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baltoellen's review
Reading this for a book club. Although I generally like fragmented narratives and novels with strong narrative voices, I just couldn't go past the first section. (Even that was a struggle.) I found a few wonderful passages describing Philadelphia, but not enough to keep me reading this disjointed, women hating novel.
dannymason_1's review
3.0
I struggled with this. It has a lot of what I usually love, a strong narrative voice, an ambitious style, an intermingling of the personal, political and philosophical. However, it just didn't fully click, even when I found myself loving a lot of individual sentences and passages. I think the issue is that it's so fragmented that I couldn't really latch onto anything, even as someone who usually enjoys fragmented narratives.
greenblack's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
kananineko's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Antisemitism and Alcoholism
huncamuncamouse's review
2.0
This started out promisingly; I was moved by Wideman's lyricism. However, by Part 2, I realized I didn't truly know or give a crap about any of the characters in this book. If a book is light on plot, there had better be interesting, engaging characters. With the book lacking on the plot and character front, I at least hoped that Wideman would provide me with unique observations or a fresh perspective. Again, I was disappointed. If not for the occasionally beautiful language, this would be a 1 star book for sure. I finish just about everything I start, even if I don't like it, but if this wasn't assigned for a seminar, I don't think I would have made it past Part 2 of this novel. Proof that voice alone cannot save this novel.
thehoodie's review
4.0
Part Pynchon, Part Leyner - but lacking the intricacy of the former and the absurd hilarity of the latter. Still a fun read though.
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