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youngthespian42's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book a lot but didn’t love it. It found it really comparable to the film Night Film by Mariah’s Pessl. Night film has a much for engaging mystery but Experimental Film’s spooks a lot better. These two a great double feature.
threeprongfork's review against another edition
2.75
Tough to get through. A LOT of extra information that felt unnecessary. Not for me, but I get why people might like it.
luminous's review against another edition
4.0
Solid. Topics: Canadian film history, early film, parenting an autistic child, generational relationships, early 1900s and present day, . Themes: acceptance. Lois is put through a series of trials like a hero of myth. She is challenged by her relationship with her autistic son, thinking she's come to terms with it when she really hasn't. I laughed at how much I related to her when her mother would give her advice on how she needed to treat Clark better, and she'd get angry with her mother, but upon reflection, her mother was right and even though Lois thought she was expressing her love for Clark to him, she was at the same time often subtly putting him down. Even though I don't have an autistic child, this experience of:
1. This situation is difficult, but I've found a way to deal with it and I'm totally cool with it. (But at the same time:)
2. Well I'm still kind of upset about the situation, but I'm trying really hard to be cool with it and everyone around me can see that I'm dealing with it really well.
3. Ugh why is my mom haranguing me and saying I'm doing microaggressions to the person I'm trying to be totally cool to. I'm trying my best! Can't she be on my side? I'm not hurting the other person! At least I think I'm not...because I don't want to hurt them. Not wanting to hurt them means I can't be hurting them, right?
4. (Time passes)
5. Ahh, shit.
I guess I found the main character, Lois, to be well-nuanced. I've seen reviews saying she's "unlikeable," which frankly is bullshit. She is occasionally irascible. She speaks her mind and doesn't pussyfoot around. That's the worst of her traits. If the main character was Larry, likeability would never be in question. The author would be praised for the complex characterization and for Larry's devotion and deep humanity.
I am not a film buff by any stretch of the term. I like watching them, but I'm not "into" film. But apparently I am really into "film books." I loved Night Film and I really liked Experimental Film. I guess I'm going to have to put the upcoming book Silver Nitrate on my TBR.
Maybe it's the themes that the topic of film explores. Themes of reality/creating a reality, film as a window to another dimension, escapism, all of the technical means of manipulating film, how film reflects cultures, they all seem to work well with horror themes.
As for Lady Midday, I spent the entire book enthralled in the mystery. But now that it's over, she shrinks in my mind. But that's ok.
I don't know if I missed stuff, but I don't have a really clear idea of whether I absorbed everything about Iris Whitcomb and Lady Midday and later, the blind guy. So maybe those things could have been done better.
It says a lot about the quality of this book that I hate ghost stories and I absolutely loathe stories with gods, yet I still find this worth 4 stars. Can be slow in parts but it's worth it.
Spoiler
ghosts, old timey small time but still serious gods1. This situation is difficult, but I've found a way to deal with it and I'm totally cool with it. (But at the same time:)
2. Well I'm still kind of upset about the situation, but I'm trying really hard to be cool with it and everyone around me can see that I'm dealing with it really well.
3. Ugh why is my mom haranguing me and saying I'm doing microaggressions to the person I'm trying to be totally cool to. I'm trying my best! Can't she be on my side? I'm not hurting the other person! At least I think I'm not...because I don't want to hurt them. Not wanting to hurt them means I can't be hurting them, right?
4. (Time passes)
5. Ahh, shit.
I guess I found the main character, Lois, to be well-nuanced. I've seen reviews saying she's "unlikeable," which frankly is bullshit. She is occasionally irascible. She speaks her mind and doesn't pussyfoot around. That's the worst of her traits. If the main character was Larry, likeability would never be in question. The author would be praised for the complex characterization and for Larry's devotion and deep humanity.
I am not a film buff by any stretch of the term. I like watching them, but I'm not "into" film. But apparently I am really into "film books." I loved Night Film and I really liked Experimental Film. I guess I'm going to have to put the upcoming book Silver Nitrate on my TBR.
Maybe it's the themes that the topic of film explores. Themes of reality/creating a reality, film as a window to another dimension, escapism, all of the technical means of manipulating film, how film reflects cultures, they all seem to work well with horror themes.
As for Lady Midday, I spent the entire book enthralled in the mystery. But now that it's over, she shrinks in my mind. But that's ok.
I don't know if I missed stuff, but I don't have a really clear idea of whether I absorbed everything about Iris Whitcomb and Lady Midday and later, the blind guy. So maybe those things could have been done better.
It says a lot about the quality of this book that I hate ghost stories and I absolutely loathe stories with gods, yet I still find this worth 4 stars. Can be slow in parts but it's worth it.
claudial666's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
3.75
kuranes's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the story and wanted to keep turning pages, but the protagonist was so freaking unlikable. This book would have been at least 20% better had I not thought they were a self-centered asshole the majority of the time.
mdesr089's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5