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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I thought the plot was very interesting but the way the book was written was not for me. It had me questioning my literacy bc I would get so lost in the paragraphs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: Listened as an audiobook because John Darnielle's speaking voice is so enthralling.
From the start, this novel tells you: There will be no closure. There is no why. It's a mystery whether there is a God, where going left will take you instead of going right, or why you even make some of the choices you make. You just do, because that's the path you take—because life is a massive dungeon, a maze of overwhelming choices, and no one will ever understand if you try to explain, even maybe yourself.
I was captivated throughout this book by the characters, the descriptions, the fantasy worlds of Conan the Barbarian, and especially Trace Italian. I really, really want to play Trace Italian now. Darnielle's use of language is so familiar and relatable at times, and so obscure and awesome at others.
I relate to Sean as someone who disappears into secret worlds. Sean feels so real in this novel.
David Lynch says something along the lines of closure being the enemy of storytelling; as soon as you have closure, your story is dead. But while Lynch's work is intentionally unsatisfying, I found Wolf in White Van satisfying without that closure because it enshrines the mystery, makes it sacred, rather than using it to manipulate the reader and rub the mystery box in their face (as I felt at the end of the Twin Peaks revival). I'm going to keep thinking about the mysteries in this book with awe, as I might think of the towering, eternally out-of-reach Trace Italian in post-apocalyptic Kansas.
From the start, this novel tells you: There will be no closure. There is no why. It's a mystery whether there is a God, where going left will take you instead of going right, or why you even make some of the choices you make. You just do, because that's the path you take—because life is a massive dungeon, a maze of overwhelming choices, and no one will ever understand if you try to explain, even maybe yourself.
I was captivated throughout this book by the characters, the descriptions, the fantasy worlds of Conan the Barbarian, and especially Trace Italian. I really, really want to play Trace Italian now. Darnielle's use of language is so familiar and relatable at times, and so obscure and awesome at others.
I relate to Sean as someone who disappears into secret worlds. Sean feels so real in this novel.
David Lynch says something along the lines of closure being the enemy of storytelling; as soon as you have closure, your story is dead. But while Lynch's work is intentionally unsatisfying, I found Wolf in White Van satisfying without that closure because it enshrines the mystery, makes it sacred, rather than using it to manipulate the reader and rub the mystery box in their face (as I felt at the end of the Twin Peaks revival). I'm going to keep thinking about the mysteries in this book with awe, as I might think of the towering, eternally out-of-reach Trace Italian in post-apocalyptic Kansas.
I think this might be the most thoughtful and caring representation of teenage isolation and depression I've ever seen. It's respectful and almost reverent to the way this unnamed darkness can build up inside a young person, without any real reason, and drive them down. I also really loved it's representation of the way behavior or tendencies from your childhood shift, but stay with you as you grow up. They portrayal of adult isolation is good too. It paints it more as isolation in contest with the rest of the world. The isolation has been accepted and welcomed, but is constantly challenged by the outside. The writing is calm and patient and never pulls at you, which I like. It felt good, but not like ... good. It felt good in the way that sad music feels good.
It's not often that I say a book's writing is on level with Wallace Stegner's in terms of quality, but this is one of those rare books that deserve those accolades.
Absolutely incredible.
Absolutely incredible.
Really really cool when your favorite songwriter can turn around and such a powerful book.