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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Written with Baker's usual wit and charm, but maybe lacks a bit of the edge of his first two books. However for any stylists just read the two chapters around the narrator's description of having the flu & taking his temperature. Superlative
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The short span of this novel made it go by in a flash. Overall, it felt lacking in content for me but I can't find fault with this as I assume that was somewhat the point. Every morning, our main character wakes up at 4 am, makes coffee in the dark (so as not to fully bring himself into the world of the awake yet), and lights a match in his fireplace. For the remainder of the morning he sits there, contemplates the domestic intimacies of the life he's lived and postulates about the deeper meaning of his life. While there is no plot in this novel, the main character and his family are endearing enough that I wasn't bothered by this and enjoyed reading about the daily routine of his pet duck, the accidental ant farm and funeral home, and the general mundanities of his life. This novel attempts to make the mundane, profound, and I think it half succeeded in this task. I found myself appreciating the self-reflection that this novel must have required to write. It is quite hard, I must assume, to write a novel about the seemingly nothingness of someone's life when you've had to make all that nothingness out of thin air. While it is hard to believe that this novel is fiction and not the actual life of the author, I am impressed if it is so. I enjoyed this novel, even if it didn't impact me to my core. Sometimes the simple is good.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
If you are enamored with the idea of reading someone's journal, this is the book for you. A quick read with no plot, we follow the narrator as he shares his thoughts as he starts his day by building a fire in his fireplace. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. I enjoyed it for the meandering read that it was.
This deserves 4.5 as I really enjoyed it and would certainly read more by this author
Every morning, for about a month, a father of two wakes up super early, lights a fire in the fireplace, and records his thoughts. This novel consists of those early morning ramblings. So, the novel reads kind of like a blog, but it's more poetic and not sensationalistic. Overall, a good (and short) read - most effective in small doses, like A Year in Provence.
Second time reading this book (and it's not usual for me to reread books I'm not teaching), but I've been thinking about this book lately & finally ordered a copy. It makes you think about how we should stop for a moment and appreciate the simply things in life instead of drowning in technology. A soul-feeding book.
A Box of Matches is about the most mundane novel I have ever read. I often wondered if it was really fiction, or if it was Baker's experimental journal. The set up is that the protagonist has decided to get up early every day (aiming for around 4:00-4:30), light a fire (hence the box of matches) then write in his journal. And again, the journal entries are mundane, for example peeing in the middle of the night and deciding whether to sit or stand (this could be informative for women) or how different paper burns in the stove. For being so bland, each chapter is very well written, but the book could have used a little oomph or something more tying the journal entries together than that they are early morning ramblings.
Great Descriptions of Life's Minitua
I enjoyed the simplicity of the premise -- lighting a fire every very early morning. This read as a very thoughtful diary. Different than my typical choices, I still found it a page-turner, albeit a gentle one.
I enjoyed the simplicity of the premise -- lighting a fire every very early morning. This read as a very thoughtful diary. Different than my typical choices, I still found it a page-turner, albeit a gentle one.
- This is the first book I've read in like ten years that manages to scratch the e'er elusive E.B. White essay itch.
- There's a story in here about an ant farm that will make you feel like a stoic ship's captain standing on a rocky Northeastern shore, staring out at the gray and spiteful surf, pretending the moisture on your aged and leathery cheeks is the sea's salty spray and not your own tears.
- Nickyboy continues his streak as the most essential writer on male urinary patterns.
- You've got to get cold to get warm.
- There's a story in here about an ant farm that will make you feel like a stoic ship's captain standing on a rocky Northeastern shore, staring out at the gray and spiteful surf, pretending the moisture on your aged and leathery cheeks is the sea's salty spray and not your own tears.
- Nickyboy continues his streak as the most essential writer on male urinary patterns.
- You've got to get cold to get warm.
Ugh. I should have re-read House of Holes instead.
But that's kind of how Baker is for me. Big hits and big misses. But me and the literary critics usually disagree on Baker's hits and misses. They love this one and disapprove of House of Holes.
But that's kind of how Baker is for me. Big hits and big misses. But me and the literary critics usually disagree on Baker's hits and misses. They love this one and disapprove of House of Holes.