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jasminenoack's review
5.0
I want to give this book five stars. I even have the power to give this book five stars. Perhaps I will, but I feel like that special thing, that thing that really is just some stupid chemical reaction in my brain that says five stars you idiot just didn't happen here.
I love the main character. I love that he ignores the fact that everything around him is completely absurd. Not because he doesn't realize (a poor plot device in my opinion), but because he doesn't seem to see a particularly good reason to dwell on it. at moment you can tell his thought process isn't really different from the "WHAT THE FUCK" that the reader is thinking, but he just forgets about that and does what he has always done.
I have decided that I am in fact giving this book 5 stars.
The fact of the matter is if you have ever realized that you have not been happy since childhood you should go home and read this book in your tree house. I do not have a tree house, but I do have a loft bed and a messy room which is similar or I identify with Jasper. I also have a brother who sleeps in closets so maybe I can just relate to the book. Do not under any circumstances pretend to be an adult when you attempt to read this book.
I love the main character. I love that he ignores the fact that everything around him is completely absurd. Not because he doesn't realize (a poor plot device in my opinion), but because he doesn't seem to see a particularly good reason to dwell on it. at moment you can tell his thought process isn't really different from the "WHAT THE FUCK" that the reader is thinking, but he just forgets about that and does what he has always done.
I have decided that I am in fact giving this book 5 stars.
The fact of the matter is if you have ever realized that you have not been happy since childhood you should go home and read this book in your tree house. I do not have a tree house, but I do have a loft bed and a messy room which is similar or I identify with Jasper. I also have a brother who sleeps in closets so maybe I can just relate to the book. Do not under any circumstances pretend to be an adult when you attempt to read this book.
claudiap's review
3.0
Andersen Prunty introduced me to a new literary genre with “Zerostrata”. I’ve never read anything in the bizarre fiction genre, so this was my debut. I can’t say I loved it, mostly because I’m not a big fan of surrealism. But I actually like this story. It had a meaningful plot, interesting characters and dream-like sensation until the very end. It is a short and sweet story that it’s worth your time.
teelight's review
5.0
Andersen Prunty's Zerostrata is an amazing work that ties surreal literature, a coming of age story, and Gimm's fairytales in an original way that is an absolute pleasure to read. The characters and scenes are wonderfully dynamic and interesting. I read this work in one sitting, and I plan on picking up as many other works by this author as I possibly can.
The plot of Zerostrata is a dreamlike romp. It follows Hansel Nothing as he wanders around his home town trying to remember his past and where he has been the last ten years. The plot keeps throwing new situations at the reader that are at once surreal and hard to grasp, but at the same time oddly familiar. This book reads like an afternoon daydream, and it is all the better for it.
The characters are amazing. The main character, and narrator, Hansel Nothing does a wonderful job of carrying the story. His grounded view of the world helps ease the reader into the many oddities that are presented in the story. The supporting cast is equally as compelling. There is Hansel's mother running around with a cat on her head, his brother Zasper in the basement creating his own musical movement, and the enigmatic Dr. Blast just to name a few. Everyone of them adds something to the story and all of them have great bits of dialogue.
The themes of this novel are what really bring it all together. The main theme running through the work is this sense of a lost childhood. Hansel spends most of the work trying to reclaim the bits of his childhood that he held the most dear. The theme is made stronger thanks to the re-imagining of a Grimm's fairytale, and the ever present treehouse Zerostrata.
This is definitely the kind of story that you will want to carry with you for years to come. It is deep and symbolic enough to please any literary nerd out there, while still having a wonderful enough story to be approachable to anyone.
The plot of Zerostrata is a dreamlike romp. It follows Hansel Nothing as he wanders around his home town trying to remember his past and where he has been the last ten years. The plot keeps throwing new situations at the reader that are at once surreal and hard to grasp, but at the same time oddly familiar. This book reads like an afternoon daydream, and it is all the better for it.
The characters are amazing. The main character, and narrator, Hansel Nothing does a wonderful job of carrying the story. His grounded view of the world helps ease the reader into the many oddities that are presented in the story. The supporting cast is equally as compelling. There is Hansel's mother running around with a cat on her head, his brother Zasper in the basement creating his own musical movement, and the enigmatic Dr. Blast just to name a few. Everyone of them adds something to the story and all of them have great bits of dialogue.
The themes of this novel are what really bring it all together. The main theme running through the work is this sense of a lost childhood. Hansel spends most of the work trying to reclaim the bits of his childhood that he held the most dear. The theme is made stronger thanks to the re-imagining of a Grimm's fairytale, and the ever present treehouse Zerostrata.
This is definitely the kind of story that you will want to carry with you for years to come. It is deep and symbolic enough to please any literary nerd out there, while still having a wonderful enough story to be approachable to anyone.
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