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zenforren's review
2.0
Let me be succinct (a quality which totally escapes Adam Levin): this is not a great book. Those reviewers who are writing "I'm 2 chapters in and it's amazing!" should heed warning - it dazzles in the beginning and fades out like a muffled fart. I damn my own literary hubris for blindly believing that The Instructions would ultimately reveal itself as the messiah of contemporary fiction. Instead, I am embarrassed to admit that I have spent nearly two months pushing through this constipated, babbling ramble, always hoping that I was just on the edge of 'getting it'. There are mere moments of humor and wit that shine through like sullied gems, only to have a 1,000 pages of plotless turd heaped on top. The characters are only half-realized caricatures - all dialogue and no action. This is especially disappointing when it comes to Gurion, the main character, narrator and 'author' of The Instructions - so much of Gurion's inner dialogue devolves into nonsensical doublespeak and semantic debates, which ultimately makes him wholly unlikeable as a protagonist. I found the footnotes (one of my favorite things about DFW's Infinite Jest) to be a stylistic filler, much like the arbitrary maps and diagrams that peppered the pages. I hated that I found myself skimming over portions of the text, but the alternative - reading every floundering sentence on the page - was unbearable. Not enough can be said for the simple gravity of well-placed prose, but in The Instructions it is totally lacking.
I can't recommend this self-important treatise to anyone but my most masochistic enemies.
I can't recommend this self-important treatise to anyone but my most masochistic enemies.
kpdoessomereading's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ladimcbeth's review
2.0
Sigh....
I wish I could give this two and a half stars, because I spent the whole book vacillating between liking it and going "ugh, really?" But sorry, Side of Damage, I'm leaning to the side of "meh". The core story is compelling and interesting, but this book needed a fucking editor, there is so much extraneousness (yes, I know it's not really a word).
This Damage is damaged, but I finally finished it, the end.
I wish I could give this two and a half stars, because I spent the whole book vacillating between liking it and going "ugh, really?" But sorry, Side of Damage, I'm leaning to the side of "meh". The core story is compelling and interesting, but this book needed a fucking editor, there is so much extraneousness (yes, I know it's not really a word).
This Damage is damaged, but I finally finished it, the end.
bettyvd's review
5.0
Aan dit fantastische boek geef ik mijn eerste 5-sterren.
Via het verhaal van de 10-jarige Gurion ben Judah exploreert Levin thema's als geweld, loyauteit, de messias en het jodendom, vriendschap, verzet, opvoeding, enz. Hij doet dat met een rijke en tegelijk messcherpe stijl. Vormelijk is er heel wat afwisseling en het geheel wordt geleidelijk echt verslavend.
Gurion zit op school in een speciale afdeling (the cage) omwille van zijn adhd en enkele voorvallen in vroegere scholen. Zijn zoektocht naar bevrijding zal hem en zijn vrienden in een fascinerende reeks van gebeurtenissen doen belanden, waarin tal van morele keuzes moeten gemaakt worden.
Het einde is lichtelijk onbevredigend, maar na ruim 1000 bladzijden leesplezier wil ik niet moeilijk doen: lezen!!
Via het verhaal van de 10-jarige Gurion ben Judah exploreert Levin thema's als geweld, loyauteit, de messias en het jodendom, vriendschap, verzet, opvoeding, enz. Hij doet dat met een rijke en tegelijk messcherpe stijl. Vormelijk is er heel wat afwisseling en het geheel wordt geleidelijk echt verslavend.
Gurion zit op school in een speciale afdeling (the cage) omwille van zijn adhd en enkele voorvallen in vroegere scholen. Zijn zoektocht naar bevrijding zal hem en zijn vrienden in een fascinerende reeks van gebeurtenissen doen belanden, waarin tal van morele keuzes moeten gemaakt worden.
Het einde is lichtelijk onbevredigend, maar na ruim 1000 bladzijden leesplezier wil ik niet moeilijk doen: lezen!!
chamblyman's review
5.0
When... oh when will the Coen Brothers make a genius, epic, hilarious, scathing, masterpiece film adaptation of this? Probably never. The crazily under-appreciated A Serious Man will have to suffice.
In the mean time, I'll read this again some day. It's a genius, epic, hilarious, scathing, masterpiece. Goes on the short list of super-LONG, but super-entertaining (as well as thought provoking) books like Gravity's Rainbow, 1Q84, and Don Quixote.
