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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
marcnash21stc's review against another edition
5.0
5* short storytelling. Video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EREz0w3Z0H8&feature=youtu.be
thatbookishwriter's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
heyheycharly's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a quick read. Johnson's writing seems effortless and the stories flow easily. The stories were a bit odd but enjoyable.
julie_bean11's review against another edition
4.0
Lengthy stories in this collection are engaging and thought provoking. As a fan of the King, the Elvis döppelganger story kept me riveted the entire time.
liz1966's review against another edition
4.0
Some great ones here..more later. Laughed aloud at a few. This book is my "maiden" voyage into the world of Denis Johnson and I'm looking forward to reading more from him.
sallyreb's review against another edition
3.0
A meandering, melancholy collection of 5 short stories. Some of the stories are comical, some absurd, and all offer us time with characters who are reflecting back on their life. It is hard not to wonder if these tales echo Johnson’s state, having written this collection just before passing from lung cancer.
In the first short story, “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden,” which I think is the best of the lot, we spend time with an ad man reflecting on his life and work. It’s sad and beautiful.
In “The Starlight on Idaho,” our fellow is in rehab writing letters of atonement and declarations to nearly to everyone he knows. Reading the short correspondence feels voyeuristic and makes the character seem even more vulnerable, more human.
I have a soft spot for Denis Johnson ever since “Jesus’ Son,” and so I find that even his lesser work is well worth a read.
In the first short story, “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden,” which I think is the best of the lot, we spend time with an ad man reflecting on his life and work. It’s sad and beautiful.
"I note that I've lived longer in the past, now, than I can expect to live in the future. I have more to remember than I have to look forward to. Memory fades, not much of the past stays, and I wouldn't mind forgetting a lot more of it."
In “The Starlight on Idaho,” our fellow is in rehab writing letters of atonement and declarations to nearly to everyone he knows. Reading the short correspondence feels voyeuristic and makes the character seem even more vulnerable, more human.
I have a soft spot for Denis Johnson ever since “Jesus’ Son,” and so I find that even his lesser work is well worth a read.
matthewcpeck's review against another edition
4.0
Denis Johnson's final work is a collection that's sadly too short, but the five stories therein are magnificent: sweet, bizarre, haunted, absurd, and tragic. Often within a single paragraph. The whole collection is impressive, but I especially loved "Strangler Bob", a recollection of a brief prison stay with a jaw-dropping last paragraph; and "Triumph Over The Grave", where a writer ponders the brevity of existence as his friends age and die. That latter story SOUNDS dreadful in description, but it's brilliant, mysterious, yet unpretentious in Johnson's signature fashion. The final story "Doppelganger, Poltergeist", about a poet with a wild conspiracy theory centering on Elvis's identity, is slightly less great than the others, and shouldn't have been picked as book's closer. But that's nitpicking. Reading "The Largesse Of The Sea Maiden" reinvigorated my adoration of Johnson's work, and made me want to reread every previous book. Like the best writers, he alters your perception of everyday life.
icehockeystick's review against another edition
3.0
Wasn't a huge fan of this. Only one of the stories was particularly compelling for the entire duration of the story. I felt the rest were too long and only interesting at the end.
masupert's review against another edition
4.0
I am not quite sure how to review the book, because I am not entirely sure what I read. I enjoyed, immensely the five stories that were written by Denis Johnson, but having now finished the book, I have trouble recalling exactly what those stories were.
The five stories featured in this book all focus on the fairly mundane lives of the different protagonists. The topics covered cover drugs, lives, obsessions and other such topics. That being said none of the stories come across as dark as you might initially think. Instead they seem banal and the events that occur are told in a sort of matter of fact, "this is the way life is", sort of delivery. In a lot of ways, nothing happens in any of these stories. The characters tell us of these interludes in their lives, almost in a confessional way, and then that is it, the story is over.
For some reason though I was completely drawn into the stories. It was like a look behind the curtain in these people's lives, and the writing was so well done, that I felt like all of the stories were truly believable.
The five stories featured in this book all focus on the fairly mundane lives of the different protagonists. The topics covered cover drugs, lives, obsessions and other such topics. That being said none of the stories come across as dark as you might initially think. Instead they seem banal and the events that occur are told in a sort of matter of fact, "this is the way life is", sort of delivery. In a lot of ways, nothing happens in any of these stories. The characters tell us of these interludes in their lives, almost in a confessional way, and then that is it, the story is over.
For some reason though I was completely drawn into the stories. It was like a look behind the curtain in these people's lives, and the writing was so well done, that I felt like all of the stories were truly believable.
xavierprice's review against another edition
3.0
A well-written collection of unique short stories that highlight the beauty and complexity of modern society in a way that is both groundbreaking and simple.