Reviews

JR by William Gaddis, Frederick R. Karl

6pminhell's review against another edition

5.0

One of the few books where using an audiobook isn't just recommended, but almost required. Clocking in at 726 pages (or 34 audiobook hours), JR is a whirlwind of noise and chaos. Written entirely in unattributed dialogue (no Bast said, JR replied, etc.), JR chronicles the rise and fall of the business empire of JR, an 11 year old boy who makes several lucky business deals over his school's pay phone. Within that context we explore the nature of art and artists in a world of commodities, the shortcomings of the financial sector, and the effects of unseen consequences in almost every situation. While difficult in form, after a while it's easy to catch the flow of the rapid-fire dialogue and while the conversations are dense with allusions or references, they're also usually hilarious and very accessible. This is really one of the great American novels and worth a read if you're up for a challenging read.

dllh's review against another edition

5.0

One of my all-time favorites. You have to learn how to read it as you go along. The first half of it I spent wondering why I was putting myself through the torture of it, and the second half I spent belly-laughing. An amazing accomplishment to have written, and a pretty significant one to have read and enjoyed (if I do say so myself).

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I wrote the above blurb when first adding the book a few years ago. I just reread it for what I believe was my fourth full reading of the book. It's still a marvel, but I found it less thrilling this time through, perhaps because I knew most of the gags already and had less of the "I'm solving a puzzle as I read" feeling that makes the book so fun the first few times through. I found a lot of the repetitiveness tedious this time. It's still among my top favorite books because of the achievement it represents, but I think I'll wait a good long time before reading it again.

cvrvyrvbvrts's review against another edition

challenging funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit what a book

bolognio108's review against another edition

challenging funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

kilburnadam's review against another edition

5.0

This book is brilliant. Basically it's about capitalism. Lots of people talk about stuff. And the em-dash is awesome. speech marks are rubbish.

I will definitely be reading Carpenter's Gothic.

William Gaddis FTW.

serf21's review against another edition

5.0

I honestly can’t even tell you what happened in the 770 pages that I somehow read, but I guess I hate free enterprise now and am fully convinced that sending Native Americans washing machines is a bad idea.

Otherwise, it’s a good book.

freewaygods's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If you thought that The Recognitions was amazing, that it might well be the 'Great American Novel', like I did when I read it, then my friend you need to pick up a copy of J R right away. There's a strong case that Gaddis' long-awaited follow-up to his debut novel surpasses it in scope, grandeur, and execution.

J R is about how money has colonized every aspect of our lives and relationships— how it's colonized our very language and how we speak. It's about what America's all about: about breaking laws and getting divorced and corporate buyouts and lobbying and business interests dictating foreign policy and failures and actually why break the law when you can get away with what you want within the law anyways? And it's also absolutely fucking hilarious; Gaddis will have you laughing harder than you have at a book in a long time, and all without ever sacrificing any depth.

You probably are aware that this book is almost entirely unattributed dialogue. Do not be afraid of this, however, as I found it to be surprisingly accessible. Once you get a handle on the characters (which you should be by the first 100 pages or so), and acclimate to the (gorgeous) non-dialogic scene transitions, you'll be soaring along comfortably and should be able to follow everything that's happening. Each of the many characters have such strong and unique voices. And to speak of voices one cannot help but mention just how incredible well Gaddis captures the American voice here. The dialogue feels so real. Reading it aloud really does emulate true conversation.

In sum, J R will make you laugh so hard it'll break your heart. Even at almost 50 years old now, the J R's America feels as contemporary as ever— capitalism has only continued to devour our lives more and more. 

—So I mean listen I got this neat idea hey, you listening? Hey? You listening . . . ?

feck's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

david_rhee's review against another edition

4.0

J R Corp, a family of companies which seemingly sprung up overnight, is an enigma to all who come across it. Transactions are made through pay phones. Its headquarters is a rundown apartment which might as well be a garbage dump. It is headed by a music composer who is reluctant to have any dealings with the company's business and a school-age kid who unknowingly renames people and companies by way of his spelling errors. JR is a hilarious restless tumbling dive into free enterprise America buoyed by the endlessly streaming dialogue for which William Gaddis is well known. One truly gets the impression of the bustling Massapequa scene as shoulders are jostled in chaotic crowds and everyone climbs over each others' backs to get their lines in.

Back to the company headquarters, this scene which is based on one of William Gaddis' past apartments is a twisted hellish haven from the outside world. Package shipments arrive at all hours on any day. Boxes of wholesale merchandise are everywhere. Papers, papers, and more papers are strewn all about and mail for about a dozen people who are almost never present there accumulate in teetering stacks, even finding temporary homes in the fridge and the oven. Water gushes from the broken faucets in the sink and the bathtub. The phone bill escalates into the eleven thousand dollar range. Add the clock which runs backwards and the radio which ceaselessly plays under a sea of papers and boxes and the place becomes nightmarish and tough on the nerves, but it remains one of the most curious settings in all of literature.

Not to sound exclusive but only the most attentive readers need to apply here. Gaddis keeps the dialogue coming without letting us know who is speaking. He doesn't bother introducing anyone either. Armed with just context and maybe some annotations to guide you if you distrust your reading comprehension (guilty as charged), it takes some work to find one's way about. The present scene spills into the next without warning and with almost a jolting suddenness, but it captures well the feel of being whisked here and there one would expect from the money-grabby New York setting. JR makes its demands, but it rewards by carrying its reader along the rest of the way.

ianlumsden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0