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adrianasturalvarez's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is a book as object. Like an overextended project on Adult Swim or like a museum piece titled "Book". Is that interesting or useful to you? To me it was fun to watch for awhile but like I would treat a museum piece, I'm going to keep walking and probably never really think about this again. It's nice to see an author having fun but in this case it felt like I was interrupting.
footnote304's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
4.25
caleb_tankersley's review against another edition
1.0
The concept is more interesting than the execution. I love some of Marcus's other works, but this book made me pay a twenty-dollar effort for a five-dollar reward: the takeaway doesn't justify the difficulty in deciphering it. There are some wonderful images and lines in here, but it's not enough.
michaeldebonis's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read anything like this before. Marcus creates his own universe complete with physics, religion, architecture, etc. The prose is often very surreal and I decided early on that I wouldn't try to make sense of it. If your willing to just go for the ride and enjoy the language, it is quite enjoyable.
aleffert's review against another edition
3.0
As far as I can tell this book is mostly nonsense. It's Experimental with a capital E, more a catalog than a novel, seemingly describing relatively mundane things, only bizarre versions of them and some of the words aren't being used like you think they are. There's sort of a Codex Seraphinianus like almost coherent but actually bugfuck nuts feeling to it, but it wasn't nearly as compelling. Occasionally the descriptions are laugh out loud hilarious in their oddness and incongruity and bits of the writing can be delightful, but over all it was hard to get through despite being quite short.
almartin's review against another edition
3.0
captures the feeling of wrestling a half-understood foreign language, except it's in english. bursts of recognition, but nothing sums to anything even resembling a narrative in the traditional sense. dogs. wires. shelter. wind. ohio. if reading things that make sense is a priority for you, ben marcus is not your guy.
laurelinwonder's review against another edition
4.0
In these 41 fictions, most less than a page, Marcus takes us on a postmodern ride through the mess of our homes and social customs. Deformed structures, using a form pioneered by Gertrude Stein. Coining new terms as necessary, this sensuous realism full of disjointed action, where Marcus is the editor. it reads like a technical manual and like lyric poetry, Marcus's clear eye for the suburban sublime allows his definitions, of the structures and categories we impose on ourselves to take hold, to unhinge what we think we know.
neveractuallyreading's review against another edition
I was assigned this book for class so I had to read it but honestly, you can get the gist of what the book is trying to do after the first few pages so it was unnecessary for me to finish it.