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hahildebrand's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
pjn345's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
vikkiwarner's review
4.0
Drury's work seems to dwell in the ambiguity of life. He views his characters and their lives from a safe distance. Emotionally, you get a little less than you want, but in the end that is the right thing. There's a quote from the Boston Globe on the back of my copy comparing Drury's work to Twin Peaks; once I read that, my perception of PACIFIC was changed. The surreal, it turns out, is all around us. It's not even that weird, once you're in it.
amycrea's review
3.0
Not as good as The End of Vandalism, but the Midwest parts were still a hoot to read.
rocketiza's review against another edition
5.0
Love his writing and the way he makes such complete characters. This book was great in being a sequel that wasn't a sequel in how it returned to characters but kept them fresh and new, and added interesting much different story lines.
moirastone's review
5.0
Where The End of Vandalism put me in mind of Austen, Pacific gives me Chekov vibes; Drury's sentences are worlds, dense with feeling and and incident and inference. And funny. Painfully, howlingly, funny.
runningbeard's review
4.0
"Dan sliced the grilled cheese on the diagonal and brought it to the table. He missed a little more of his sideburns every time he shaved and was beginning to look like someone in a Western.
"What are your nighttime worries?" he said.
"There's so many," she said. "That I haven't been kind. That there's a meanness in me. That we will die."
"The last part is the only true one."
"Do you look at the obituaries? People are living older and older, but they're also dying younger and younger."
"I know what you mean."
"Then we'll be done, and they'll sell our house, and it will be like we were never here. I think of the people that will buy our house. I can see them walking from room to room, thinking 'Oh, we can do way better than those other people did.' You know, like everyone does when they look at a house. Do you worry about that?"
"Not till you said it," said Dan. "We probably have thirty years anyway. Maybe more. I could see us being really old. Think how many things will happen in that time."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. People going to the moon on vacation."
"Would you go to the moon? I don't think I would."
"Well, if they fixed it up a little bit."
"I think I'm bothering Lyris and Albert."
"Did they say that?"
"No."
"I think they would. They're not shy people."
"They are, though," said Louise. "You don't know them like I do. One night I got mixed up and said I was her mother."
"I wouldn't fault you for that."
"I just wish we had our girl," whispered Louise.
Dan nodded, breathing quietly.
"Then she could have the house. And she could be running through it, and someday her kids could be running through it. And we would say, 'Slow down, you're going to hurt yourself.'"
She laid her head on her arms.
"This is what the night does," she said. "Puts sad things in your mind."
***
"I've seen you playing volleyball."
"Yeah, I like it." Micah got high, his thoughts fading to simple awareness of the ocean.
He felt made of stone. If seagulls attacked he would probably just sit there getting pecked. You never knew what you were getting with weed. Probably someday it would all be as uniform as alcohol. The sun bled red into the water and the ringing in his ears fell to a whisper.
"I like volleyball," he said. "You want to get in a real game, I know some people. They play at night on other beaches. Gets pretty serious."
"Where would you end up if you just started swimming?" said Micah.
"Channel Islands."
"How far is that?"
"Twenty miles."
"And then what?"
"Japan."
"How far is that?"
"Way out there."
"I want to go to Japan."
"Fuck, man," said Mark. "Fly out LAX tonight you got the money."
"What are your nighttime worries?" he said.
"There's so many," she said. "That I haven't been kind. That there's a meanness in me. That we will die."
"The last part is the only true one."
"Do you look at the obituaries? People are living older and older, but they're also dying younger and younger."
"I know what you mean."
"Then we'll be done, and they'll sell our house, and it will be like we were never here. I think of the people that will buy our house. I can see them walking from room to room, thinking 'Oh, we can do way better than those other people did.' You know, like everyone does when they look at a house. Do you worry about that?"
"Not till you said it," said Dan. "We probably have thirty years anyway. Maybe more. I could see us being really old. Think how many things will happen in that time."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. People going to the moon on vacation."
"Would you go to the moon? I don't think I would."
"Well, if they fixed it up a little bit."
"I think I'm bothering Lyris and Albert."
"Did they say that?"
"No."
"I think they would. They're not shy people."
"They are, though," said Louise. "You don't know them like I do. One night I got mixed up and said I was her mother."
"I wouldn't fault you for that."
"I just wish we had our girl," whispered Louise.
Dan nodded, breathing quietly.
"Then she could have the house. And she could be running through it, and someday her kids could be running through it. And we would say, 'Slow down, you're going to hurt yourself.'"
She laid her head on her arms.
"This is what the night does," she said. "Puts sad things in your mind."
***
"I've seen you playing volleyball."
"Yeah, I like it." Micah got high, his thoughts fading to simple awareness of the ocean.
He felt made of stone. If seagulls attacked he would probably just sit there getting pecked. You never knew what you were getting with weed. Probably someday it would all be as uniform as alcohol. The sun bled red into the water and the ringing in his ears fell to a whisper.
"I like volleyball," he said. "You want to get in a real game, I know some people. They play at night on other beaches. Gets pretty serious."
"Where would you end up if you just started swimming?" said Micah.
"Channel Islands."
"How far is that?"
"Twenty miles."
"And then what?"
"Japan."
"How far is that?"
"Way out there."
"I want to go to Japan."
"Fuck, man," said Mark. "Fly out LAX tonight you got the money."
drexedit's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the_old_gray_cat's review
3.0
Nothing can ever equal "The End of Vandalism", one of my all time favorite books, but "Pacific" is an amiable sequel.