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ktitus25's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
andersoncouncil65's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cheesygiraffe's review
4.0
I've read enough Bizarro fiction lately to say that this wasn't bizarro enough. LOL I really enjoyed it anyways.
dantastic's review
5.0
Depressed 20-something Hansel Nothing returns to his mother's house to recapture the zest for life he had in his childhood. It's just as he remembered it. His dad has run away to become a superhero, his brother hasn't left the house in two years, and his mother is addicted to prescription drugs. While sitting in his tree house, Zerostrata, he notices a naked girl running through the woods and immediately knows his life is going to get better...
I didn't really know what to expect from Zerostrata but it exceeded my expectations by parsecs. It's part modern day fairy tale, part Royal Tenenbaums. Hansel's family are sure an interesting bunch, from his brother wanting to be their father's superhero sidekick to his mother having a friend stay with her, to the crazy therapist Dr. Blast. It very much has the feel of a Tim Burton movie.
Hansel himself is the most interesting character, a character who can't remember much of his past, unsure of his pace in the world, and longs for a return to childhood. I sure didn't expect to identify with a character in a bizarro novel but here we are. When he meets the naked running girl, Gretel Something, you know things are going to turn out okay.
Zerostrata is short and sweet and would make a good first Bizarro for someone. It's not intimidating and no one gets sodomized with anything. Easy five stars.
I didn't really know what to expect from Zerostrata but it exceeded my expectations by parsecs. It's part modern day fairy tale, part Royal Tenenbaums. Hansel's family are sure an interesting bunch, from his brother wanting to be their father's superhero sidekick to his mother having a friend stay with her, to the crazy therapist Dr. Blast. It very much has the feel of a Tim Burton movie.
Hansel himself is the most interesting character, a character who can't remember much of his past, unsure of his pace in the world, and longs for a return to childhood. I sure didn't expect to identify with a character in a bizarro novel but here we are. When he meets the naked running girl, Gretel Something, you know things are going to turn out okay.
Zerostrata is short and sweet and would make a good first Bizarro for someone. It's not intimidating and no one gets sodomized with anything. Easy five stars.
ashar_allaire's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am rating this a 3 but not because I am middle ground about it. I absolutely adored the absurdity and mind bending elements of this book. What keeps this from being a favorite is how aware you are the whole time that this is being written by a man. The love interest has absolutely no personality or development, falls instantly in love with the main character, and is talked about consistently as a prize to be won and owned. It's the ultimate manic pixie dream girl narrative with no self awareness or subversion of the troupe. It also insists on staying ambiguous about her age even though it's brought up multiple times, which gave me the ick. This all dragged down what could have been something really special.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Misogyny
highonfantasy's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
It was so weird. I never read a book where nothing made sense yet at the same time everythint made sense. I don't even know what to rate it. It wasn't terrible. Mostly just meh.
Definitely a fever dream story.
Definitely a fever dream story.
stephanieluxton's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
What the heck did I just read?
This book is like a fever dream. It's absolutely bizarre and I had no idea what was happening basically the whole time, but I liked it! The atmosphere was really whimsical and it was overall a very relaxing read.
It's essentially about a young man who returns to his eccentric home after leaving 10 years prior. Everything else is up for interpretation.
This book is like a fever dream. It's absolutely bizarre and I had no idea what was happening basically the whole time, but I liked it! The atmosphere was really whimsical and it was overall a very relaxing read.
It's essentially about a young man who returns to his eccentric home after leaving 10 years prior. Everything else is up for interpretation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Blood
There's a couple sex scenes and multiple scenes with nudity although they aren't described in detail. There is a fire at one pointdoomfiction's review
5.0
Imagine a movie written by Wes Anderson that is directed by Michel Gondry - you'll have something close to Andersen Prunty's "Zerostrata".
The book focuses around a lost young man named Hansel who is trying his hardest to find his place in the world. After a few years of soul searching, Hansel returns home in hopes to rekindle any kind of happiness that may have been left over from his childhood.
But his strange, eccentric family doesn't make it an easier on him. His father has become a superhero, his mother is a basketcase who suffers from all of the side-effects listed on the side of her medicine bottles, and his brother has been away from the family for just as long as he has, except he has never left the house - instead he locks himself in the basement and composes noise symphonies. His only hope of happiness lies in his childhood treehouse, Zerostrata.
Hansel eventually becomes infatuated with a girl named, yup - you guessed it, Gretel. Their story is touching, fun, and out of this world (literally).
Prunty is a bizarro master. The reader instantly becomes emotionally entangled with his characters and where they're going.
If you think bizarro means odd, horrific, and ultraviolent - read Zerostrata. You'll never look at bizarro fiction the same again.
The book focuses around a lost young man named Hansel who is trying his hardest to find his place in the world. After a few years of soul searching, Hansel returns home in hopes to rekindle any kind of happiness that may have been left over from his childhood.
But his strange, eccentric family doesn't make it an easier on him. His father has become a superhero, his mother is a basketcase who suffers from all of the side-effects listed on the side of her medicine bottles, and his brother has been away from the family for just as long as he has, except he has never left the house - instead he locks himself in the basement and composes noise symphonies. His only hope of happiness lies in his childhood treehouse, Zerostrata.
Hansel eventually becomes infatuated with a girl named, yup - you guessed it, Gretel. Their story is touching, fun, and out of this world (literally).
Prunty is a bizarro master. The reader instantly becomes emotionally entangled with his characters and where they're going.
If you think bizarro means odd, horrific, and ultraviolent - read Zerostrata. You'll never look at bizarro fiction the same again.