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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
I wasn't expecting to read this book so quickly - in one sitting, pausing only for food. It's one of those books that deliberately leaves things unanswered. Half the point is that there are some things never confirmed or denied, that have an almost greater value for belonging to the imagination alone. It's frustrating, because of course I want to know 'what really happened', even though that's not the point at all. I liked that it was narrated in second person; that the narrative voice groups the boys/men together. It confirms the sense of them being ordinary people with ordinary lives, because they aren't unique enough to command the story on their own, as individuals. It's a little unsettling to think of characters that way, because it forces you to consider the idea that people aren't as unique as we like to imagine ourselves to be, but it makes perfect sense for the story. I guess my only real problem with the story is one I have with many: that I don't really believe in or understand this small-town america setting. I've read many books set in times and places I'm unfamiliar with, but there's something about this setting - which I see a lot in books and movies - which feels more fake, or made-up, or distant to me than any other I can think of. This is not a fault of the writer, of course.
i'm already adding this book to the shelf "thebest." i already know i'll love it. now i just need to buy it.
small steps.
small steps.
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was a story of… small town life perhaps. Classmates come and go. Everyone dies eventually. There isn’t a plot, just observation of classmates as people age.
This is another one of those pastiche novels that tells the story of overlapping groups of people in little vignettes. It has cool Rose-For-Emily thing happening with a first person plural narrator. It probably deserves a higher rating, but I think I'm just a little burned out on Hidden Lives of The Upper Middle Class novels. There's always a rape, always the brutal, accidental death of an animal, and always some dead/alcoholic parents. I probably should have saved this for when I was more in the mood for such a book.
medium-paced
Looks like somebody read The Virgin Suicides and thought "I could do that," and then did.
Such a beautiful read, and I felt like I could really imagine all the scenes in this book. Might not be for everyone because some of the more sexual scenes are a little
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Horrible, ahorrense este libro mal estructurado. Es un tipo super difuso chismeando y dando brincos de rana en el tiempo mientras lo hace. Ese es el resumen. Desaparece una chava de su grado escolar y el resto de su vida se la pasa pensando en qué habrá pasado con ella, imaginándose escenarios suuuuper detallados de lo que le pasó (tan detallados que argumentaria que requiere ayuda psiquiátrica el tipo). Con una vida bastante irrelevante en general. Nada interesante pasa realmente en este libro nunca, no lo recomendaría ni siquiera por su longitud corta.