Scan barcode
tempscire's review against another edition
4.0
That was an interesting read, if nothing else. 3.5 stars for sometimes getting a little too ~philosophical~ monologuey. I'm going to have to digest this one a bit.
Well-timed read in my media consumption, though! I recently listened to Myths & Legend podcast's episode on Cuchulain and Emer (not a recent episode, though, I'm catching up backlog), and my previous read featured ghost stations, too, so that was neat.
A few whiffs of American Gods come out, though I would suspect the concept of beliefs and gods immigrating with their believers didn't originate with Gaiman, even if he's the most iconic. I'm not sure about female-Anansi being a kind of Jezebel interloper. There's also the question of why are the Fair Folk meddling with these people's lives... But that you pretty much just have to take for granted.
There were some good screwball comedy-esque dialog bantering at times, especially between Emer and Con. Black-(lesbian)-best-friend Izzy was pretty bland: I kept waiting for her to be revealed as having some fae significance herself, but nope. She's just boringv and doesn't serve a particularly interesting role in the plot.
Some nice literary references packed in. I'm b especially struck about "perfection of the life" and "perfection of the work," and Emer's ruminations thereon. As a character, she strikes quite the chord with me. I feel her. I probably am her in another 10 years, honestly.
Overall, pretty impressed by Duchovny here!
Well-timed read in my media consumption, though! I recently listened to Myths & Legend podcast's episode on Cuchulain and Emer (not a recent episode, though, I'm catching up backlog), and my previous read featured ghost stations, too, so that was neat.
A few whiffs of American Gods come out, though I would suspect the concept of beliefs and gods immigrating with their believers didn't originate with Gaiman, even if he's the most iconic. I'm not sure about female-Anansi being a kind of Jezebel interloper. There's also the question of why are the Fair Folk meddling with these people's lives... But that you pretty much just have to take for granted.
There were some good screwball comedy-esque dialog bantering at times, especially between Emer and Con. Black-(lesbian)-best-friend Izzy was pretty bland: I kept waiting for her to be revealed as having some fae significance herself, but nope. She's just boringv and doesn't serve a particularly interesting role in the plot.
Some nice literary references packed in. I'm b especially struck about "perfection of the life" and "perfection of the work," and Emer's ruminations thereon. As a character, she strikes quite the chord with me. I feel her. I probably am her in another 10 years, honestly.
Overall, pretty impressed by Duchovny here!
sabs83's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Finished 1/2021
anishinaabekwereads's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to start this review by saying I was highly skeptical. I didn't quite believe I'd enjoy it primarily because I knew next to nothing about Duchovny's writing (training or previous history). I found this in the bookstore I work in and had no idea he'd even written other novels. It was purely an impulse purchase because I was curious.
It took me a bit after I finished the novel to come to a decision on whether or not I liked it. Duchovny's writing style is certainly not for everyone. Often abrupt, often feeling almost too close to a stream of consciousness, the novel's preternatural subject matter was likely even less appealing to some readers. For me, it wasn't an issue. I was captivated by the writing and the story pulled me forward continually, but I wasn't sure that I liked it even as I was reading it. This, I believe was more the result of being unsure if I liked Emer or Con. Trust me I don't need to like characters to like a book but something about these two really threw me. It was only after I let it sit with me for a while that I was able to parse out that, despite not particularly caring for either character, the story itself was filled with the kind of nuance that exploded the quotidian of life that made the entire thing matter. The oddness of the story was balanced strongly by the overwhelming routine of Emer's life.
I don't often re-read books but I'm seriously considering doing so with this one because I feel like there's so much still in this novel that I need to reexamine and that there are so many little pieces I easily overlooked the first go round.
It took me a bit after I finished the novel to come to a decision on whether or not I liked it. Duchovny's writing style is certainly not for everyone. Often abrupt, often feeling almost too close to a stream of consciousness, the novel's preternatural subject matter was likely even less appealing to some readers. For me, it wasn't an issue. I was captivated by the writing and the story pulled me forward continually, but I wasn't sure that I liked it even as I was reading it. This, I believe was more the result of being unsure if I liked Emer or Con. Trust me I don't need to like characters to like a book but something about these two really threw me. It was only after I let it sit with me for a while that I was able to parse out that, despite not particularly caring for either character, the story itself was filled with the kind of nuance that exploded the quotidian of life that made the entire thing matter. The oddness of the story was balanced strongly by the overwhelming routine of Emer's life.
I don't often re-read books but I'm seriously considering doing so with this one because I feel like there's so much still in this novel that I need to reexamine and that there are so many little pieces I easily overlooked the first go round.
tmntfan's review against another edition
4.0
really hard to follow dan Simmons fall of Hyperion but this does an ok job. partially because I see Hank Moody writing it. simple cast and felt like weird pacing but loved the dialogue between them all, loved the way one-offs and random thoughts came and went, the little jokes she tells herself. the end gets a bit meta and breaks the fourth wall a bit with the "sequel" kid, but my favorite part is probably the slide show, mocking Elon musk as God and Malcolm Gladwell marrying statistics with simplicity, where statistics will become your god and Probability will become fate. Note: I had just finished the tipping point so the Gladwell bashing I loved. Language could have been toned down a bit for me but still liked most fo it.
