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beckydham's review against another edition
3.0
Gorgeous writing, intriguing and...what? Felt kind of flat throughout. Although maybe that's some clever joke based on Serge's perspective problems.
aktova's review against another edition
1.0
Kind of a boring read. Trying too hard at the post-modern genre.
dllh's review against another edition
3.0
This was sort of like Pynchon (and specifically Gravity's Rainbow, with hints of V) lite. For the small investment the book required, it was by and large pretty worth it, neither as difficult and ambitious nor as baffling and frustrating as Pynchon.
eroston's review against another edition
It seems likely that this will be the last book I read that has either won or been in close contention for the Booker Prize. It's brilliant and all, but life is and attention spans are too short for such pretty but opaque narration.
msievers's review against another edition
2.0
Not much in the way of a "story", really more thought-association and trippy. Couldn't quite figure out what the C stood for at first, but I guess it was more of a theme--C for cocaine, C for carbon, etc. I liked the way it was written, but ultimately it's a forgettable book for me.
blevins's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't care for this one. The story is way too wavering all over the place with a dependence on Tom McCarthy writing scenes that appear more about trying to show off than they fit into the actual story and the characters in the novel. It creates the feeling of superficiality in tone in the book. It feels false to me and reads too much as McCarthy trying way too hard. I can't stand writing that feels forced and labored and C is one of those novels. McCarthy often goes on lengthy tangents that seem kind of pointless in the overall scheme of the book--which only adds to the major issues I have with C.
alcyon_alcyon's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't put this book down, but at the same time I don't know if other people would feel the same way. Very heavy on description, technology, vocabulary. The descriptions of flight over WWI battlefields were amazing. Somehow it never bothered me that the character was one step removed from everything, whether by nature or nurture (drug use). For me, this book proves that sometimes extraordinary writing skill actually can overcome oddities of plot and character. (But I also happen to like descriptions of bizarro English families in the first decades of the 20th century, and don't mind numerous descriptions and metaphors involving telegraphy, weaving and chemistry.)
peppercoco's review against another edition
2.0
What is the point of this book? It is a disjointed series of short stories which don't connect or seem to really go anywhere. The potential was there with sounds and energy etc but these themes seem like a side story to serge, the most boring protagonist in fiction! Wasted week of my life. Luckily the last section in Egypt was my favourite so 2 stars not one.