tessaays's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting to read, but ultimately there wasn’t enough hope in any of the characters or stories for this to be an enjoyable reading experience.
whogivesabook's review against another edition
4.0
This writer is one of the best writers of fiction alive today. Particularly when it comes to writing men.
I know it's a bit of a raw nerve these days: masculinity. But I find the subject to be deeply fascinating. It's an insight into a world I know very little about. I think very few people would identify me as a particularly masculine being. But there are books that exemplify femininity and there are books that ring out with the masculine. And I revel in them equally.
This spectacular book is 441 pages in 9 parts. Each tells a story of a man at some sort of turning point in his life. My particular favourites were the stories of Simon in part one, Bernard in part two and Aleksandr in part 8. They're dense enough to be novels all their own. They dovetail neatly together. A few little references to characters in other stories knit it together lightly, but not in an overt way.
The characters are ugly, flawed, dishonest, liars... But all those things are their flaws. And they're shown to be flaws, rather than key aspects of their personality. The flaws they have are merely the mistakes they repeatedly make trying to deal with the chaos of their own lives.
They're ill-equipped for dealing with the world they find themselves in. Even the rich Russian guy just fell into his wealth, a lucky guy. Definitely a smart one.
But Szalay presents us with people who are just like the rest of us these days. Anxious, scared of failing, zero willpower, dreamers without conviction.
And the way it's written is stylistically masculine too. You get sketches of people. A brief description of place, person and perspective. Then it's on with the story. Everything is pared back. There's not a lot of colour or detail. It won't be to everyone's taste, but I appreciated it.
This novel is one of those crossroad texts. You read it and you are left with a question: Is this all that man is? It's up to you to decide really. And I think whatever your answer is, you'll be proven right. The world is as we see it.
I know it's a bit of a raw nerve these days: masculinity. But I find the subject to be deeply fascinating. It's an insight into a world I know very little about. I think very few people would identify me as a particularly masculine being. But there are books that exemplify femininity and there are books that ring out with the masculine. And I revel in them equally.
This spectacular book is 441 pages in 9 parts. Each tells a story of a man at some sort of turning point in his life. My particular favourites were the stories of Simon in part one, Bernard in part two and Aleksandr in part 8. They're dense enough to be novels all their own. They dovetail neatly together. A few little references to characters in other stories knit it together lightly, but not in an overt way.
The characters are ugly, flawed, dishonest, liars... But all those things are their flaws. And they're shown to be flaws, rather than key aspects of their personality. The flaws they have are merely the mistakes they repeatedly make trying to deal with the chaos of their own lives.
They're ill-equipped for dealing with the world they find themselves in. Even the rich Russian guy just fell into his wealth, a lucky guy. Definitely a smart one.
But Szalay presents us with people who are just like the rest of us these days. Anxious, scared of failing, zero willpower, dreamers without conviction.
And the way it's written is stylistically masculine too. You get sketches of people. A brief description of place, person and perspective. Then it's on with the story. Everything is pared back. There's not a lot of colour or detail. It won't be to everyone's taste, but I appreciated it.
This novel is one of those crossroad texts. You read it and you are left with a question: Is this all that man is? It's up to you to decide really. And I think whatever your answer is, you'll be proven right. The world is as we see it.
rachaelsreadingnook's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
2.75
bub_9's review against another edition
4.0
This actually reads a bit more like a short story collection than a novel. But unlike some of the short story collections I have read, the thematic connections are so obvious that makes for a coherent, enjoyable reading experience. There are also one or two explicit links dropped in - fun to discover.
Each story traces some male character, typically traveling somewhere in Europe, and the stories trace a range of ages as well. I would disagree with an assumption that the title sets out the author's ambition to encompass the entirety of modern masculinity (or at least would hope that this was not the author's intent); rather, there are several allusions in the stories made to the idea that it's more a question - All That Man Is? I think my meaning will be clear if you read the book!
Anyway, the thing is the writing, and the writing is splendid. Each character is delicately constructed and distinctive, and we follow their journeys with intrigue and relish. A fun read for anyone perhaps feeling a little wanderlust.
Each story traces some male character, typically traveling somewhere in Europe, and the stories trace a range of ages as well. I would disagree with an assumption that the title sets out the author's ambition to encompass the entirety of modern masculinity (or at least would hope that this was not the author's intent); rather, there are several allusions in the stories made to the idea that it's more a question - All That Man Is? I think my meaning will be clear if you read the book!
Anyway, the thing is the writing, and the writing is splendid. Each character is delicately constructed and distinctive, and we follow their journeys with intrigue and relish. A fun read for anyone perhaps feeling a little wanderlust.
chloegwen16's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
js1512's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
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
3.75
Definitely blows hot and cold between its multiple short stories. However I rate it 3.75 because the stories that are successful (in particular stories 3-5, number 7 and especially- what I believe to be the standout section of this book- the 9th and final story) are incredibly successful and well written.