In the mean time, I'll read this again some day. It's a genius, epic, hilarious, scathing, masterpiece. Goes on the short list of super-LONG, but super-entertaining (as well as thought provoking) books like Gravity's Rainbow, 1Q84, and Don Quixote.
ccfrostybits's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading The Instructions for about 8 months. When I started it, I was working for a theme park as a ride jockey and now I'm doing a sales job. Christmas had just ended and now I'm getting ready for Halloween. Seasons have gone by, I've read through several other books, a business has closed down near my house and a new one has taken it's place. And yet in the 1030 pages I was reading of The Instructions, 4 days have past. This is a truly remarkable book.
As a fan of Bubblegum, I really did not know what to expect when jumping into this. It's funny actually, reading the reviews for both of those books. Fans of The Instructions are always surprised by the content of Bubblegum and people like me could not have been ready for the epic that is The Instructions. It is a TOME dude. Like, pay extra at the airport because you have this book in your luggage, tome. So does it justify it's time and inconvenience it's put on my life? Probably not. Did I absolutely love it? I have to say yes.
I actually told a couple people that because this took me so damn long to get through, I couldn't see myself putting it above an 8/10, but things have changed. Like I said, this book takes place over 4 days, so during my reading it was easy to feel like very little was actually happening of any importance. It was only when I got to those last couple hundred pages that I actually started to understand the soul of the book. Which, I know, sounds crazy. But there just are no other words I can find to describe it. It's a real forest through the trees situation, and I'd been looking at trees for a long-ass time.
Like I said, I would have personally liked it to be just a weeee bit shorter. Cut out a good 150-200 pages or so maybe? But I don't know what could actually be cut. This kid believes he's the next messiah and thinks this book is his scripture so he's bound to have some pretty strong and lengthy opinions. I don't know, man...
Just...
Okay, look.
It's good alright? Great even. Perfect? No. But I think it's stuck with me forever. 9/10
As a fan of Bubblegum, I really did not know what to expect when jumping into this. It's funny actually, reading the reviews for both of those books. Fans of The Instructions are always surprised by the content of Bubblegum and people like me could not have been ready for the epic that is The Instructions. It is a TOME dude. Like, pay extra at the airport because you have this book in your luggage, tome. So does it justify it's time and inconvenience it's put on my life? Probably not. Did I absolutely love it? I have to say yes.
I actually told a couple people that because this took me so damn long to get through, I couldn't see myself putting it above an 8/10, but things have changed. Like I said, this book takes place over 4 days, so during my reading it was easy to feel like very little was actually happening of any importance. It was only when I got to those last couple hundred pages that I actually started to understand the soul of the book. Which, I know, sounds crazy. But there just are no other words I can find to describe it. It's a real forest through the trees situation, and I'd been looking at trees for a long-ass time.
Like I said, I would have personally liked it to be just a weeee bit shorter. Cut out a good 150-200 pages or so maybe? But I don't know what could actually be cut. This kid believes he's the next messiah and thinks this book is his scripture so he's bound to have some pretty strong and lengthy opinions. I don't know, man...
Just...
Okay, look.
It's good alright? Great even. Perfect? No. But I think it's stuck with me forever. 9/10
natesea's review against another edition
4.0
Writing a concise review of a 1,030 page tome about a ten year-old Jewish boy genius, who may or may not be the messiah, is proving difficult. This is an astounding book that seems people love or hate (I loved). Adam Levin's writing produces the kind of magic that kept me glued to the pages, the plot, the characters. In the main character Gurion, and Levin's writing, I was reminded of Jonathan Safran Foer's Oscar Shell in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, though Gurion a more brutal likeness. There is so much Jewish religious and cultural reference/framework that I found myself wishing I was more educated on such matters, though the book is still remarkable. I love the narrative structure as well. There are aspects we can all relate to in this story - memories of our childhood experiences in school, the social code, authority, and the odds stacked against us at one time or another. You will find yourself rooting for the misfits here, and if the underlying religious tone is lost on you as most was on me, you will at least discover an incredible story of a boy trying to manage his place in his family, his friends, his love, and overcoming injustices in wonderfully unbelievable ways.
carolynf's review
1.0
Couldn't get into it. The main character was just too creepy, with his direct line to God, and a proclivity to violence.