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carolyn0613's review against another edition
1.0
This book was not for me. I found it very confusing and hard to get into, I had no idea what was going on and cared even less. I gave up reading it.
readrumm's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into it, maybe one day but that day isn't today.
debtat2's review against another edition
3.0
I never realised before reading this book that the plot is pretty heavily autobiographical, that Flanagan ghost wrote a memoir of a famous conman in the 1990s.
It certainly adds a new dimension to the story!
It is an intriguing, interesting read that i am still undecided upon. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No
This is one you will have to make your own minds up about!
It certainly adds a new dimension to the story!
It is an intriguing, interesting read that i am still undecided upon. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No
This is one you will have to make your own minds up about!
aubergenie_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
cjt64's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
essjay1's review against another edition
5.0
What is the truth? How does the truth affect freedom? Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of movement, personal freedoms such as the right to privacy ... Have we allowed big corporations too much access to our lives in exchange for a few conveniences? At what point will we have no choice in signing up, having our movements tracked?
A thought provoking and interesting book. I really enjoyed it. This book is definitely a novel for our times. So apt when we see lawmakers and governments legislating based on fear rather than long term strategy.
Flanagan is able to distil complex ideas into satire, while never leaving the reader in any doubt: this is not a joke. It's a reflection on the emptiness of "the pursuit of happiness", the way we moronically follow "influencers" and allow our thoughts and lives to be manipulated without stopping to question what we are giving up. The fact that we even have such a thing as an "influencer" is hilarious and horrific at the same time.
Funny in parts, although mostly terrifying. What is truth? Is this a memoir or not? By incorporating parts of his own history, especially at the beginning, Flanagan tries to rattle our cage and asks us to take a good long look at what is going on in the world today. The book can be tedious at times too - there is only so much of Kif's craziness we can take without wanting to slap him, but again, without these long passages would we understand his confusion, how out of depth he feels in this situation and in his life. The layout of my copy (a first edition hard cover) is printed in quite large font, big side margins, lots of white space - just like the book finally produced by Kif in the novel.
I was so reminded of George Orwell that I downloaded and read Dennis Glover's "The Last Man in Europe" as a kind of companion read, and I can thoroughly recommend this. Orwell asks many of the same questions, especially after his time in Spain fighting Franco when he realised that communism and fascism were equally bad, and the democratic workers paradise he fought for was just as susceptible to corruption as any other ideology that suppressed individual thought and punished those who question.
A thought provoking and interesting book. I really enjoyed it. This book is definitely a novel for our times. So apt when we see lawmakers and governments legislating based on fear rather than long term strategy.
Flanagan is able to distil complex ideas into satire, while never leaving the reader in any doubt: this is not a joke. It's a reflection on the emptiness of "the pursuit of happiness", the way we moronically follow "influencers" and allow our thoughts and lives to be manipulated without stopping to question what we are giving up. The fact that we even have such a thing as an "influencer" is hilarious and horrific at the same time.
Funny in parts, although mostly terrifying. What is truth? Is this a memoir or not? By incorporating parts of his own history, especially at the beginning, Flanagan tries to rattle our cage and asks us to take a good long look at what is going on in the world today. The book can be tedious at times too - there is only so much of Kif's craziness we can take without wanting to slap him, but again, without these long passages would we understand his confusion, how out of depth he feels in this situation and in his life. The layout of my copy (a first edition hard cover) is printed in quite large font, big side margins, lots of white space - just like the book finally produced by Kif in the novel.
I was so reminded of George Orwell that I downloaded and read Dennis Glover's "The Last Man in Europe" as a kind of companion read, and I can thoroughly recommend this. Orwell asks many of the same questions, especially after his time in Spain fighting Franco when he realised that communism and fascism were equally bad, and the democratic workers paradise he fought for was just as susceptible to corruption as any other ideology that suppressed individual thought and punished those who question.
jesskvan's review against another edition
1.0
This book is dull. Nothing happens; most of the book is the protagonist talking about how nothing is happening and complaining about it. Even when one thing kind of happens, it’s not spoken about and you don’t actually find anything out.
The writing is over done and pretentious. The message I got is that the protagonist is a narcissist who acts as though things just happen to him without him intervening. Best way to describe this book: completely pointless.
The writing is over done and pretentious. The message I got is that the protagonist is a narcissist who acts as though things just happen to him without him intervening. Best way to describe this book: completely pointless.
smitchy's review against another edition
1.0
I have no doubt this is going to get short listed for various prizes but OMG I HATED IT!!!!!
I was skim reading by about halfway through and it was so wordy that I really had no trouble following the storyline (which moved at a %#&^@*snail's pace). By the end I was hoping for Kif to have a tragic (and PAINFUL!) demise. I was disappointed :(
Read this if you love "literature" for the sake of literature. Don't read it if you want likeable characters, a decent plot, or don't enjoy being depressed about the world in general.
I was skim reading by about halfway through and it was so wordy that I really had no trouble following the storyline (which moved at a %#&^@*snail's pace). By the end I was hoping for Kif to have a tragic (and PAINFUL!) demise. I was disappointed :(
Read this if you love "literature" for the sake of literature. Don't read it if you want likeable characters, a decent plot, or don't enjoy being depressed about the world in general.
growlcat's review against another edition
3.0
Not his best. Very introspective and takes quite a long time to say very little.