The book well demonstrates the experience of male life throughout years, however veers somewhat into repetition, an excessive amount of London-centric plots, and certain descriptions of women which make parts difficult to enjoy.
The book well demonstrates the experience of male life throughout years, however veers somewhat into repetition, an excessive amount of London-centric plots, and certain descriptions of women which make parts difficult to enjoy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, and Classism
lucyames's review against another edition
3.0
loved the stories about the tabloid editor, the young english intellectual, and the russian oligarch, felt neutral or slightly bored by the rest, maybe because the tone is so morose. the writing is good, just generally left me either depressed or unmoved. maybe my expectations were just too high after hearing great things on book chat podcast.
trench's review against another edition
2.0
I was really quite excited by the first chapter. I felt an attachment to the characters; I wanted to read more about them. The use of language was beautiful (and was throughout, perhaps my only positive talking point, sadly), taking me places I wasn't expecting to go. So I was slightly disappointed to get to the second chapter to find a new set of characters, and so on and so forth. Eventually, I caught on to the style and was a bit more forgiving. But then the other problems started to take the spotlight...
Yes, it's mostly my own fault for having an aversion to book jacket descriptions--for being tricked into thinking this was a novel, not a collection of short stories chartering the life of the everyman. However, therein lies my other problem, the problem that appeared once I had grown accustomed to the flow: the author's definition of the everyman is so milquetoast that I'm surprised this was written in 2016 and not 1995. We are presented with stories of cishet, European men in situations that could be boiled down to plot lines on "Home Improvement" reruns. A failed vacation turned positive in an unlikely way. Losing your cool over a woman you love. A pregnancy scare. We find men in situations of crisis, but we are never left to linger on these crises or empathize with them before we are flung into a new story. I'm all for genre disruption, but this one wasn't for me.
As a gay man, I also felt increasingly jaded, wanting a book acknowledged by the Man Booker Prize committee that tried a bit better to flesh out the moments that define a man's life more holistically than the things we were given. True, I think the more important message is that we're only offered this one chance to make as much meaning from life as we can before it's over, but the in-betweens were killer, sometimes painful, to read.
The final reason I couldn't get into this book was because I felt bad for the author's attempt (or lack thereof?) to develop the female characters who acted as foils to these everymen. I felt particularly depressed by the lack of taste earlier on, most of all in the story of the Cyprus vacationer. Whether to prove a point or not is moot when you are presented with composite, highly objectified women--at least from this reader's perspective. They felt like a vacuous (or sometimes nonexistent) modus operandi: specks in the narrator's eye, hookers with a heart of gold, syllables repeated until devoid of meaning, obese creatures to disrobe.
All that man is...is that? I sure hope not.
Yes, it's mostly my own fault for having an aversion to book jacket descriptions--for being tricked into thinking this was a novel, not a collection of short stories chartering the life of the everyman. However, therein lies my other problem, the problem that appeared once I had grown accustomed to the flow: the author's definition of the everyman is so milquetoast that I'm surprised this was written in 2016 and not 1995. We are presented with stories of cishet, European men in situations that could be boiled down to plot lines on "Home Improvement" reruns. A failed vacation turned positive in an unlikely way. Losing your cool over a woman you love. A pregnancy scare. We find men in situations of crisis, but we are never left to linger on these crises or empathize with them before we are flung into a new story. I'm all for genre disruption, but this one wasn't for me.
As a gay man, I also felt increasingly jaded, wanting a book acknowledged by the Man Booker Prize committee that tried a bit better to flesh out the moments that define a man's life more holistically than the things we were given. True, I think the more important message is that we're only offered this one chance to make as much meaning from life as we can before it's over, but the in-betweens were killer, sometimes painful, to read.
The final reason I couldn't get into this book was because I felt bad for the author's attempt (or lack thereof?) to develop the female characters who acted as foils to these everymen. I felt particularly depressed by the lack of taste earlier on, most of all in the story of the Cyprus vacationer. Whether to prove a point or not is moot when you are presented with composite, highly objectified women--at least from this reader's perspective. They felt like a vacuous (or sometimes nonexistent) modus operandi: specks in the narrator's eye, hookers with a heart of gold, syllables repeated until devoid of meaning, obese creatures to disrobe.
All that man is...is that? I sure hope not.
septimusmith's review against another edition
5.0
Szalay’s writing is very impressive, and unique. Each one of these nine stories have dark, and melancholic undertone which I liked a lot. Nine men all around the world in the search of meaning of life, and existence.
dana_in_denver's review against another edition
2.0
I heard about this book on NPR... In my opinion, it is just one depressing story with a male lead character after another. I think they actually get more and more depressing as the book progresses.