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buttercupita's review against another edition
4.0
Did this one on audio -- a format I would highly recommend for this. I'm embarrassed to say that though I've read some of his essays, I hadn't yet tried Wallace's fiction. Some of the stories in this collection are jaw-dropping, they are so beautifully described (I'm thinking particularly of a 13th birthday at the swimming pool.) For the audio production, they have brought on excellent actors (Bobby Cannavale, Josh Charles, Corey Stoll) to read the interviews and bring the characters to life. The title is apt! I did find the last interview (on the final disc) really disturbing, which is why I didn't give a full 5 stars. I see from some of the reviews that I'm not alone on that, but some think it's the best piece in the collection.
irene_marchiori's review against another edition
3.0
Avrei dato un voto più alto per via di alcuni racconti e alcune interviste specifiche, che credo siano state tra le prime occasioni in cui ho potuto chiaramente riconoscere dei lati molto scomodi delle personalità di persone che conosco (o anche mie) in maniera chiara (enfatica, ironica, parodistica, grottesca, eppure autentica); se un libro mi fa sentire ciò che sento nella vita reale, mi ci fa pensare e mi permette di analizzarlo sotto una lente nuova, allora riesce.
Dall'altra parte ho provato pochissimo interesse per altre parti (Ottetto e Chiesa Senza Mani ad esempio) che mi hanno fatta incagliare nella lettura di un racconto anche per qualche giorno e che personalmente non mi hanno lasciato nulla. Probabilmente è l'elemento "meta" del primo a non essermi interessato affatto e ad essere risultato estenuante, mentre il secondo è stato letteralmente ???
Dall'altra parte ho provato pochissimo interesse per altre parti (Ottetto e Chiesa Senza Mani ad esempio) che mi hanno fatta incagliare nella lettura di un racconto anche per qualche giorno e che personalmente non mi hanno lasciato nulla. Probabilmente è l'elemento "meta" del primo a non essermi interessato affatto e ad essere risultato estenuante, mentre il secondo è stato letteralmente ???
mjhorn's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the writing in here affected me in ways I had never experienced before. It was at times mesmerisingly beautiful, profoundly challenging, funny, and deeply sad. At times it was also enormously frustrating (Infinite Jest was nothing like as difficult as some of these stories). Some stories fell flat. Much of the time, Wallace's rendering of first person voices, while undoubtedly technical masterful, just wasn't that much fun to read. This is a strange and complex collection. I think it's ghosts'll haunt me for some time.
maxmagee's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, what a mixed bag. Some of the writing here reaches up about as high as anything from Wallace ever did. But then other parts can be a real chore and/or just plain unpleasant to read. Makes me think of when a musician puts out a rarities/b-sides compilation that is mostly chaff for completists but they're smart enough to throw in some essential nuggets to make the whole thing worthwhile. So in other words, if anyone is reading this and thinking about sampling some DFW I would definitely not go with this one.
jdgerlach's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
cdogg's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
murinius's review against another edition
1.0
I got this book many years ago because an actress I liked was going to star in a movie that was inspired by it. I thought that I was too immature back then to get what was so good about this writer, and it was true that I didn't understand many things he was talking about. Now that I've skimmed it as an adult though I can say for sure that it's not something that I'd like. It's very much an American bro book. Nothing wrong if you like that sort of thing, but it's not my style and to be honest it made me feel kind of gross.