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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I feel like reading this two years into a pandemic that has sapped my emotional and intellectual capabilities might have made for a poor reading experience for me. I get a lot of what is happening but found quite a bit confusing. This was not a quick flowing read, this wasn’t a book I didn’t want to put down or couldn’t wait to get back to, it dragged for me. But still Whitehead is an incredible author and an amazing storyteller.
2021 Pop-Sugar Challenge 1990’s bestseller
2021 Pop-Sugar Challenge 1990’s bestseller
This book was dumb. After 3 weeks, I couldn't get into it. Now, I like Colson Whitehead--I really enjoyed "Zone One" and LOVED "The Underground Railroad," but this one just didn't do it. It's like a bad imitation of some of our most pretentious writers, like Jonathan Franzen skipped his editor. Skip it.
Thought I would like it more than I did. Chapters are long, and I lost track of characters. Fun story, with statements on racisms.
Just… didn’t grab me. Concept sounded interesting, but it just natters on about a vague “philosophy” and tries too hard..
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. It was engrossing and fascinating, and for me to be able to say that about a book about an elevator inspector is amazing. However, I found myself skimming a lot of the theoretical 'elevator' musings, and I don't think the symbolism and metaphor really came together. The exploration of race was very interesting, and for that alone I'd recommend this book.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Intuitionist is a glimpse into a strange, spec fic alternate-universe where elevator inspectors are hot-shot badged officials with power and influence to spare, acting more like the police. It’s a twisty-turny conspiracy thriller involving a clash between two schools of thoughts: the Empiricists, who inspect elevators per strictly-coded rules & regulations; and the Intuitionists, who use a semi-mystical ability to sense and intuit the status of the contraption.
I’d read and enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s [b:Zone One|10365343|Zone One|Colson Whitehead|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327888785s/10365343.jpg|15268500], but I should have noticed beforehand that this was actually his debut novel: which means it obv still has his characteristic flowery meandering prose style and blending of speculative elements, but it’s messier, more like a bunch of ideas (about race & history & society & sexism) thrown into a blender but which unfortunately peters out by the end. It has a nice noirish vibe (the two thugs Jim and John were my faves), and an intriguing mystery, but it falls apart towards the end and doesn’t really go anywhere.
I enjoyed parts of Lila Mae Watson as a protagonist — her perfectly-pressed suit as armour against the world, the first black woman on the force and dealing with the sexism/racism thereof — but I also had very little sense of her characterisation or growth by the end of it? She’s more of a blank cipher moving her way through the world and from one conflict to another, so it was oddly hard to care for her by the end.
I don’t regret reading it but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. It does mean I’ll read [b:The Underground Railroad|30555488|The Underground Railroad|Colson Whitehead|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493178362s/30555488.jpg|48287641] eventually, though, since I already know that Whitehead has improved with experience; this was more of a messy debut.
Gosh but his prose is still lovely, though.
I’d read and enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s [b:Zone One|10365343|Zone One|Colson Whitehead|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327888785s/10365343.jpg|15268500], but I should have noticed beforehand that this was actually his debut novel: which means it obv still has his characteristic flowery meandering prose style and blending of speculative elements, but it’s messier, more like a bunch of ideas (about race & history & society & sexism) thrown into a blender but which unfortunately peters out by the end. It has a nice noirish vibe (the two thugs Jim and John were my faves), and an intriguing mystery, but it falls apart towards the end and doesn’t really go anywhere.
I enjoyed parts of Lila Mae Watson as a protagonist — her perfectly-pressed suit as armour against the world, the first black woman on the force and dealing with the sexism/racism thereof — but I also had very little sense of her characterisation or growth by the end of it? She’s more of a blank cipher moving her way through the world and from one conflict to another, so it was oddly hard to care for her by the end.
I don’t regret reading it but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. It does mean I’ll read [b:The Underground Railroad|30555488|The Underground Railroad|Colson Whitehead|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493178362s/30555488.jpg|48287641] eventually, though, since I already know that Whitehead has improved with experience; this was more of a messy debut.
Gosh but his prose is still lovely, though.
I had not heard of Colson Whitehead before my book group chose this book, but I would like to read more of his stuff. This is an imaginative and well-imagined, complex story about politics and racism and about the value of reason and empiricism in knowledge-making.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated