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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Bonkers goofy. Loved it. Haven't been so Entertained by a book in a good minute. Fiction that doesn't bog me down with plot. A linguistic / narrative playground.
Loses half a star for the sorta racist treatment of Walinda Peahen's character.
Loses half a star for the sorta racist treatment of Walinda Peahen's character.
Hard to even rate it had so many ups and downs long parts and fascinating parts and clearly there it was also a notebook dump. How clever to have a character who is publishing a literary review to put in a lot of little stories and half stories and story ideas. I liked much of it, but I'm going to have to think about it for a while now. I guess the ending is whatever you want it to be, maybe the omnivorous guy did eat the building and everyone in it. That works for me.
I usually love David Foster Wallace's writing, but this story was all over the place and didn't grab me. By the end, it was getting tedious.
I liked this book. I feel as if he was trying to be too clever at certain points but it was overall quite enjoyable once I got into the flow of the story.
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
The ideas are more important than the content. I appreciate the ideas, as well as Foster's discipline in trying to bring them to life. I was much more interested in the book when I read (afterwards) about what Wallace was trying to do with it. He's a fascinating writer, and I'm really glad that his brain is not my brain. Here's the article (written by his biographer) that helped me: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/09/090309fa_fact_max?currentPage=all
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was torn between a 3 star and a 4 star. The potential this novel shows (4 stars) outweighs its faults (3 stars). DFW immediately reminds me of a slightly more approachable Pynchon.
I really don't even know how to rate this. It took me forever to read but since the untimely passing of Wallace a few weeks ago, I thought it was time to plow through the rest. It was, um, interesting for sure. But honestly, I don't know if I liked it or not.
How's that for indecisive?
How's that for indecisive?
An absolutely astounding book. I can't believe he wrote it at 23. Its not Infinite Jest, but then again literally nothing else is.