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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
The only problem with this book is that I wish its music were real. Obviously the styles and bands listed have analogues but some of the stuff described in this have that "that sounds like exactly what I want but does not actually exist in a band". Other than that its awesome.
What really set this book apart from so many of the books I read was the way Spiotta handled subtle changes in point of view. I would go from chapter to chapter--the chapters are marked as dates in most cases--without recognizing that the point of view had shifted. The smooth transitions were so well handled especially considering that the narrator was at times Denise and at other times Nik. Their two voices--Denise's and Nik's--were unique, distinct, and consistent, and each narrator had a first-person point of view as well as a third-person point of view. And still, the author's technical aspects of writing the novel never hindered the pure story enjoyment at the center of the book's narrative. This is a fantastic read.
A spell-binding read with amazing details and stories. This one is going to stay with me and simmer for awhile in the subconscious.
Denise Kranis and her brother Nik have their own world they live in. Their mother worked a night shift, so they looked after each other and took care of each other for years. Nik has mostly withdrawn from the world except for his bartending job, but he continues to write and record music and chronicles a parallel life as Nik Worth with an amazing following for his bands. He did have a couple of bands at one time, but they have pretty much gone their separate ways. He also has volumes and volumes of articles and reviews, etc that he has written himself. And he continues to put out his CDs in a limited edition with an elaborate scheme of album covers and liner notes. Then Denise's daughter, Ada, wants to make an independent documentary on Nik's career and Chronicles.
Who wouldn't want to have such a rich life in imagination and based on fact. Nik's band almost did make a record, but the guy setting it up blew up the deal when Nik and the band didn't want him for a manager. Nik is having his own crisis, whether it has to do with the video Ada is making or with the approach of his 50th birthday and the death of a former bandmate. Denise is worrying over this. He started many years ago issuing his "Ontology of Worth" starting with Number 20 and going backward. He has just given her a copy of Number 1. The covers of the Ontology all put together, make a collage of Nik. His music is amazing and she loves it. But the issue of Number 1 worries her as well. Nik has finished his ontology - and what will he do now?
Denise Kranis and her brother Nik have their own world they live in. Their mother worked a night shift, so they looked after each other and took care of each other for years. Nik has mostly withdrawn from the world except for his bartending job, but he continues to write and record music and chronicles a parallel life as Nik Worth with an amazing following for his bands. He did have a couple of bands at one time, but they have pretty much gone their separate ways. He also has volumes and volumes of articles and reviews, etc that he has written himself. And he continues to put out his CDs in a limited edition with an elaborate scheme of album covers and liner notes. Then Denise's daughter, Ada, wants to make an independent documentary on Nik's career and Chronicles.
Who wouldn't want to have such a rich life in imagination and based on fact. Nik's band almost did make a record, but the guy setting it up blew up the deal when Nik and the band didn't want him for a manager. Nik is having his own crisis, whether it has to do with the video Ada is making or with the approach of his 50th birthday and the death of a former bandmate. Denise is worrying over this. He started many years ago issuing his "Ontology of Worth" starting with Number 20 and going backward. He has just given her a copy of Number 1. The covers of the Ontology all put together, make a collage of Nik. His music is amazing and she loves it. But the issue of Number 1 worries her as well. Nik has finished his ontology - and what will he do now?
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Chronicles the life of an unknown musician named Nik, from the point of view of his sister Denise. Nik and Denise grow up in California in the 70s, and as a teenager he plays in homegrown, unknown bands, until eventually he becomes a quasi-recluse and his art takes a strange twist. Although he continues to write songs, he turns to creating a meticulous, mythologized archive of his fictional success as a rock star.
Denise narrates the story, and her head is full of thoughts about the nature of memory and the relationship between siblings. She's interested in how you can forget things about your childhood, but stepping back onto a particular street will dredge up memories that you had thought gone forever. As Nik and Denise's mother succumbs to dementia, and Nik devotes his life to an archive of unreal events, Denise is the one left to wonder about the meaning of it.
I liked that this had an unusual take on relationships, asserting the primacy of the sibling relationship in Denise and Nik's lives.
Denise narrates the story, and her head is full of thoughts about the nature of memory and the relationship between siblings. She's interested in how you can forget things about your childhood, but stepping back onto a particular street will dredge up memories that you had thought gone forever. As Nik and Denise's mother succumbs to dementia, and Nik devotes his life to an archive of unreal events, Denise is the one left to wonder about the meaning of it.
I liked that this had an unusual take on relationships, asserting the primacy of the sibling relationship in Denise and Nik's lives.
Perhaps it was because the book took me awhile to finish. But I thought Dana Spiotta's novel was average. I loved her character of Nik Worth and I truly admire her ability to write and describe every nuance and detail of this character. Similarly I enjoyed the character of Denise. My main complaint is Spiotta's usage of real-life events. I can appreciate their necessity in showing Denise's reaction to them as a means in adding greeting depth to this character. But the same could've been done with fictional "news events." instead. I was left distracted, believing that Spiotta wanted to say more with it. But that is my only minor complaint on an average book - that perhaps the author was trying to do too much. Otherwise, "Stone Arabia" was interesting, but not compelling.
This books is a fascinating chronicle of a sister who has spent a life watching her musician brother create and alternate life where he is a rock star. It is as complicated as it sounds and very, very good. Spiotta does a great job with narration and the creation of multiple voices.
That said, this book follows a recent trend wherein it is largely dependent on the reader's familiarity with pop culture. I don't know who well it will endure.
That said, this book follows a recent trend wherein it is largely dependent on the reader's familiarity with pop culture. I don't know who well it will endure.
Incredible collage of rock music, memory and mortality.
While Ms. Spiotta is a fantastic writer, I never got to the point where i could not put this book down. The story just never really grabbed me. I normally never disagree with Michiko Kakutani, my favorite ny times critic.