past 8 years
tkj1505's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75