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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Dang. I was really eager to like this book...
As someone who has only ever read about 50 pages of Infinite Jest, my perspective wasn't one of comparison on this read. But with all the hype surrounding someone as intelligent and well-received as David Foster Wallace, you feel like a real loser for not wholly enjoying his work. Alas, I still can't help but be disappointed with the way this one ended.
I suppose, as I think about it, that most of my dissatisfaction with this novel comes from its post-modernness. It sets up about a thousand hilarious elements and characters. It rolls along on a ridiculous, often sidetracked plot, but as connections are made, nothing comes of them. In the end, the book goes nowhere. People's fragile realities are crushed, they lean further into their insecurities and psychological issues, and then it just ends.
Full Review at http://mlanders.com/2015/10/27/book-review-the-broom-in-the-system-by-david-foster-wallace/
As someone who has only ever read about 50 pages of Infinite Jest, my perspective wasn't one of comparison on this read. But with all the hype surrounding someone as intelligent and well-received as David Foster Wallace, you feel like a real loser for not wholly enjoying his work. Alas, I still can't help but be disappointed with the way this one ended.
I suppose, as I think about it, that most of my dissatisfaction with this novel comes from its post-modernness. It sets up about a thousand hilarious elements and characters. It rolls along on a ridiculous, often sidetracked plot, but as connections are made, nothing comes of them. In the end, the book goes nowhere. People's fragile realities are crushed, they lean further into their insecurities and psychological issues, and then it just ends.
Full Review at http://mlanders.com/2015/10/27/book-review-the-broom-in-the-system-by-david-foster-wallace/
Lots of philosophy and post modern style here. I feel like I got very little out of this reading experience. Couldn't get interested in the characters, and Rick Vigorous in particular was just annoying to spend time with. Not going to read Infinite Jest that's for sure. Onward and upward.
DFW has this way of ending things where it's not really an ending and at the same time the best and only ending possible, and you're not quite sure what has happened but it feels like you've just been allowed to touch something magical and that now you're in some way changed forever.
Hat zum Nachdenken angeregt und viele Absurditäten der heutigen Gesellschaft zugespitzt. Ich musste viel lachen. Sehr gutes Buch nur zeitweise etwas langwierig. Mir hat sehr gut die häufoge Dialogform gefallen.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first DFW book I have completed, and it won't be my last. The prose (well-narrated by Robert Petkoff) is brilliant and funny, reminiscent of [b: The Confederacy of Dunces|49946710|The Confederacy of Dunces|John Kennedy Toole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569777054l/49946710._SX50_SY75_.jpg|968084]. I also loved how Wallace was able to integrate short stories into the narrative. Now I have more confidence in tackling his magnum opus, [b: Infinite Jest|6759|Infinite Jest|David Foster Wallace|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446876799l/6759._SY75_.jpg|3271542].
I am counting this as “read” because: 1) I made it 150 pages, which is the length of many books; 2) the font was really small; 3) I spot-checked later pages to confirm that, yes, I would still hate those pages as much as the first 150, and; 4) the suffering I endured while reading those 150 pages was the deepest and most profound emotion I have ever felt while reading. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
The amount of adverbs in this book is ABYSMAL. The author tried SO HARD to make his writing interesting that just went down the dark whole of adverbs and adjectives every other corner. Tons and tons of pages that can be skipped. There’s an explanation to EVERYTHING and honestly, if it’s not KEY to the story why are we explaining the specific of say... a car that can’t heat up fast enough?
This was one of the strangest things I have ever read. I don't even think I can review it. I'm just glad I finished it before the semester started.