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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Recommended for: fans of Swiftian satire, Edgar Allen Poe, and anyone who has ever had the painful experience of sitting on an academic diversity committee.
I liked this book, just not as much as I thought I would.... like Johnson, I come from that ridiculous place of teaching at the U, writing and trying to make something of the legacy of these monolithic, and monolithically weird books, like Poe's _Narrative_. Somehow, I wanted this book to make sense out of that experience, and in the process to turn out to be something every bit as warped and unforgettable. I know, it's a tall order, but I can't help but feel like it's been done.
This is not that book, anyhow. Instead, Johnson smooths down the edges of weirdness in his own book, even though he refers often to the strangeness of Poe's book. This is, to a degree that left me a little bored and disappointed, a mostly straight ahead adventure story, with a mostly brisk plot, the kind of thing that really would adapt well, and easily, into some sort of Michael Bay movie. You can say what you want about Poe, but even the Vincent Price "adaptations" are more memorable than Transformers! I mean it, this feels like it just doesn't do enough with the source material, and by itself, it's not interesting enough-- in part, maybe, because adventure novels scratch a little that vicarious itch to go someplace like King Solomon's Mines or whatever, ostensibly real places even if the events there are overly dramatic. But this book is set, for the most part, on a fantastic landscape, so we don't even quite get that.
The race stuff, which I thought was really brilliant in the first couple chapters, is mostly just window dressing here and doesn't play an especially large role in the actual book-- again, that seems silly to say, but unless you think the whiteness of Moby Dick is the most striking thing about that book, you'll likely feel the way I do here. It's funny, sharp and insightful, and ultimately beside the point. And the presence of women here is laughable bordering on insulting.
So why four stars? It's a good read. It's solidly constructed, and imaginative, and it's often interesting. The characters are flawed, and from their flaws revealing truths are born. There is a lot to like here, and I hate to hate on a book for not being the book I thought it was or wanted it to be-- taken on its own terms, this is a really satisfying read. It's just not on a par with the work(s) it takes as its inspiration and somehow wants to work through.
This is not that book, anyhow. Instead, Johnson smooths down the edges of weirdness in his own book, even though he refers often to the strangeness of Poe's book. This is, to a degree that left me a little bored and disappointed, a mostly straight ahead adventure story, with a mostly brisk plot, the kind of thing that really would adapt well, and easily, into some sort of Michael Bay movie. You can say what you want about Poe, but even the Vincent Price "adaptations" are more memorable than Transformers! I mean it, this feels like it just doesn't do enough with the source material, and by itself, it's not interesting enough-- in part, maybe, because adventure novels scratch a little that vicarious itch to go someplace like King Solomon's Mines or whatever, ostensibly real places even if the events there are overly dramatic. But this book is set, for the most part, on a fantastic landscape, so we don't even quite get that.
The race stuff, which I thought was really brilliant in the first couple chapters, is mostly just window dressing here and doesn't play an especially large role in the actual book-- again, that seems silly to say, but unless you think the whiteness of Moby Dick is the most striking thing about that book, you'll likely feel the way I do here. It's funny, sharp and insightful, and ultimately beside the point. And the presence of women here is laughable bordering on insulting.
So why four stars? It's a good read. It's solidly constructed, and imaginative, and it's often interesting. The characters are flawed, and from their flaws revealing truths are born. There is a lot to like here, and I hate to hate on a book for not being the book I thought it was or wanted it to be-- taken on its own terms, this is a really satisfying read. It's just not on a par with the work(s) it takes as its inspiration and somehow wants to work through.
What did I just listen to? And how is a book do banana pants crazy so good? I had heard about this book from @bookriot and I'm so glad I did. This was fun but also crazy. Seriously crazy. JD Jackson is the narrator and does a wonderful job. I've been on a streak of good books and narrators, I'm bound for a complete dud. It wasn't this one though! If the synopsis sounds interesting to you, pick it up ASAP. I have feelings.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I couldn't finish this book. It's kinda like a tv show u watch when nothing better is on
"Or rather, why is the white dove so highly regarded because of its lack of pigmentation? How is it that something so minor as the color of a bird’s feathers can make the difference between being regarded as the international symbol for peace and [the pigeon] being the urban symbol of filth and nuisance? … Why are albino mice deemed worthy to be kept as pampered pets while their nearly identical darker brothers are viewed completely as pests? Does whiteness hold so much value for us that its presence is a wealth in itself?"
This book managed to be ludicrous, hilarious, insightful, and quite entertaining. I actually bought it off a friend more than a decade ago because he was downsizing and needed some cash, but just last month got around to finally reading it. Johnson deconstructs racism and racial identity by using Poe's only novel, [b:The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket|766869|The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568871231l/766869._SY75_.jpg|44915222], as a stepping stone into a satirical adventure/fantasy. I can vouch for getting a lot out of this book without the need for reading Poe's work, although I suspect it only gets better if one is familiar with Poe's lone novel.
Main character, Chris Jaynes, is a professor of literature fired for refusing to stick to the Black canon (choosing instead to search for the origin of "Whiteness" in the historic/accepted white lit texts). His firing kicks off an all-Black expedition headed for Antarctica to seemingly pick up where Poe's narrative left off. They find a race of giant albino brutes and what follows is a comedy with life or death consequences.
The narrative is laced with Johnson's acerbic wit and keen insights as he toys with stereotypes and expectations, and gifts the reader a memorable menagerie of characters.
In the acknowledgements section, the author reveals that it took eight years to write this book. I can certainly understand, because it took me 5 months to read it - an inordinately long time for me. I typically would have abandoned the book after about a month or so, but it does have some very funny and some insightful bits. The middle section is by far the most tedious and that is where I stalled the longest and almost gave up multiple times. Overall I'm glad for my own progress that I did stick with it. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I read Poe's original or any of the other stories that this one claims are related to Poe's novel. I also got the sense reading it that there were many more references embedded in the story than I had the knowledge to appreciate.
Certainly the strangest book I've read in a while. Great food for thought about academia, history, Poe, and, curiously, "Life of Pi." It unravels a bit at the end, but is an addictive read, and very funny.
This is a tough one because I wanted to like this book. The concept of the story is, initially, clever and intriguing. Chris, an African American studies professor, doesn't make tenure, and upon the discovery of some letters that appear to be written by Sir Arthur Gordon Pym's companion in Edgar Allen Poe's only novel, he starts to believe that Poe's work may not have actually been fiction, and that the "horrific" island of black natives Poe describes in his novel may really exist near Antarctica. Picturing an undiscovered Eden, Chris puts together a crew that consists of his best friend, who is obsessed with Little Debbie snack cakes and Thomas Karvel paintings (clearly meant to represent Thomas Kincade), his ex-girlfriend and her new husband, both lawyers, and two adventure seekers who have a huge YouTube following, and convinces a cousin who is captain of his own ship to take them to Antarctica under the pretext of drilling for pure ice to bring back and sell as bottled water. The events that follow are fantastical, highly unbelievable, and contrived, as I'm sure they're meant to be, and, unfortunately, the author loses touch with his characters as he forces them to morph into a variety of stereotypical roles so he can continue his allegorical narrative. The dark humor and sheer imagination almost make this novel a worthwhile read.