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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
What the actual fuck is this book? What a waste of time. Why won't GoodReads let me give 0 stars for the longest 200 pages I've ever read?
This was a difficult book to wrap my head around. I am not sure I really "get it" now that I am finished. The ending left me feeling sad, because all throughout the book I really liked Sean. I felt sorry for him, because SOMETHING happened to him that screwed up his life forever. We knew sort of knew what it was, but the final chapter revealed a darkness that I didn't want to find.
Going to keep this really vague to avoid going into spoiler territory. There are parts of this that are absolutely brilliant - even hauntingly brilliant. There are other parts that are excessively meandering, and it’s a relatively short book to begin with. Darnielle made some bold moves in covering such difficult subject matter in his debut novel, and then choosing to tell the story backwards. I seriously think that one could reverse the order of the chapters and not only would the story still make sense, but it would have a very different feel to it. It would be an emotional ascent rather than a descent. I debated between 2-3 stars - I’d really like to call it a 2.5. It’s not a bad book, but overall it was to me just an okay read. I’d like to attribute the shortcomings to this being a debut novel. Still, there’s enough stuff that I liked in Darnielle’s writing that I’m going to give [b:Universal Harvester|29939268|Universal Harvester|John Darnielle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470068841l/29939268._SY75_.jpg|50329879] a try.
If someone can explain the point of this book to me, I'd be open to discussion. Otherwise....
It’s beyond rude that John Darnielle is as good at writing novels as he is writing music. This book is heavy, but not burdensome and not in a way that feels exploitative or sensational. The structure of the book requires some close reading, but you’re greatly rewarded for it.
This is a great refutation of the “rock music is the devil that causes teen deviance and mass murder” trope, but not in a dismissive way. The main character is transfixed by the brutality of Conan the Barbarian (and later, in the best sequence in the book, entranced by backmasking, or supposed secret messages from the devil found in music played backwards), but is constantly battling with how he reacts to it, not just blindly accepting the rage. At its core, this is a book about escapism as a salve for trauma but, critically, as not the solution, and it does so deftly, doing nothing to bely that this is Darnielle’s first fiction novel.
This is a great refutation of the “rock music is the devil that causes teen deviance and mass murder” trope, but not in a dismissive way. The main character is transfixed by the brutality of Conan the Barbarian (and later, in the best sequence in the book, entranced by backmasking, or supposed secret messages from the devil found in music played backwards), but is constantly battling with how he reacts to it, not just blindly accepting the rage. At its core, this is a book about escapism as a salve for trauma but, critically, as not the solution, and it does so deftly, doing nothing to bely that this is Darnielle’s first fiction novel.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
2.5 rounded up. This book has promise and interesting sections, but felt like the plot lines never tied together or finished. The ending felt abrupt and meandering to get to. Some of the writing was beautiful but other sections felt “writerly” and tedious. Interested in giving the author another chance but could see myself DNF’ing the next book.