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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were some moments that had me really engaged, but overall I found this book to be too repetitive. Especially the bits surrounding the victims and their deaths. The ending was solid though and I did mostly like the writing style. I wish there was more insight into those before 225 and why they didn't register in the same way as the later deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Gaslighting
This cult book was DARK. I love murder as much as the next person but would have to take a breather after some sections. Thought about returning it back to the lib twice. The writing style made it quick and details intense but woof I’m glad I’m done.
The concept is interesting and thematically I can see where it was going, but the length bogs down the story. It’s like we keep circling back to things we’ve already talked about with not much if anything new added, we’re not getting to the point, the same event reworded a million times with no new perspective or detail to justify the lingerance. Seems like it could’ve worked well as a shorter work but not as a novel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
It's hard to describe this book and to review it because I wouldn't describe it as enjoyable as such. It doesn't give you good vibes or make you smile, although some of it is quite funny in a brutal kind of way. It's so unique though, in the way it is told and the way the story pans out, and it's so gripping and frightening, you simply can't put it down. The narrative voice is confusing, but in a good way, and you are never quite sure who is telling this story, or who is behind the 'cult'. People are killing themselves with strangers and leaving notes claiming they are 'People Of Choice'. The media starts to brand it a cult and the phenomenon starts to spread. The thing is, no one knows they are part of this cult until they receive a note saying 'nothing important happened today.' Whenever someone gets this note they join the others and kill themselves, even though many do not want to. The mystery is, who is behind the cult? And how are they controlling these people and causing them to commit mass suicide? All is revealed at the end and I found the ending both satisfying and spectacular. This is a fantastically written book that makes me immediately want to buy more from this author. I have never read a book quite like this, which is a rare thing to say. It's hard-hitting, unflinchingly honest and brutal and I would probably say don't read it if you are genuinely depressed or have suicidal thoughts.
Trigger Warning: this book is so incredibly disturbing and deals with suicide and self harm in a very manic and unhealthy manner so if your someone that struggles with suicidal thoughts, Please be warned this book is very dark and can be a lot to handle.
I honestly can’t really say that I “enjoyed” this book. I can say the plot was very intriguing and I had waited about a year and a half to finally get a copy. Was the wait worth it? I’d say yes and no, this book as mentioned above, covers dark topics like cults, mass suicides, depression, and crime in a gritty and gruesome manner. I did like the twist ending but I was expecting a bit more backstory to the character of Detective Sergeant Pace then the author ever gave us. While he did end up being one of the “protagonists” people of the story, he kinda fell in the background at times and I felt like I never really knew any of the characters.
I often had to put the book down just due to the shocking details of all the suicides and the way it reads as a “How to start a cult and kill mass amounts of people for idiots 101” guide from the point of view of the killer. This book definitely made me feel disturbed and it’s both a bad and good thing in a way because this book will definitely stick with me for years to come but I can’t truly say it was a pleasure to read.
I honestly can’t really say that I “enjoyed” this book. I can say the plot was very intriguing and I had waited about a year and a half to finally get a copy. Was the wait worth it? I’d say yes and no, this book as mentioned above, covers dark topics like cults, mass suicides, depression, and crime in a gritty and gruesome manner. I did like the twist ending but I was expecting a bit more backstory to the character of Detective Sergeant Pace then the author ever gave us. While he did end up being one of the “protagonists” people of the story, he kinda fell in the background at times and I felt like I never really knew any of the characters.
I often had to put the book down just due to the shocking details of all the suicides and the way it reads as a “How to start a cult and kill mass amounts of people for idiots 101” guide from the point of view of the killer. This book definitely made me feel disturbed and it’s both a bad and good thing in a way because this book will definitely stick with me for years to come but I can’t truly say it was a pleasure to read.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The fact that I don’t quite know how to start this review/reflection is an indication of the intrigue of Will Carver’s ‘Nothing important happened today’. I don’t want my inadequate words to minimise or trivialise how deeply this book delves into the shape of humanity and i certainly don’t want to be cliche in my response to it. So I’m trying to choose my words carefully.
