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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I kept trying...three-quarters of the way through...hours I'll never get back. A complete waste of time. This author (whose work I've never read before but came highly recommended) tried too hard to be gross, weird, funny, and philosophical but failed on every account. If I missed out on the most brilliant final quarter of a book, my loss; I'm finished.
My personal review ratings are based upon the following:
1 Star, “I did not like it or couldn’t finish it”;
2 Stars, “I think it is just Ok, but I’ll never think about it again”;
3 Stars, “I think it is an entertaining, enjoyable book, and I’ll think about it again”;
4 Stars, “I really love this book, and I may read it again”;
5 Stars, “I think this book is excellent, I will read it again, and it will likely stand the test of time.”
My personal review ratings are based upon the following:
1 Star, “I did not like it or couldn’t finish it”;
2 Stars, “I think it is just Ok, but I’ll never think about it again”;
3 Stars, “I think it is an entertaining, enjoyable book, and I’ll think about it again”;
4 Stars, “I really love this book, and I may read it again”;
5 Stars, “I think this book is excellent, I will read it again, and it will likely stand the test of time.”
An interesting concept—writers at a retreat gone wrong using short stories as an allegory for what might be happening, as they sabotage the group in a social experiment, ostensibly. That’s really reductive, but more approaches spoiler territory, I think, since I think what is happening at the meta level is necessarily more interesting than the stories.
It’s a weird experience because I didn’t find myself interested in the stories, other than to figure out what was being communicated about the situation with the writers. The premise hobbles the stories immediately, even if it is interesting to put stories in the position of communicating truth about “the world”. Yet, that removal makes every story impossible to suspend your disbelief for, too. Instead, they’re just simulacrums of the specific writer.
This makes everything compelling at a macro, meta level, and as a reflection of society and what happens when people go off script in society. However, I don’t think any of the stories will stick with me, nor were they particularly moving or effective. They all felt like white noise in this structure. Sure, it’s clever, as I haven’t read anything quite like it. But I’m not sure the message is new, and it undermines its own short stories. People devolve without society. With the internet we can see everyday just what anonymity does to some people. Not exactly revelatory. But I do think this book succeeds at what it was trying to do.
It’s a weird experience because I didn’t find myself interested in the stories, other than to figure out what was being communicated about the situation with the writers. The premise hobbles the stories immediately, even if it is interesting to put stories in the position of communicating truth about “the world”. Yet, that removal makes every story impossible to suspend your disbelief for, too. Instead, they’re just simulacrums of the specific writer.
This makes everything compelling at a macro, meta level, and as a reflection of society and what happens when people go off script in society. However, I don’t think any of the stories will stick with me, nor were they particularly moving or effective. They all felt like white noise in this structure. Sure, it’s clever, as I haven’t read anything quite like it. But I’m not sure the message is new, and it undermines its own short stories. People devolve without society. With the internet we can see everyday just what anonymity does to some people. Not exactly revelatory. But I do think this book succeeds at what it was trying to do.
all these people are terrible and i dont care what happens to them. its easy to write something disturbing and disgusting and call it horror.
[pl and eng review]
Kolejna ksiazka, ktora bardzo dlugo ze mna zostanie. Mozna mowic, ze Palahniuk to autor dla mlodziezy buntowniczej, ale ja bedac juz duzo starszy odnajduje w tym drugie i trzecie dno.
Another book that will stay with me for a long time. You can say that Palahniuk is an author for rebellious youth, but I, being much older, find a second and third meaning in this.
Kolejna ksiazka, ktora bardzo dlugo ze mna zostanie. Mozna mowic, ze Palahniuk to autor dla mlodziezy buntowniczej, ale ja bedac juz duzo starszy odnajduje w tym drugie i trzecie dno.
Another book that will stay with me for a long time. You can say that Palahniuk is an author for rebellious youth, but I, being much older, find a second and third meaning in this.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is truly a book I would not recommend to anyone, haha. It is explicit, over the top, and just downright excessive when it comes to the perversions of humanity. However, it is a book that really does an effective job making you think about the critiques and messages that is trying to portray. Seeing humans at their absolute worse trapping themselves in their own versions of victimhood made me cringe at times.
Out of all of the stories, 'Exodus' by Director Denial and 'Speaking Bitterness' by Commander Snarky are the two that stood out to me the most and got the most reaction out of me. 'Guts' by Saint Gut-Free was a really effective way to start the stories itself, but it was the two mentioned that truly stayed in my mind for a while.
The ending was also poetic, these characters are truly victims to their own screwed up ideologies.
Out of all of the stories, 'Exodus' by Director Denial and 'Speaking Bitterness' by Commander Snarky are the two that stood out to me the most and got the most reaction out of me. 'Guts' by Saint Gut-Free was a really effective way to start the stories itself, but it was the two mentioned that truly stayed in my mind for a while.
The ending was also poetic, these characters are truly victims to their own screwed up ideologies.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dnf at 200 pages. don’t think i’m in the headspace for it rn but i’ll probably come back here soon.