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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
this is one of those books that i won't be able to review properly. i already adore the mountain goats and john darnielle, so there's my bias.
after reading, i'm left a bit like i am after a murakami novel - full of questions and emotion. i feel like there's so much bubbling under the surface and i know this will be reread in the future.
if you need books to be clear and precise, with things laid out neatly, this isn't the novel for you.
Sean tells us the story of how he got his disfigured face and how, in the intervening months of rehab, he developed Trace Italian, a very richly imagined text-based snail-mail game he runs to support himself..
I thought the first two-thirds of the book were gripping and painful and told with beautiful language. The last third just meandered through memories of how he made the game and his time in rehab. The last few pages seemed to return to form and, if it didn't resolve the main question, it at least redeemed the last part of the story.
I thought the first two-thirds of the book were gripping and painful and told with beautiful language. The last third just meandered through memories of how he made the game and his time in rehab. The last few pages seemed to return to form and, if it didn't resolve the main question, it at least redeemed the last part of the story.
dark
mysterious
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been trying to organise my thoughts on Wolf in White Van and I don't know if I'm ever going to succeed. It was a lot of a book despite its short length. It immediately tells you the answer to "why" is "I don't know" and you have to sit with this for the rest of the story. Past and present and future all melt together in the mind of someone who sees himself going nowhere and becoming nobody.
Dreamlike and deeply sad, I think. The same way I felt after finishing Haruki Murakami's The Strange Library
Dreamlike and deeply sad, I think. The same way I felt after finishing Haruki Murakami's The Strange Library
I can't miss shopping like you'd miss things you once had. I miss it in a different way. I miss it like you would miss a train.
This is why people cry at movies: because everybody's doomed. No one in a movie can help themselves in any way. Their fate has already staked a claim on them from the moment they appear onscreen.
Wolf In White Van
I really didn’t like this book. That is probably the most unhelpful thing I’ve ever written into a review, as it doesn’t tell you why and help you (the review reader) have any basis to know whether my reasons for not liking it would cause you to feel the same, or whether you should proceed on as my reasons would have no bearing on your enjoyment.
I never would have picked this book, but read it because my book club is reading it and I always try to read those books. I actually voted against it twice when it was nominated, but alas, I was out-voted. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to discuss a book with my friends, and as a result, I’ve read some stuff I’d never would have picked. My real life friends would tell you that I’d be hard pressed to have to sit back and listen to other people talk rather than dominate the conversation because I had nothing to contribute about a book I didn’t read. Does this sometimes result in me being pleasantly surprised by how well I like something. Rarely, as I know my tastes pretty well, but it is possible and I was hoping I would like this book.
What was interesting about this book? A couple things:
• Trace Italian – the role playing game that Sean operates in this game, is the most interesting part. If we could have a “choose your own adventure” style book of the Trace Italian clue, that would have been more enjoyable than this novel. Not so enjoyable that I’m going to go spend the night in a ditch in below freezing weather, mind you, because I’m not an idiot.
• The after-effects of a life altering injury – I think the best part of this book is the portrayal of Sean’s struggles in the world after the destruction of his face. His father having to carry him down the hall (at age 17), the difficulties he has going out in public, even to the grocery store, without drawing tons of attention, the fact that he has to tell the stoners in the parking lot that he can’t even have a sip of beer unless he has a straw because of the damage to his face (and if that is your life, why wouldn’t you be carrying a damn straw around with you at all times – just more of his stupidity). I think that this aspect of the book showed more actual thought on the author’s part than anything else.
• The role of “blame someone for your own stupidity” litigation – Sean is defending himself from a lawsuit by Carrie’s parents because he developed the game. There is a parallel plot in a different timeline where Sean’s parents are searching for a deep pocket to sue for his own actions. It’s a fun parallel, but our dense protagonist Sean doesn’t even seem to appreciate the irony of this, or if he does, he doesn’t bother to convey that to the readers.
