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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
some words come up quite a lot in this book— dissect, proprioception, prosody, avuncular. it’s a book that benefits from binge-reading while getting steadily red-wine-tipsy, and which doesn’t benefit from reading on the subway. in opposite order I did both. it’s a pleasure and a challenge to read a book that feels so much smarter than you, even if, as ivy avers, it’s partly faking it. there were many long and beautiful passages that moved me near to tears just because they were beautiful and felt true. sometimes you dissolve into the night and see yourself out of time, remembering your own dissolution in the 3rd person, and you vow to write a book about the experience. pretty much only this guy actually did.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My rating was going to be dependent on the end, but I think this did it
I have read a lot of Ben Lerner stuff and it seems to me that this one and his most recent poetry are my big winners for him. Coming off his first novel this one still has that same pompous and pretentious style to it that is sometimes a little overwhelming but the story telling in this one and its thematic working blend it out of this particular complaint. There’s a level of density to the novel that I enjoyed because it’s always making the reader think about its events in a different direction or context, thinking about things outside of their normative structure and the exact time they take place. He concedes many times that the book takes on multiple times and allowing these separate versions of himself to exist, I think, is the best way to enjoy the novel. I think autofiction automatically serves itself a little bit of pretension because it’s so self critical and also self serving in its attempts at making sense of broader worldview or issues in relation to the self. I think that this book does this specifically well because it is using the actual writing of this specific novel as mechanism of storytelling as well as the events at which shape the world and work of fiction he’s writing. There is no need to substantiate the novel via fiction and unwritten letters if the world surrounding him is translating a world that is already vastly centered in, or what appears to be, dangerous, scary, and full of constant self doubt, etc.
Anyway. I thought it was good and a little tough at times and if you can look past the 8 times he used the phrase “unseasonably warm” you’ll like it too.
Anyway. I thought it was good and a little tough at times and if you can look past the 8 times he used the phrase “unseasonably warm” you’ll like it too.
Could not make it past page 30, did not hold my interest
Reading this is like being handcuffed to a brilliant jerk.
Did not finish. I did push as far a 74 of 240, but wasn't a fan of the long rambling sentences or the characters.
A really interesting reading experience. The range of reviews speaks to the natural of the book — Ben didn’t write this to offer comfort or consistency to the reader and yet it lends an intimate view on what it is to be human — to want, to be selfish, to love, to observe. I think there is something deeply personal and special about this book.
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Skimmed through this book for grad school. Very odd book with an odd storyline and oddly executed. Couldn’t get through it