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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fantastic in every, no, I correct: most of the details. Admirable how one family is being disected in to smaller stories that accumulate back to one.
A book where all the characters are miserable. They are miserable in the sense that they are very unhappy, and miserable in the other sense in that it would not be enjoyable to know them in real life.
But the misery is what makes this book enjoyable. It's full of great prose that allows you to understand all these family members even if you don't sympathize with them and then it finds a way for you to somehow still want the best for them at the end. On top of it all, it's funny and gives a unique perspective on topics as varied as disability, the role of family, lust, revenge, desire, anti-depressants, and status.
So much of the prose is great, but too long to include in a Goodreads review. But here are two that I liked:
"And yet Sylvia was struck by the contrast between the online porn and her unfinished drawing of Withers. Unlike ordinary lust, which could be appeased by pictures or by pure imagination, the lust for revenge could not be tricked. The most graphic image couldn't satisfy it. This lust required the death of a specific individual, the termination of a specific history. As the menus said: NO SUBSTITUTIONS."
----------------
"Aslan will help you," Hibbard assured her in a more sober voice. "A lot of travelers consider it a more important investment even than cancellation insurance. With all the money you've paid for the privilege of being here, Enith, you have a right to feel your best at every moment. A quarrel with your spouse, anxiety about a pet you've left behind, a perceived snub where none was intended: you can't afford these bad feelings. Think of it this way. If Aslan prevents you from missing just one prepaid Pleasurelines activity due to your subclinical dysthymia, it has paid for itself, by which I mean that your flat-fee consultation with me, at the end of which you'll receive eight complimentary SampLpaks of thirty-milligram Aslan 'Cruiser,' has paid for itself."
But the misery is what makes this book enjoyable. It's full of great prose that allows you to understand all these family members even if you don't sympathize with them and then it finds a way for you to somehow still want the best for them at the end. On top of it all, it's funny and gives a unique perspective on topics as varied as disability, the role of family, lust, revenge, desire, anti-depressants, and status.
So much of the prose is great, but too long to include in a Goodreads review. But here are two that I liked:
"And yet Sylvia was struck by the contrast between the online porn and her unfinished drawing of Withers. Unlike ordinary lust, which could be appeased by pictures or by pure imagination, the lust for revenge could not be tricked. The most graphic image couldn't satisfy it. This lust required the death of a specific individual, the termination of a specific history. As the menus said: NO SUBSTITUTIONS."
----------------
"Aslan will help you," Hibbard assured her in a more sober voice. "A lot of travelers consider it a more important investment even than cancellation insurance. With all the money you've paid for the privilege of being here, Enith, you have a right to feel your best at every moment. A quarrel with your spouse, anxiety about a pet you've left behind, a perceived snub where none was intended: you can't afford these bad feelings. Think of it this way. If Aslan prevents you from missing just one prepaid Pleasurelines activity due to your subclinical dysthymia, it has paid for itself, by which I mean that your flat-fee consultation with me, at the end of which you'll receive eight complimentary SampLpaks of thirty-milligram Aslan 'Cruiser,' has paid for itself."
At times heavy-handed, and overall a little unbelievable in its coincidences (both fortunate and misfortunate), this book still manages to capture the complexity of a cast of very different characters in a very compelling way. I found myself regularly alternating between hating and loving (or, at least, pitying) them all a bit, and the narrative style did a good job of balancing when those sensations occurred. I read this largely due to reading about Franzen's friendship with David Foster Wallace and the ideas they discussed regarding fiction, and viewing it somewhat through that lens provided an interesting jumping-off point, but the ideas definitely stand on their own regardless.
A look at the eccentricities of the average family.
Each character is so unique, and flawed, and frustrating in their own way. One in particular seemed downright evil and I cringed when I read her name.
Well written and engaging this book was a pleasant surprise
Each character is so unique, and flawed, and frustrating in their own way. One in particular seemed downright evil and I cringed when I read her name.
Well written and engaging this book was a pleasant surprise
Forever famous, if nothing else, at least for the fight he put up about Oprah choosing his book. Too bad that's the only reason this book ever hit ANYONE'S radar. So, if Franzen is still enough of a butthole to be cursing Oprah from the yacht that her publicity bought him, he deserves his own unhappiness.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-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
Thoroughly enjoyable but I’ll be damned if I liked a single character.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmm. That was interesting and also kind of a messy book. I think there were genuinely intriguing criticisms of pre-Y2K society, but also some genuinely stupid sexual generalizations about women. I think three stars should call it even (though probably a little generous).
I hated every character in this book so much, I couldn't finish reading it. I wanted them all to die in a firey explosion
*Spoiler: I did read the last page and was disappointed to find they did not.
*Spoiler: I did read the last page and was disappointed to find they did not.