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rensparks's review against another edition
3.0
2.75 cause sometimes i would get into it and other times it just felt so ……? like it was going no where and didn’t mean ANYTHING. the story line that faded in and out was interesting but I think the author was doing other things that I just don’t get.
stacialithub's review
4.0
Do you ever start reading a book and immediately picture one of the characters as an actor? I pegged Aris Kindt as Anthony Hopkins...and the rest of the book played out as a movie in my head the whole time I was reading it. (This is a good thing. I love movies.) I also saw some mentions of it having a David Lynchian quality and I cannot disagree.
In the afterword, author Laird Hunt mentions W.G. Sebald's [b:The Rings of Saturn|434903|The Rings of Saturn|W.G. Sebald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642038157l/434903._SY75_.jpg|17952027] as an inspiration. (Having never read The Rings of Saturn, I read the first few pages online and could quickly see the tip of the hat to Sebald's book.)
An homage to Sebald's book.
Plus the aftermath of 9/11 & NYC.
A bit of Kafka thrown in.
And a heavy debt owed to Rembrant's painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp".
It equals a great base for a murky world of crime & deception.
Or deception & crime.
There's a bit of a dream-like feel as the story unravels in alternating chapters, differing versions of reality that travel criss-crossing paths, eventually intersecting & colliding.
Exquisite in both the beautiful & the ugly, the before & the after, the mundane & the extraordinary.
Recommended.
In the afterword, author Laird Hunt mentions W.G. Sebald's [b:The Rings of Saturn|434903|The Rings of Saturn|W.G. Sebald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642038157l/434903._SY75_.jpg|17952027] as an inspiration. (Having never read The Rings of Saturn, I read the first few pages online and could quickly see the tip of the hat to Sebald's book.)
An homage to Sebald's book.
Plus the aftermath of 9/11 & NYC.
A bit of Kafka thrown in.
And a heavy debt owed to Rembrant's painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp".
It equals a great base for a murky world of crime & deception.
Or deception & crime.
There's a bit of a dream-like feel as the story unravels in alternating chapters, differing versions of reality that travel criss-crossing paths, eventually intersecting & colliding.
Exquisite in both the beautiful & the ugly, the before & the after, the mundane & the extraordinary.
Recommended.
jheatherelliott's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
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