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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
TW for attempted suicide
This book will haunt me. It was beautiful and sad but not depressing. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which was read by the author. I will be buying this one in paperback.
This book will haunt me. It was beautiful and sad but not depressing. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which was read by the author. I will be buying this one in paperback.
I enjoyed the book and the author’s way of slowly letting the reader in on the details that led to the present. That being said, I was left feeling like there was something missing from the story that I can’t quite place. I wasn’t completely invested in the main character and his motivation.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s not my kind of story but I can see many loving this unique emotional journey.
I had a challenging time with the lack of linear story telling and found it was a struggling know what voice he was giving what characters.
I had a challenging time with the lack of linear story telling and found it was a struggling know what voice he was giving what characters.
Wolf in White Van was engrossing while inviting analysis, reflection, and rereading. The writing was well done, with descriptive prose and effective metaphors and similes. The structure was also fairly tight with little extraneous detail and efficient storytelling.
However, there are some interesting conundrums that this work presents:
1. Much of the affect of the plot is derived from the structure. The story is told in such a way that each chapter is basically a preceding set of events. This raises the question, if told in straight chronological order, would the story be as effective? If not, is the effectiveness of this story a result of a gimmicky structure? If so, is that a bad thing?
2. Does a male white protagonist brought up in middle America, with a fairly stable home life and enough free time to ponder life to the point of nihilism that allows him to make choices just because he can, deserve anyone's sympathy or least bit of interest?
Things that kept me interested:
• The story is told in reverse in that each chapter takes a step back in time from events of the previous chapter. The chapters also contain flashbacks, which creates a doubling effect of looking into the past. This actually serves to mimic the inspiration of the book title, which has to do with playing rock records backwards and the crazy, unintended sounds that can be even more wildly interpreted than the forward playing version.
• Wolf in White Van will make you think about memory, perceptions and human existence regardless of your feelings about the story and protagonist
• I love the resonance of the title, its explanation, and how this is woven through the Trace Italian and the actual deeds of the protagonist.
While this begs to be reread, I probably won't take to time to do so. This would have appealed to me much more in my late-teens to early twenties when I hadn't yet decided I didn't like Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo. Overall, it's worth a read and the story is definitely served by its brevity. I wouldn't advise paying money here, but adding it to the wait list on Overdrive was a good move.
However, there are some interesting conundrums that this work presents:
1. Much of the affect of the plot is derived from the structure. The story is told in such a way that each chapter is basically a preceding set of events. This raises the question, if told in straight chronological order, would the story be as effective? If not, is the effectiveness of this story a result of a gimmicky structure? If so, is that a bad thing?
2. Does a male white protagonist brought up in middle America, with a fairly stable home life and enough free time to ponder life to the point of nihilism that allows him to make choices just because he can, deserve anyone's sympathy or least bit of interest?
Things that kept me interested:
• The story is told in reverse in that each chapter takes a step back in time from events of the previous chapter. The chapters also contain flashbacks, which creates a doubling effect of looking into the past. This actually serves to mimic the inspiration of the book title, which has to do with playing rock records backwards and the crazy, unintended sounds that can be even more wildly interpreted than the forward playing version.
• Wolf in White Van will make you think about memory, perceptions and human existence regardless of your feelings about the story and protagonist
• I love the resonance of the title, its explanation, and how this is woven through the Trace Italian and the actual deeds of the protagonist.
While this begs to be reread, I probably won't take to time to do so. This would have appealed to me much more in my late-teens to early twenties when I hadn't yet decided I didn't like Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo. Overall, it's worth a read and the story is definitely served by its brevity. I wouldn't advise paying money here, but adding it to the wait list on Overdrive was a good move.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Most gorgeous book I've read so far this year. The yearning, the want for friendship, EUGH. A book that deserves to be read twice. I can't put to words how much reading this meant to me. This might not be for everyone, but it was definitely right for me, and I'm so glad this book was made
I cannot fathom why this book has such seemingly stellar reviews. It was taxing to read. It seems like the sort of book people would call "cerebral", only to disguise the fact that it made utterly no sense. I so wanted the story to be better than it was.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listened on audio
Not a huge fan of this book. To me the story was inconsistent...choppy...going back and forth between stories that I didn't always understand the connection too.
Also, to me, he had many more great stories that could have been written and he he chose the most boring story of the bunch.
Also, to me, he had many more great stories that could have been written and he he chose the most boring story of the bunch.