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masonanddixon's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who has seen more than three movies in a cinema in one day the last story left me sobbing on the damn L. Sorry old woman the black knit sweater.
nyssahhhh's review against another edition
3.0
I loved having a little sampler of my favorite writer's works. I think my favorite piece was "The Angel Esmeralda," and I may have been burnt out on reading too much of DeLillo's works, which is why this took me so long to read.
Fave lines:
p. 138: "If we isolate the stray thought, the passing thought," he said, "the thought whose origin is unfathomable, then we begin to understand that we are routinely deranged, everyday crazy." We loved the idea of being everyday crazy. It rang so true, so real. "In our privatest mind," he said, "there is only chaos and blur. We invented logic to beat back our creatural selves. We assert or deny. We follow M with N."
p. 177: This is what I feared, that she would speak about the news, all news all the time, and about how her father always said that the news exists so it can disappear, this is the point of news, whatever story, wherever it is happening. We depend on the news to disappear, my father says. Then my father became the news. Then he disappeared.
Fave lines:
p. 138: "If we isolate the stray thought, the passing thought," he said, "the thought whose origin is unfathomable, then we begin to understand that we are routinely deranged, everyday crazy." We loved the idea of being everyday crazy. It rang so true, so real. "In our privatest mind," he said, "there is only chaos and blur. We invented logic to beat back our creatural selves. We assert or deny. We follow M with N."
p. 177: This is what I feared, that she would speak about the news, all news all the time, and about how her father always said that the news exists so it can disappear, this is the point of news, whatever story, wherever it is happening. We depend on the news to disappear, my father says. Then my father became the news. Then he disappeared.
greenblack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sandeestarlite's review against another edition
3.0
This collection was interesting to see how the author's style matured across a couple of decades. I'm not sure I liked some of them - a bit rambling- but there were a few gems like the title story.
ethanrhansen's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
chelseamartinez's review against another edition
3.0
These days I tend to read short stories from new writers (probably written in a short spate of years) rather than collections from a seasoned writer spaced over many years, between novels.
*Creation is beautiful - travel escapism in the pandemic is also nice, and I would love to go to Trinidad and Tobago some day but it won't be anything like this.
***Human Moments in World War III was comfortingly bleak during the pandemic (sorry for citing the pandemic everytime), similar to reading Drew Magary's dystopian novel recently.
** Midnight in Doestoevsky must be about Oberlin. But I assume anyone who went to a school in the cold thinks it's about their uni/college.
*Creation is beautiful - travel escapism in the pandemic is also nice, and I would love to go to Trinidad and Tobago some day but it won't be anything like this.
***Human Moments in World War III was comfortingly bleak during the pandemic (sorry for citing the pandemic everytime), similar to reading Drew Magary's dystopian novel recently.
** Midnight in Doestoevsky must be about Oberlin. But I assume anyone who went to a school in the cold thinks it's about their uni/college.
fahrenheit's review
4.0
Un collage de pequeños reflejos de realidad, en la distancia se aprecia la deshumanización, la falta de confianza en los demás, el sinsentido de la vida actual.
Son relatos intimistas, introspectivos, en que los personajes están solos y/o incomunicados, o tal vez sería más exacto decir que son incapaces de comunicarse, tal vez ni siquiera lo desean... Retazos de realidad con salpicaduras surrealistas. ¿O tal vez hiperrealistas?
El lenguaje es elegante, preciso y perfecto en cada situación. Me ha encantado leerlo en inglés, creo que eso ha hecho que las palabras se introdujeran más al fondo todavía en mi cabeza.
Me ha gustado mucho y lo recomendaría sin remordimientos.
Son relatos intimistas, introspectivos, en que los personajes están solos y/o incomunicados, o tal vez sería más exacto decir que son incapaces de comunicarse, tal vez ni siquiera lo desean... Retazos de realidad con salpicaduras surrealistas. ¿O tal vez hiperrealistas?
El lenguaje es elegante, preciso y perfecto en cada situación. Me ha encantado leerlo en inglés, creo que eso ha hecho que las palabras se introdujeran más al fondo todavía en mi cabeza.
Me ha gustado mucho y lo recomendaría sin remordimientos.
grayxen's review against another edition
3.0
it took me months to finish this book because i dreaded having to pick it back up every time. there are a few good stories (the first, middle, and last), but the rest are boring or confusing, hard to get through, and mostly just annoying. i guess it's fair since that's how the author feels about society. he suffered through it so it has to suffer through him now?
ajays8's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
hollyevaallen's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing. A collection of beautiful short stories, all of which I enjoyed. I personally liked “Baader-Meinhof” best- it accurately portrayed a woman in a worrisome situation where a man is making her uncomfortable in a very serious way. While I feel most men that write don’t do these situations justice, DeLillo portrays it very well. I believe this collection is masterful and brilliant. However, I believe that this collection is for readers who can look beyond the literal interpretations of a particular work to find a more cryptic meaning. Readers who look for literal interpretations and straight forward plot alone will be let down.