Reviews

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

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mogg's review

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3.0

Stephen Kingsy. A satisfying read, but by the end I didn't feel like I understood the point of the story.

quilly14's review

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5.0

An amazing story about America, empathy, and faith. Includes secret societies, pregnant men, and swamp angels.

I have to say I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I have some of LaValle's other works. At the end, I just felt like I didn't quite see all of what was going on, or why.

There are different kinds of redemption stories going on, mixed with an uncanny element. There are lots of flashbacks.

The writing is wonderful, but the story just didn't really work that well for me. It took me a long time to finish.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was fine. The story just didn't grip me.

erosionyeah's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

patrick_114's review

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3.0

A difficult book to describe. Reading this book is really stepping into a different kind of world. Similar to the one I experience but very much not. Spiritual/sci-fi/drama/overcoming addictions/and other genres are covered here. I liked it but am not sure why.

stewartfritz's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting world-building- I loved the idea of a totally cash-strapped, centuries-old paranormal investigation society that only hires former thieves, prostitutes and junkies as its employees... and for the first half of the book, that was enough to keep me hooked. The problem came when the book tried to take that amazing starting point and build on it... at which point things became a dull mish-mash of horror/noir that really didn't do much for me. Characters are introduced and then more or less discarded, sub-plots meander and go nowhere, and multiple flashbacks from different points of view make things a slog. Too bad, because it started out so well...

andrewdeyoung's review against another edition

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2.0

For the record, I don't think this is a bad book, and I realize that there are plenty of people who will and probably should love it. I just didn't connect with it. It happens sometimes. Reading is like dating. Sometimes you hit it off, sometimes you don't.

Big Machine and I got off to a pretty good start. The writing was engaging, the plot developments were weird (which I like). But then it started to feel like there was too much going on, too many strange plot elements that didn't really hang together and weren't always resolved. By the end, I was glad to move on to something else.

nkkc's review

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4.0

A really interesting book that took me a while to get into but I’m glad I stuck it out. Funny, and deals with doubt, faith, angels, and demons. Not much like anything I’ve ever read before but I’m glad I picked it up.

alexkhlopenko's review

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1.0

I can't and won't enjoy an urban fantasy book that gets out of its way to scream that it is no fantasy IT IS SERIOUS LITERATURE, hur dur i got a pen/faulkner, literary fiction is the only rightful literature. Cut me some slack.

That is why it is stuck somewhere between second hand King novel and Palahniuk's discarded draft in the 90s. I wanted to enjoy it. I enjoyed bits of it. But I wasted my time.