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werdfert's review against another edition
2.0
the book is made to look weathered and worn as if it has survived the apocalypse and the stories themselves are chronicles of that era. all of the stories have the same tone and rhythm, something approaching but never achieving iambic pentameter. there seems to be a flaw in the concept. there is no surviving the apocalypse. and those living through it certainly aren't going to write about it. art is the first thing to go in a crisis. every generation has thought itself as the last, on the brink of destruction. but it certainly feels like we are closer than ever to no recovery. these stories certainly reflect a kind of doomsday bleakness but also, surprisingly, an aching beauty. the hope, if there is any, is not that things will get better, but that pain, destruction and decay are also creative forces.
except that the lulling language devoids itself of meaning over time. so that each added layer subtracts from the whole. the warning is that creativity can be destructive.
except that the lulling language devoids itself of meaning over time. so that each added layer subtracts from the whole. the warning is that creativity can be destructive.
whitneymj's review against another edition
5.0
Reading Scorch Atlas was a strange experience. I've rarely encountered a book that seemed to turn so defiantly away from traditional genres. I can't say that it was a novel, nor a book of short stories. But it somehow seems to show qualities of both of these.
Blake Butler has created a world of strange apocalypses, crumbling skies, ruined children, and stark hopelessness. Certain passages made me shudder so much with their gross depiction of human life that I had to put the book down. Others were written quite beautifully: "For one long hour that red morning: gristle, cartilage, tissue, tendon, vein, and bone. Some would try to gnaw the gray meat. Some would choke with fistfuls in their cheeks. Others knew better from the stinking. The bubble of the sky. I'd already burned what I remembered. I didn't search long for their names: the heads and necks and cheeks of all these raining someones someone once had likely loved" (128).
The stories in Scorch Atlas are at once terrifying and beautiful, introducing us to characters who are left holding on to whatever small tokens they have left: water-logged photos, static-filled televisions, and empty houses. Scorch Atlas is a sad, strange world that I would recommend to anyone who can get their hands on a copy.
Blake Butler has created a world of strange apocalypses, crumbling skies, ruined children, and stark hopelessness. Certain passages made me shudder so much with their gross depiction of human life that I had to put the book down. Others were written quite beautifully: "For one long hour that red morning: gristle, cartilage, tissue, tendon, vein, and bone. Some would try to gnaw the gray meat. Some would choke with fistfuls in their cheeks. Others knew better from the stinking. The bubble of the sky. I'd already burned what I remembered. I didn't search long for their names: the heads and necks and cheeks of all these raining someones someone once had likely loved" (128).
The stories in Scorch Atlas are at once terrifying and beautiful, introducing us to characters who are left holding on to whatever small tokens they have left: water-logged photos, static-filled televisions, and empty houses. Scorch Atlas is a sad, strange world that I would recommend to anyone who can get their hands on a copy.
daneekasghost's review against another edition
4.0
This is possibly the darkest book I've read. A series of stories, all set in similar but not identical worlds, all of which are falling apart, suffering from drought, sinking in a flood, overwhelmed by mold... well, you get the idea - I kept picturing the hurricane aftermath photos, where everything is covered in slime from the floodwaters. You expect there to be glimmers of hope in books like this, and there is a constant theme of mothers, fathers and their relationship with their children that try to redeem the apocalyptic settings and events, but it never really breaks through.
The writing is great, although there were a couple of descriptive passages that were overused (nearly everyone had skin so pale it was nearly transparent). There were many more phrases that caught my eye and had me marking a few pages to go back to once I've finished.
To say I enjoyed it probably isn't correct, but I'm glad I read it, and I might read some of the stories again.
The writing is great, although there were a couple of descriptive passages that were overused (nearly everyone had skin so pale it was nearly transparent). There were many more phrases that caught my eye and had me marking a few pages to go back to once I've finished.
To say I enjoyed it probably isn't correct, but I'm glad I read it, and I might read some of the stories again.
sebishop's review against another edition
2.0
This morbid novella is horrible, foul, and gross. I would like to burn it.
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