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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Not sure if I can formulate any thoughts on this book just yet... but I think I enjoyed it.
Abstract, philosophical musings. Felt pressure to move on to other books.
It was work for me to finish this book, and I almost didn't. I think this book might have worked for me if it was third-person omniscient, maybe? The narrator was unreliable (and not in a fun way) and I, weirdly, felt like I was being manipulated - I would have liked some other perspective and maybe some distance from the main character...
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
I ended up sort of liking this book in spite of myself and its insufferably ironic, detached hipster sensibility. After a hundred pages of the desperately lonely and mildly delusional narrator I found that I didn't entirely loathe the part of myself I found sympathizing with him. In any case there are some striking thoughts on the inadequacy of language and how much of ourselves we see reflected in any other person.
Won't be for everyone as the narrator is a truly insipid narcissist and all around dick but I do love me a good American abroad narrative and meandering musings on art and identity I have a weak spot for. Also the writing is pretty stellar
This novel is that species of uncertain, nervous, vibrant, experimental debut that I cherish and relate to—and which many might find unlikeable.
Somewhat memoiristic with novelistic prose and framing, occasionally dipping into prose-poem or even direct poetry, Lerner's debut shows the capcity for a postmodern, experimental structure and style to struggle with sincerity and the genuine in artistic expression.
Lerner (as writer and as fictional protagonist) can often be overly reflexive—leading to unlikeable, neurotic behaviors and observations—but this compulsive reflexivity fits well into the protagonist's circumstances as a young artist traveling abroad who has yet to find his place in the world—either personally or professionally.
He plays with different personas and orientations towards art. In that exploration emerges some interesting resonance between the form and content of the book.
In the end the Lerner and his protagonist's conclusion are ambiguous and may ring hollow—but this is Lerner's intention, and since it resonates so well in those ambiguous parts of myself, I feel it succeeds.
Somewhat memoiristic with novelistic prose and framing, occasionally dipping into prose-poem or even direct poetry, Lerner's debut shows the capcity for a postmodern, experimental structure and style to struggle with sincerity and the genuine in artistic expression.
Lerner (as writer and as fictional protagonist) can often be overly reflexive—leading to unlikeable, neurotic behaviors and observations—but this compulsive reflexivity fits well into the protagonist's circumstances as a young artist traveling abroad who has yet to find his place in the world—either personally or professionally.
He plays with different personas and orientations towards art. In that exploration emerges some interesting resonance between the form and content of the book.
In the end the Lerner and his protagonist's conclusion are ambiguous and may ring hollow—but this is Lerner's intention, and since it resonates so well in those ambiguous parts of myself, I feel it succeeds.