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celjla212's review
3.0
Eli Schwartz doesn't have much going for him. He's a couple years out of high school but doesn't attend college. In fact, he doesn't do much of anything. He lives in his mom's basement, caught in a numbing cycle of drugs, internet surfing, and loneliness. The only things he has going for him are his love of cooking and his hyperactive imagination, which he combines with his immense knowledge of movies and TV to create scenes in his head featuring the people in his world.
So needless to say, he isn't too happy when his mother tells him that she is selling the house where he grew up. The house is quickly bought by a crippled, washed up actor named Kahn. Eli and Kahn form an inexplicable friendship that is awkward but fulfilling.
Eli struggles with the idea of being forced to change, and the story is told as he navigates through his sad existence, trying to cope and looking for something to anchor himself to.
It took me a little while to get into this story. For the whole first half, I was wondering what the point was. But I guess that was supposed the be it--the story had nowhere to go because Eli was going nowhere. When I finally got to the turning point, the story picked up speed and got interesting.
The characters are all done very well. Eli was not the best narrator I've ever had in a book. His thoughts moved fast and as a result the book is an annoying jumble of run on sentences that compose entire paragraphs. But I get it. His head was a mess.
Eli does not have a normal relationship with anyone in his life, and I'm still not sure if that was because of Eli himself, or that everyone he knows is so deeply flawed. The character I liked best was his mother, even though their relationship made me slightly uncomfortable at times...but I think most of that was a result of how she was viewed through Eli's mind.
I'd give this story 3 1/2 stars. I liked that Eli was somehow self-aware and incredibly naive at the same time. It made for an interesting character study, at least. This book wasn't as LOL funny as all the blurbs would have you believe, but to the right audience it is worth a read anyway.
So needless to say, he isn't too happy when his mother tells him that she is selling the house where he grew up. The house is quickly bought by a crippled, washed up actor named Kahn. Eli and Kahn form an inexplicable friendship that is awkward but fulfilling.
Eli struggles with the idea of being forced to change, and the story is told as he navigates through his sad existence, trying to cope and looking for something to anchor himself to.
It took me a little while to get into this story. For the whole first half, I was wondering what the point was. But I guess that was supposed the be it--the story had nowhere to go because Eli was going nowhere. When I finally got to the turning point, the story picked up speed and got interesting.
The characters are all done very well. Eli was not the best narrator I've ever had in a book. His thoughts moved fast and as a result the book is an annoying jumble of run on sentences that compose entire paragraphs. But I get it. His head was a mess.
Eli does not have a normal relationship with anyone in his life, and I'm still not sure if that was because of Eli himself, or that everyone he knows is so deeply flawed. The character I liked best was his mother, even though their relationship made me slightly uncomfortable at times...but I think most of that was a result of how she was viewed through Eli's mind.
I'd give this story 3 1/2 stars. I liked that Eli was somehow self-aware and incredibly naive at the same time. It made for an interesting character study, at least. This book wasn't as LOL funny as all the blurbs would have you believe, but to the right audience it is worth a read anyway.
rocketiza's review
4.0
I really liked the unique prose that the author used and his willingness to get dark in narrating a ne'er do wells thoughts of how he's wasted/wasting his life and combating loneliness. Through it he manages to pretty successfully describe and attack these thoughts and feelings in a way that feels authentic and not forced.
lola425's review
3.0
Meh. Stoner with a heart of gold fiction is just not for me, I guess. It read a lot like Jonathan Ames to me, the same kind of sad sack, social misfit who can't quite make it with girls befriends a strange, vaguely pathetic older man of the world and through the friendship starts to fund out who he is and who he is not. Liked it well enough, although I did not care what happened to any of the characters. Strong writing though, at times funny, but not the side-splitting tome Shteyngart's blurb claims it is.
elkensky's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
corrompido's review
2.0
Eh, my impression is that this book tried hard to be a modern, hip, somewhat ironically gritty (at least in the drug use,) take on a basic story of a young adult loser dealing with family and romantic issues. It never really managed to be any of those things, and a weak narrative made for an unfulfilling reading experience.
earlapvaldez's review
3.0
I'm not quite used to this contemporary Jewish fiction, but I enjoyed all the film references, the light storytelling, and the way characters interacted with each other.
mountie9's review
3.0
The Good Stuff
Totally bizarre and unique
Some of the dialogue (and inner dialogue) is LMAO funny
Good writing
Excellent character development
All of the characters feel very realistic like people you would see on the street
Dark and quirky - sort of reminds me of something that Apatow would make into a movie
The Not So Good Stuff
Eli is a loser and I just found myself disliking him and feeling uncomfortable because he was so pathetic
Language is over the top base and vulgar at times & I am no prude, but it just really irritated me
This is definitely one that men will enjoy more
This was not my sort of book, so its hard to review positively - but please Adam if you read this review do not be offended, its just not my bag - you got talent though
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"She's a sucker for men who are the opposite of me," Kahn said. "In that I taught her well."
"She'd bought a Mercedes SUV after the divorce, but sold it later to pay medical bills when her brother got prostrate cancer. Now Ned was dead and I bet she wished she'd kept the car, as the money she'd spent on health care didn't help in the end, and the medical costs had sealed her fast as a social pariah among the wallet-conscious women of Quinosset."
"If you don't write back just know that I don't mean anything weird by this message. I'm a good soul who's gone a bit off the deep end. My brother is a nerd, my mother is a drunk, my father is an asshole. I'm trying here, I'm really trying. Please write me back."
Who Should/Shouldn't Read
Hate to be sexist but this is one I think will appeal to the male reader
Those who like something just a little bit different, this one is for you
Think my brother would like this one
3 Dewey's
I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review
Totally bizarre and unique
Some of the dialogue (and inner dialogue) is LMAO funny
Good writing
Excellent character development
All of the characters feel very realistic like people you would see on the street
Dark and quirky - sort of reminds me of something that Apatow would make into a movie
The Not So Good Stuff
Eli is a loser and I just found myself disliking him and feeling uncomfortable because he was so pathetic
Language is over the top base and vulgar at times & I am no prude, but it just really irritated me
This is definitely one that men will enjoy more
This was not my sort of book, so its hard to review positively - but please Adam if you read this review do not be offended, its just not my bag - you got talent though
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"She's a sucker for men who are the opposite of me," Kahn said. "In that I taught her well."
"She'd bought a Mercedes SUV after the divorce, but sold it later to pay medical bills when her brother got prostrate cancer. Now Ned was dead and I bet she wished she'd kept the car, as the money she'd spent on health care didn't help in the end, and the medical costs had sealed her fast as a social pariah among the wallet-conscious women of Quinosset."
"If you don't write back just know that I don't mean anything weird by this message. I'm a good soul who's gone a bit off the deep end. My brother is a nerd, my mother is a drunk, my father is an asshole. I'm trying here, I'm really trying. Please write me back."
Who Should/Shouldn't Read
Hate to be sexist but this is one I think will appeal to the male reader
Those who like something just a little bit different, this one is for you
Think my brother would like this one
3 Dewey's
I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review
thrifty_librarian's review
1.0
Lazy, basement-living, probably depressed, college-aged non-college-student does various drugs while feeling sorry for himself.
Too bad there's no story here because I liked how the book was formatted, with strange lists and asides. Quick read but very little substance. Author shows certain depth of feeling that isn't present in any of his characters. Didn't like the writing style.
Too bad there's no story here because I liked how the book was formatted, with strange lists and asides. Quick read but very little substance. Author shows certain depth of feeling that isn't present in any of his characters. Didn't like the writing style.