• The split time line – we are moving between multiple timelines: a) the current (in which Sean is defending himself in a lawsuit about Trace Italian), b) the recent past (in which Sean is sending next moves to Lance and Carrie, and also other players), c) shortly after Sean is released from the hospital after he lost his face, and d) high school aged Sean and the events that lead up to his events that changed his life. If I liked this book better, I’d probably line up how all these timelines move throughout the book (as I love doing that), but I frankly didn’t want to spend any more time digging through this book.
What specifically didn’t I like about this book:
• Sean the protagonist is not well drawn, as I don’t understand why he does what he does. Even worse than not understanding him, frankly he’s unlikeable enough that I don’t care.
• The side characters are also not well drawn. Did Kimmy break his heart? Did she break a promise / suicide pact? Did she just drift away because his parents prevented her from having access to Sean? We don’t know enough about her to draw any conclusions, and I don’t actually care. Why does she come back again just to mention that she is now married? Don’t have a clue, and not sure if we care.
• What is the point of James – maybe I’m missing the big connections here. That is possible. I’m happy to be corrected by readers who got more out of this book than I did. But why did we have the character of James, who quit Trace Italian by choice (near the fortune teller’s cabin), and Sean wrote a death certificate. Then we see him at the government office when Sean goes to renew his business license. Why? Just so that we know he actually survived even though he “died” in Trace Italian? Not everyone who plays this game dies? That’s a glowing endorsement if I’ve ever read one.
• Teen Suicide Attempts (or was it)? – I just generally hate books that deal with teen suicide, and particularly hated Thirteen Reasons Why for this reason. This book isn’t as bad as it did address the after-effects and Sean having to live with the damage to his face and body as a result. But did he actually learn anything? That certainly isn’t clear.
• Why does any of this matter? Why should anyone care about any of these people or events?
• Puffy Tom Hanks Hair. The most memorable thing about this book was that I was constantly reminded of “Mazes and Monsters” the 1982 movie with Tom Hanks in which young adults got too involved in a Dungeons and Dragons type live action role play game to disastrous results. Anything which reminds me that often of the 1980s era Tom Hanks puffy hairstyle is a bad thing.
Ok, so in sum, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. There were a couple interesting parts, but those to me did not justify having to slog with all the rest of this mess of a novel.
I really didn’t like this book. That is probably the most unhelpful thing I’ve ever written into a review, as it doesn’t tell you why and help you (the review reader) have any basis to know whether my reasons for not liking it would cause you to feel the same, or whether you should proceed on as my reasons would have no bearing on your enjoyment.
I never would have picked this book, but read it because my book club is reading it and I always try to read those books. I actually voted against it twice when it was nominated, but alas, I was out-voted. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to discuss a book with my friends, and as a result, I’ve read some stuff I’d never would have picked. My real life friends would tell you that I’d be hard pressed to have to sit back and listen to other people talk rather than dominate the conversation because I had nothing to contribute about a book I didn’t read. Does this sometimes result in me being pleasantly surprised by how well I like something. Rarely, as I know my tastes pretty well, but it is possible and I was hoping I would like this book.
What was interesting about this book? A couple things:
• Trace Italian – the role playing game that Sean operates in this game, is the most interesting part. If we could have a “choose your own adventure” style book of the Trace Italian clue, that would have been more enjoyable than this novel. Not so enjoyable that I’m going to go spend the night in a ditch in below freezing weather, mind you, because I’m not an idiot.
• The after-effects of a life altering injury – I think the best part of this book is the portrayal of Sean’s struggles in the world after the destruction of his face. His father having to carry him down the hall (at age 17), the difficulties he has going out in public, even to the grocery store, without drawing tons of attention, the fact that he has to tell the stoners in the parking lot that he can’t even have a sip of beer unless he has a straw because of the damage to his face (and if that is your life, why wouldn’t you be carrying a damn straw around with you at all times – just more of his stupidity). I think that this aspect of the book showed more actual thought on the author’s part than anything else.
• The role of “blame someone for your own stupidity” litigation – Sean is defending himself from a lawsuit by Carrie’s parents because he developed the game. There is a parallel plot in a different timeline where Sean’s parents are searching for a deep pocket to sue for his own actions. It’s a fun parallel, but our dense protagonist Sean doesn’t even seem to appreciate the irony of this, or if he does, he doesn’t bother to convey that to the readers.