cori_00's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It was a fast and fun read. I haven’t read any of Duchovny’s books and felt it was about time I did. It’s a fantastic mix of real and surreal. If you like American Gods I would definitely recommend this.
mary_the_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Quirky with a twist of fantasy (Anansi appears here as well as others).
klindholm's review against another edition
4.0
Surprising even though I had no idea what to expect, and charming. American Gods-ish but I enjoyed this much more. Duchovny can turn a phrase.
marmaid's review against another edition
5.0
I adore Latin American surrealism, and lo here cometh a new genre, New York City surrealism. Whip smart delivery as dry as bus-swirled dust and just as deadpan that left me laughing out loud. The audio is read by Duchovny and his delivery adds the sly to the dry and doubles the delight.
cindyp's review against another edition
3.0
Riffing on the Irish myth of Emer and Cúchulainn, Miss Subways by David Duchovny (Bucky F*cking Dent) tells an age-old tale of love lost and found. Emer, a native New Yorker, lives with her narcissistic boyfriend, Con. But one night when he's out with another woman, Emer is visited by Sid, who foretells Con's death unless Emer strikes a bargain to save his life. She agrees to let Sid wipe out their memories of their life together in order to save him. Afterward she has a nagging sense of loss and "as her dreams became more real, her reality became less so." When she runs into Con again, the meeting is a catalyst for a series of transformational events for Emer and those around her.
Emer moves through New York City trying to piece together her increasingly fragmented reality. She thinks she might have two lives--"the conscious one and the dream one playing in separate movie theaters in her mind." Emer discovers that mythological beings live in the city alongside humans, and her contact with them forces deeper thought about the meaning of life and love. Deities of every culture and belief system present themselves to Emer as if their collective wisdom is what she needs to solve the puzzle: Is she experiencing real life or a hallucination? Is there a difference? She doesn't know, and neither does the reader, lending an elusive, mystical feel to this highly original, multi-layered story.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 5/29/18
Emer moves through New York City trying to piece together her increasingly fragmented reality. She thinks she might have two lives--"the conscious one and the dream one playing in separate movie theaters in her mind." Emer discovers that mythological beings live in the city alongside humans, and her contact with them forces deeper thought about the meaning of life and love. Deities of every culture and belief system present themselves to Emer as if their collective wisdom is what she needs to solve the puzzle: Is she experiencing real life or a hallucination? Is there a difference? She doesn't know, and neither does the reader, lending an elusive, mystical feel to this highly original, multi-layered story.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 5/29/18
easyqueenie's review against another edition
3.0
Finally, Sophie picked up David Duchovny’s latest book, Miss Subways. Although generally rather dubious of celebrities penning books, Sophie hugely enjoyed Duchovny’s previous novel Bucky F*cking Dent (that Masters and partially completed English Literature PhD probably helped him quite a bit) and was hoping for more intimate New York storytelling. Instead, Miss Subways tries to be a mashup of Neverwhere and American Gods but falls short of both.
Emer Gunnels once had a brain tumor that caused her to experience vivid hallucinations. One evening she is approached by a “strange little man” who shows her a video of her boyfriend Cuchulain (the pair are named for figures from Irish folklore) being pushed in front of a car by a woman named Nancy/Anansi whom he met that evening. The man offers Emer the opportunity to save Con’s life but in doing so the world will change, Con and Emer will have never known one another and must never meet. Emer accepts the offer and saves Con’s life, waking up in a new reality with no memories of her old life, but things do not go smoothly from here as Gods and monsters begin entering her life causing her to wonder if her experiences are real, or more hallucinations and the universe seems determined to bring Emer and Con back together.
This was a very weird book. Think elderly people having an orgy in the Central Park reservoir while chanting their allegiance to a Chinese food delivery service God level weird. In fact, Sophie’s favorite line came from one of the sex scenes (all written in the worst kind of 12-year-old fanfiction style): “his lips were like that sci-fi tool in the movie Men in Black that make you forget everything.” True genius.
Sophie couldn’t say she enjoyed it as much as Bucky F*cking Dent, but it’s certainly one of the most bizarre books she’s read in a long while, and sometimes that burst of “WTF am I reading here?” is just what the doctor ordered.
Emer Gunnels once had a brain tumor that caused her to experience vivid hallucinations. One evening she is approached by a “strange little man” who shows her a video of her boyfriend Cuchulain (the pair are named for figures from Irish folklore) being pushed in front of a car by a woman named Nancy/Anansi whom he met that evening. The man offers Emer the opportunity to save Con’s life but in doing so the world will change, Con and Emer will have never known one another and must never meet. Emer accepts the offer and saves Con’s life, waking up in a new reality with no memories of her old life, but things do not go smoothly from here as Gods and monsters begin entering her life causing her to wonder if her experiences are real, or more hallucinations and the universe seems determined to bring Emer and Con back together.
This was a very weird book. Think elderly people having an orgy in the Central Park reservoir while chanting their allegiance to a Chinese food delivery service God level weird. In fact, Sophie’s favorite line came from one of the sex scenes (all written in the worst kind of 12-year-old fanfiction style): “his lips were like that sci-fi tool in the movie Men in Black that make you forget everything.” True genius.
Sophie couldn’t say she enjoyed it as much as Bucky F*cking Dent, but it’s certainly one of the most bizarre books she’s read in a long while, and sometimes that burst of “WTF am I reading here?” is just what the doctor ordered.