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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another book set in hell. I had been looking for such books because I had landed on the square for it in book bingo. The Cabal book was enough for it but since I had already done the hard work researching them and because I had liked Fight Club, I went ahead with this one too.
Normally, it bugs me when a male author writes a female character who is annoyingly smart or just full of themselves. Like these lines below made me wanna smack the heroine:
Such vocabulary props served as my eye shadow, my breast implants, my physical coordination, my confidence. These words: erudite and insidious and obfuscate, served as my crutches.
And it happened many more times. Most of the time, though, the writing was good enough to rescue the book from abandonment. Consider this sample:
Trickling toenails threaten to become full-fledged avalanches which could bury us alive (alive?) in their talus of prickly keratin.
And this one:
That, I think, is the function of Hell: It’s a place of remembering. Beyond that, the purpose of Hell is not so much to forget the details of our lives as it is to forgive them.
I also learned some new words:
Okay, so I have no clue if the jejunum (part of the small intestine that absorbs nutrients from already digested food particles) has its roots in the word, jejune, or not. But it would be cool if it did, right?
As you can see, I didn’t do much reading this month. How did you fare?
Also reviewed at:
BL
BS
WP
LI
ME
FB
medium-paced
I started this book back when I was 16 and never finished, it feels amazing to finally know the ending. I think I was able to fully appreciate Palahniuk’s humor after reading fight club. I annotated some of the book before I put it down back in high school, and it’s a little embarrassing to see the spots where I really didn’t understand that it was part of the joke for Palahniuk to say fucked up things or mention something so silly as a weed overdose. I think the ending really wasn’t something I anticipated and I don’t know how I feel about it. Generally this was a really good book but it ended weird and the style of repetitiveness started to annoy me. I felt like it was almost a little too similar to fight club and I hope that the next Palahniuk book I read stands on it’s own.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Crass humor using Dante’s inferno and “Are you there god? it’s me Margaret” as funny references/easter eggs.
Overly repetitive causing loss of interest. Stopped caring due to repetitive structure of chapters.
I felt it took too long tip get started. I also thought the comparison with the breakfast club was laid on a bit too thickly. And I believe it could have had a bit more depth.
then again, I liked some of the astute observations about society's views on death. Maddy cutting off Hitler's moustache. And Leonard's true identity.
if there is a follow up, I'll definitely read it, but I won't be counting the days for it to arrive.
then again, I liked some of the astute observations about society's views on death. Maddy cutting off Hitler's moustache. And Leonard's true identity.
if there is a follow up, I'll definitely read it, but I won't be counting the days for it to arrive.
Just a weird book. It’s probably a better read for people who enjoy bodily fluids and reading about them. I, however, do not. It’s an easy read though- aside from the weird giantess-masturbation shit. Hated that part. A LOT.
A LOT.
A LOT.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated