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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An ultra minimalistic post apocalyptic story
I live in this book, please wipe your feet on the doormat as you come inside.
Much as I love experimental fiction you can give me more David Markson and less Brautigan and make Brautigan better.
A trippy and absurd novella about the commune of iDEATH. Elements of the Garden of Eden, Adam, Eve & Lilith. Plenty of trouts, trout hatcheries, watermelons, talking tigers, river tombs and post-apocalyptic communal breakfasts. I think this is going to be my last Brautigan for awhile, but it was still nice to see someone play boldly with the novel form.
I want to say that In Watermelon Sugar was a joy. I cannot say this. However, I cannot say that it was a disappointment, or that I disliked it. I don't really know how I feel about it, to be honest, but I will definitely be taking a second look in order to find out.
In Watermelon Sugar is a very easy book to read. In some ways, it reminds me of Slaughterhouse 5. A short book with a simply-written, self-conscious narrative. Check. A prevailing sense of disconnection. Check. An element of fantasy. Check.
Not to say that In Watermelon Sugar is unoriginal. It is very original indeed. And, I would certainly reccommend it. For all of its simplicity, the book and the world it describes is very complex and incredibly hard to understand. Every now and again you catch a glimpse of a possible truth, a possible reading. And then it hides itself again: not shy, but teasing. Come and get me, the meaning says, you know you want to. And I do. I do so want to understand this gem. It came to me highly recommended, and I enjoyed reading it - a page turner, if only because each chapter is so short. I want to know what iDEATH is. I want to understand its inhabitants, and their past. I want to know what inBOIL was talking about. In some ways I identify with the narrator. In other ways, I am alienated by him. This is okay. This is all how it is meant to be. This book is that feeling of comfort, of blindness, that allows you to settle in a situation even though you know it is wrong.
I look forward to returning to it, to understanding it more. But I think a break would be good.
In Watermelon Sugar is a very easy book to read. In some ways, it reminds me of Slaughterhouse 5. A short book with a simply-written, self-conscious narrative. Check. A prevailing sense of disconnection. Check. An element of fantasy. Check.
Not to say that In Watermelon Sugar is unoriginal. It is very original indeed. And, I would certainly reccommend it. For all of its simplicity, the book and the world it describes is very complex and incredibly hard to understand. Every now and again you catch a glimpse of a possible truth, a possible reading. And then it hides itself again: not shy, but teasing. Come and get me, the meaning says, you know you want to. And I do. I do so want to understand this gem. It came to me highly recommended, and I enjoyed reading it - a page turner, if only because each chapter is so short. I want to know what iDEATH is. I want to understand its inhabitants, and their past. I want to know what inBOIL was talking about. In some ways I identify with the narrator. In other ways, I am alienated by him. This is okay. This is all how it is meant to be. This book is that feeling of comfort, of blindness, that allows you to settle in a situation even though you know it is wrong.
I look forward to returning to it, to understanding it more. But I think a break would be good.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i can’t even put into words how wonderful this book is, just read it
6/2016 Yes. Again, and always. Water in the desert, this.
12/2015 My boy brought this to me tonight because he was certain I needed it. Oh, how right he was.
1/2012 This one is a touchstone for me, and I'm not sure exactly why. Perhaps because it is so very gentle, so loving, so open. Ostensibly, it's a few days in a commune in some mythical world that used to have beautiful, man-eating, talking tigers. A world where everything is made from watermelon sugar. But it's always struck me as a meditation on the art of the possible. It helps me to remember how to live, in the words of Annie Dillard, "yielding at every moment to the perfect freedom of single necessity." It's an imperfect science, embracing the given, but one I try to improve at.
This book also tastes like my late childhood and early adolescence, when all the world was in love with love, or so it seemed to me. We were all going to be hippies and live on communes and everyone was going to take a turn doing dishes.
This review makes almost as little sense as the book. I'm okay with that.
10/2005 As much as Brautigan repelled me in person, this book is a transcendent thing. It glows softly in my hands, the pages made from watermelon sugar. On the face of it, it's some hippie post-apocalyptic nonsensical rantage. But it is lyrical, and sweet, and good.
12/2015 My boy brought this to me tonight because he was certain I needed it. Oh, how right he was.
1/2012 This one is a touchstone for me, and I'm not sure exactly why. Perhaps because it is so very gentle, so loving, so open. Ostensibly, it's a few days in a commune in some mythical world that used to have beautiful, man-eating, talking tigers. A world where everything is made from watermelon sugar. But it's always struck me as a meditation on the art of the possible. It helps me to remember how to live, in the words of Annie Dillard, "yielding at every moment to the perfect freedom of single necessity." It's an imperfect science, embracing the given, but one I try to improve at.
This book also tastes like my late childhood and early adolescence, when all the world was in love with love, or so it seemed to me. We were all going to be hippies and live on communes and everyone was going to take a turn doing dishes.
This review makes almost as little sense as the book. I'm okay with that.
10/2005 As much as Brautigan repelled me in person, this book is a transcendent thing. It glows softly in my hands, the pages made from watermelon sugar. On the face of it, it's some hippie post-apocalyptic nonsensical rantage. But it is lyrical, and sweet, and good.
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated