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mldavisreads's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting narrative about a nine year old boy trying to understand a world that is too complicated for him, and a therapist that will do anything to help him. I've read very few books with an unreliable narrator, so I kept reading to figure out the "actual" story. Great characters.
alytodd's review against another edition
2.0
i was expecting a really good pay off at the end of this book and got nothing - pretty disappointing.
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
3.0
Exley was a title often recommended to me by Aaron @Typographical Era. It ended up being the book club's choice to read, so I was glad I was finally going to be getting around to reading it. It wasn't exactly what I anticipated or hoped it would be- the premise was fabulous - a young boy is desperate to find and help his father and believes the only person that can help him is Exley, author of his father's favourite book - but for me the execution of the story fell flat. The good doctor that was supposed to be helping Miller was a person that desperately got under my skin - I simply could not stand him. I will say however that the final chapters are extremely redeeming. They are very touching and heartwarming yet heartbreaking for Miller (and the reader). Overall, a good read, but for me not until the very final chapters.
alanfederman's review against another edition
4.0
This was a sort of meta-novel - a fictional character (a 9 year old boy) tries to find a real author (Frederick Exley) to save his father who may or may not have been injured in Iraq and is recovering at a VA hospital in Watertown, NY where the real Exley lived. It's actually not quite as complicated as all that - a very enjoyable book, but perhaps a little narrow in its scope. I have read all of Exley's three books, though "A Fan's Notes" stands head and shoulders above the rest, and one of my favorite books I have ever read. Exley may not be one to admire or even emulate, but is writing is amazing and I like the way the author paid homage to him. That said, if you don't know or haven't read Exley, I'd suggest doing so before reading this to really get the full context.
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