• The split time line – we are moving between multiple timelines: a) the current (in which Sean is defending himself in a lawsuit about Trace Italian), b) the recent past (in which Sean is sending next moves to Lance and Carrie, and also other players), c) shortly after Sean is released from the hospital after he lost his face, and d) high school aged Sean and the events that lead up to his events that changed his life. If I liked this book better, I’d probably line up how all these timelines move throughout the book (as I love doing that), but I frankly didn’t want to spend any more time digging through this book.
What specifically didn’t I like about this book:
• Sean the protagonist is not well drawn, as I don’t understand why he does what he does. Even worse than not understanding him, frankly he’s unlikeable enough that I don’t care.
• The side characters are also not well drawn. Did Kimmy break his heart? Did she break a promise / suicide pact? Did she just drift away because his parents prevented her from having access to Sean? We don’t know enough about her to draw any conclusions, and I don’t actually care. Why does she come back again just to mention that she is now married? Don’t have a clue, and not sure if we care.
• What is the point of James – maybe I’m missing the big connections here. That is possible. I’m happy to be corrected by readers who got more out of this book than I did. But why did we have the character of James, who quit Trace Italian by choice (near the fortune teller’s cabin), and Sean wrote a death certificate. Then we see him at the government office when Sean goes to renew his business license. Why? Just so that we know he actually survived even though he “died” in Trace Italian? Not everyone who plays this game dies? That’s a glowing endorsement if I’ve ever read one.
• Teen Suicide Attempts (or was it)? – I just generally hate books that deal with teen suicide, and particularly hated Thirteen Reasons Why for this reason. This book isn’t as bad as it did address the after-effects and Sean having to live with the damage to his face and body as a result. But did he actually learn anything? That certainly isn’t clear.
• Why does any of this matter? Why should anyone care about any of these people or events?
• Puffy Tom Hanks Hair. The most memorable thing about this book was that I was constantly reminded of “Mazes and Monsters” the 1982 movie with Tom Hanks in which young adults got too involved in a Dungeons and Dragons type live action role play game to disastrous results. Anything which reminds me that often of the 1980s era Tom Hanks puffy hairstyle is a bad thing.
Ok, so in sum, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. There were a couple interesting parts, but those to me did not justify having to slog with all the rest of this mess of a novel.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the second book by Darnielle I’ve read and I can safely say that his writing style just isn’t for me.
I do think he is a talented writer and could see why people would enjoy his work so much, but for me I enjoy a book with an engaging plot. Darnielle’s writing seems to be light on plot and heavy on character introspection, which is fine, but it’s just not my thing.
I do think he is a talented writer and could see why people would enjoy his work so much, but for me I enjoy a book with an engaging plot. Darnielle’s writing seems to be light on plot and heavy on character introspection, which is fine, but it’s just not my thing.
Listened to this as an audiobook read by the author, and it's maybe the best audiobook I've ever experienced.
The book itself is fascinating and dark and dangerous, but also so thoughtful and emotionally resonant. Darnielle's reading of his work is heartfelt, funny, and ominous.
It's brilliant.
This book is very internal. Almost every sentence is trapped within the narrator's head, but it never gets bogged down in ways you might expect. Then the scenes that involve other characters are fantastically realised.
But, yeah, this is definitely worth reading or listening to. It's one of the only realist novels I've read this year and I think it's the best one I've come across in a while.
Of course, the subject matter and narrative choice will make this one of those books that just aren't for everyone.
The book itself is fascinating and dark and dangerous, but also so thoughtful and emotionally resonant. Darnielle's reading of his work is heartfelt, funny, and ominous.
It's brilliant.
This book is very internal. Almost every sentence is trapped within the narrator's head, but it never gets bogged down in ways you might expect. Then the scenes that involve other characters are fantastically realised.
But, yeah, this is definitely worth reading or listening to. It's one of the only realist novels I've read this year and I think it's the best one I've come across in a while.
Of course, the subject matter and narrative choice will make this one of those books that just aren't for everyone.