The first thing that strikes me with Carver’s writing is his style, which he indicates in his acknowledgements at the end of the book as being written in the third person and the collective first person. The constant switch between the collective, the individual and a third person commentary, coupled with short sentences and repetition of sentences with the same first words creates such a unique reading experience and one that felt like I was reading fiction and non-fiction simultaneously. I loved that experience because the book is essentially non-fiction wrapped up in fiction if you get me.
For me, ‘Nothing important happened today’ is ultimately a commentary on life in the twenty-first century. Will Carver takes the concept of ‘cult’ and bats it around relentlessly until he has shaken it to its core and left the reader pondering what position they take on hundreds of issues, how they respond to a myriad of media intrusions ever single day and what they choose to engage with or image they want to portray. Chapters entitled ‘you want to help’, ‘build a following’, ‘stay illusive’, ‘deal in certainty’, and ‘help by killing’ clearly emphasise the no holds barred kind of writing style that Carver employs. And he does this all the while overstating in an understated kind of way that 21st century socialisation provides the perfect foundation for breeding a cult following.
For me there are poignant passages in this book that made me stop, think, ponder, reflect and nod in wonder at how Carver managed to weave such home truths into this work. Take page 255... “we are so connected that we have become disconnected. We can’t have a thought, we have to have an opinion. Freedom of speech has gone too fucking far when we feel the need to share everything. When we filter the image of ourselves but feel no need to filter what we say out loud, hidden behind a new status and picture of ourselves when we were twenty pounds lighter”.
And again on page 209, “in a world where we show everyone pictures of the meals we are about to eat or we share videos of landmarks in our children’s lives that should be just for us, where thoughts are our latest status and kindness appears to have lost its currency, its often the things we don’t say that cause the most damage”.
So, needless to say this is a book with impact. The impact for everyone will be a little different. It needs to be read with openness to see what is in there for each human being. After all, we are human beings for our entire lives.
The first thing that strikes me with Carver’s writing is his style, which he indicates in his acknowledgements at the end of the book as being written in the third person and the collective first person. The constant switch between the collective, the individual and a third person commentary, coupled with short sentences and repetition of sentences with the same first words creates such a unique reading experience and one that felt like I was reading fiction and non-fiction simultaneously. I loved that experience because the book is essentially non-fiction wrapped up in fiction if you get me.
For me, ‘Nothing important happened today’ is ultimately a commentary on life in the twenty-first century. Will Carver takes the concept of ‘cult’ and bats it around relentlessly until he has shaken it to its core and left the reader pondering what position they take on hundreds of issues, how they respond to a myriad of media intrusions ever single day and what they choose to engage with or image they want to portray. Chapters entitled ‘you want to help’, ‘build a following’, ‘stay illusive’, ‘deal in certainty’, and ‘help by killing’ clearly emphasise the no holds barred kind of writing style that Carver employs. And he does this all the while overstating in an understated kind of way that 21st century socialisation provides the perfect foundation for breeding a cult following.
For me there are poignant passages in this book that made me stop, think, ponder, reflect and nod in wonder at how Carver managed to weave such home truths into this work. Take page 255... “we are so connected that we have become disconnected. We can’t have a thought, we have to have an opinion. Freedom of speech has gone too fucking far when we feel the need to share everything. When we filter the image of ourselves but feel no need to filter what we say out loud, hidden behind a new status and picture of ourselves when we were twenty pounds lighter”.
And again on page 209, “in a world where we show everyone pictures of the meals we are about to eat or we share videos of landmarks in our children’s lives that should be just for us, where thoughts are our latest status and kindness appears to have lost its currency, its often the things we don’t say that cause the most damage”.
So, needless to say this is a book with impact. The impact for everyone will be a little different. It needs to be read with openness to see what is in there for each human being. After all, we are human beings for our entire lives.
This is an example of why a good stylistic exercise does not necessarily make a good novel. Could have been punchy and fresh as a novella, or coupled with a more traditional narrative structure, but as it is, it is simply muddled, overwrought, and glum without tangible purpose.
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was an oddly written, bizarre storyline but I liked it. I think?