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coronata's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
frozenpeas42's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely adored this. Took a long time to get through as it's something of a reflective exercise but every page is gold.
lisagray68's review against another edition
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
A strange book consisting entirely of random questions without any plot or apparent organization.
paulforegan's review
4.0
Did I just finish reading Padget Powell's "The Interrogative Mood: A Novel?" Did it put a great big smile on my face?
Did you know that this is is a book made up entirely of questions, just like this one? Would that type of book interest you? If so, would you consider buying it?
Did you know that this is is a book made up entirely of questions, just like this one? Would that type of book interest you? If so, would you consider buying it?
el_entrenador_loco's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
If you read this book expecting it to be a novel just because the title included the phrase "A Novel?", would you be disappointed to find it wasn't a novel after all? Would you keep reading it to the end, hoping there would be some kind of payoff, making it all worthwhile? Would you feel like an easy mark for having made the effort? Wouldn't it be more fun to listen to the audiobook? What if the audiobook were narrated by the cast members of Whose Line Is It Anyway? What if the audiobook had a laugh track? Would you still feel the urge to read something, anything else, right away, as a palate cleanser? Would "mental floss" be a more appropriate term than "palate cleanser?" If there were such a thing as mental floss, would you floss daily? If dental floss is for the space between your teeth, could mental floss be used for liminal spaces? Do some people have liminal space between their teeth? What kind of specialist would recommend mental floss? How do you feel about needing separate insurance plans for medical care and dental care? What's the difference between a duck? Does anyone else remember that joke? Was that really a joke, or is that line perhaps in the same vein as this "novel" that isn't really a novel? Would an illicit substance help you appreciate the joke? Would an illicit substance help you appreciate the book? What would be the difference between the dose needed to appreciate the joke and the dose needed to appreciate the book? How much of that illicit substance did the author use when he wrote this book? Do inquiring minds really want to know? Are there better things to inquire about? Is there a sequel in the works? Would the sequel to this book be the answers to all of the questions in the first book? Have I said enough yet? How would I know?
payshens117's review against another edition
3.0
idk what to rate this because it wasn't a story, it was literally just questions. but it wasn't as fun as i thought it would be.
colleenvb3's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
dougbrun's review against another edition
5.0
I did not want to read this book particularly. I wanted to read the author. Padgett Powell who was, a few years ago, considered by Saul Bellow to be “at the top” of the list of younger best American writers. I wanted to read him. But not this book. I mean, really, who wants to read a book, even a small book like this one (164 pages), where every sentence ends in a question mark? Hence the title. How many questionss might there be in one hundred sixty four pages? A quick scan resolves to about fifteen sentences--that would be questions--per page. That amounts to, roughly, two-thousand, four hundred and sixty questions. Who wants that?
But read it I did. And with relish. I am by nature suspect of literary devices, of any--most?--devices, for that matter. Give it to me straight forward and without fancy dancing. That’s what I say. So, second reason for wanting to avoid this book. It is a book of literary of a singular literary device: the consistent, relentless, probing, humorous and revelatory interrogative mood. Was it boorish (can a book be boorish?), as I feared. Not a chance. Repetitive? Never. To the contrary. Boring? Nope. I loved this book. And the questions? Brilliant!
Let me give you a “paragraph” of examples. I put paragraph in quotes because I am unsure about the form of this book in general and about paragraphs in particular. (Fortunately there are no chapters. I don’t know what’d I do about that.) Here goes:
Did you have an uncle who was an artillery engineer in a war? Are you interested in the nuances of grease? Are you for or against canals, in principle? Is it hard for you to credit that dinosaurs flew? Do you know the average career length of the top-flight runway model?
You start to read this book, thinking that the questions and how you ponder them reflect in some fashion on you, the reader. But half-way through you realize it is not you who is the subject, it is the writer. It is not the answers, but the questions. The more questions, the more you realize the uniqueness of the questioner. How else can you explain a question like this: “If you were presented a nipple with a ring through it in a sexual situation, is your first move to bite the ring itself, or to take the ring in whole, or to do something else altogether, like run?”
There is nothing much I can say about this book. I mean, how do you comment on a book that has no characters, no plot, is devoid of narration and everything we associate with the reading experience? Although this is not quite accurate. There is the omniscient interlocutor. And there is, whether we intend it or not, the uncontrollable synaptic firings in response. So, in that respect the reading experience is remarkably unique and, dare I use an over-used phrase?, inter-active. Question answer. Question answer. Some follow up perhaps. Sometimes not.
Get this book. Read it. If feels important. Does it bother that I can’t say why?
But read it I did. And with relish. I am by nature suspect of literary devices, of any--most?--devices, for that matter. Give it to me straight forward and without fancy dancing. That’s what I say. So, second reason for wanting to avoid this book. It is a book of literary of a singular literary device: the consistent, relentless, probing, humorous and revelatory interrogative mood. Was it boorish (can a book be boorish?), as I feared. Not a chance. Repetitive? Never. To the contrary. Boring? Nope. I loved this book. And the questions? Brilliant!
Let me give you a “paragraph” of examples. I put paragraph in quotes because I am unsure about the form of this book in general and about paragraphs in particular. (Fortunately there are no chapters. I don’t know what’d I do about that.) Here goes:
Did you have an uncle who was an artillery engineer in a war? Are you interested in the nuances of grease? Are you for or against canals, in principle? Is it hard for you to credit that dinosaurs flew? Do you know the average career length of the top-flight runway model?
You start to read this book, thinking that the questions and how you ponder them reflect in some fashion on you, the reader. But half-way through you realize it is not you who is the subject, it is the writer. It is not the answers, but the questions. The more questions, the more you realize the uniqueness of the questioner. How else can you explain a question like this: “If you were presented a nipple with a ring through it in a sexual situation, is your first move to bite the ring itself, or to take the ring in whole, or to do something else altogether, like run?”
There is nothing much I can say about this book. I mean, how do you comment on a book that has no characters, no plot, is devoid of narration and everything we associate with the reading experience? Although this is not quite accurate. There is the omniscient interlocutor. And there is, whether we intend it or not, the uncontrollable synaptic firings in response. So, in that respect the reading experience is remarkably unique and, dare I use an over-used phrase?, inter-active. Question answer. Question answer. Some follow up perhaps. Sometimes not.
Get this book. Read it. If feels important. Does it bother that I can’t say why?
oliviavaughan's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
forgereads17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5