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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This book gets 5 stars simply because of engulfing the writing is. I couldn't put it down, and not because it's so action packed and intense, but because I was in Sean's head and invested.
However, I finished this book with quite a bit of confusion. I'm wondering if that was intended, because of his brain injury? He stated more than once he gets facts mixed up when he remembers things. I had thought the accident was truly and accident when he was like 11, then he overdosed at age 17. I guess that's not true???
The biggest confusion was why? Why did he do it? I mean I know his head was disturbed but he stated he loved his life, then he goes and fingers a girl he likes, then comes home contemplates killing his parents but settles for suicide??
If anyone reads this and saw answers to these feel free to enlighten me. :)
However, I finished this book with quite a bit of confusion. I'm wondering if that was intended, because of his brain injury? He stated more than once he gets facts mixed up when he remembers things. I had thought the accident was truly and accident when he was like 11, then he overdosed at age 17. I guess that's not true???
The biggest confusion was why? Why did he do it? I mean I know his head was disturbed but he stated he loved his life, then he goes and fingers a girl he likes, then comes home contemplates killing his parents but settles for suicide??
If anyone reads this and saw answers to these feel free to enlighten me. :)
“I had come through the day no worse off than I’d come into it, which, as I have been telling myself for many years now, is a victory whether it feels like one or not.”
As soon as I saw that John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats had written a book, I knew I’d read it. I just didn’t know if I’d like it. The Mountain Goats are something of an acquired taste, and even if you enjoy the music, you probably don’t necessarily want to listen to it all the time. Sean Phillips is a gamer and a fantasy fiction lover, of which I am neither. In fact, the first chapter is fantasy-heavy, which made me worried that I would struggle to get through the book at all.
To say that I enjoyed the book would be incorrect – it didn’t make me feel good - but I connected with it thoroughly. It touched me the same way that a Darren Aranofsky films touch me, which is a compliment. Both shine a light on the dark places in our minds. Sean lives on the other side of where most of us would draw a line; Darnielle manages to tell his story with both objectivity and empathy. This is definitely not a book that everyone will “enjoy”, but I recommend it whole-heartedly, with one caveat. Major reviews have given away a significant piece of information about Sean, but if you can read the book without knowing it, I think it would be much more affecting to learn about Sean as the story unfolds.
As soon as I saw that John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats had written a book, I knew I’d read it. I just didn’t know if I’d like it. The Mountain Goats are something of an acquired taste, and even if you enjoy the music, you probably don’t necessarily want to listen to it all the time. Sean Phillips is a gamer and a fantasy fiction lover, of which I am neither. In fact, the first chapter is fantasy-heavy, which made me worried that I would struggle to get through the book at all.
To say that I enjoyed the book would be incorrect – it didn’t make me feel good - but I connected with it thoroughly. It touched me the same way that a Darren Aranofsky films touch me, which is a compliment. Both shine a light on the dark places in our minds. Sean lives on the other side of where most of us would draw a line; Darnielle manages to tell his story with both objectivity and empathy. This is definitely not a book that everyone will “enjoy”, but I recommend it whole-heartedly, with one caveat. Major reviews have given away a significant piece of information about Sean, but if you can read the book without knowing it, I think it would be much more affecting to learn about Sean as the story unfolds.
Decidedly more complex than I walked into the book expecting it to be. I read this in the middle of a string of twisty, surprise-laden novels, and with the chronological jumps that the story undertakes I led myself to believe that this would fall into that camp. But the book is much more a rumination on what it's like to be apart from others, and to feel every inch of that distance. I think it's a really fascinating study of a character and what makes him tick, even if he doesn't always understand it himself. Really a great surprise from Darnielle, but someone who can craft the characters he does in song can do it just as well on the page
The sign has come, a falling star.
Like love, a purple sky.
They'll never wonder where you are.
I'm so lonesome I could cry. - The Mountain Goats.
Wolf In White Van by John Darnielle was a good but disturbing book. Its writing style is somewhat stream-of-consciousness-heavy in its lyrical writing. The non-linear narrative always keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Narrated by Sean, a young man whose face has been partially destroyed by an 'accident' at 17. Sean makes his living through a role-playing game by correspondence that he devised during his recovery. Called Trace Italian & set in a post-apocalyptic America, it's played by the readers of comic books & science-fiction magazines who pay a subscription fee & receive each step in the game by post, mailing their choices for the next move back to Sean in an attempt to reach the game's ultimate goal, a secretly-located haven for survivors.
The descriptions in this book are fantastic; they give a sense of anticipation & horror within the authentic narratives of mundane, everyday life. It's a concise novel, but it smartly speaks many themes that permeate modern-day life, such as loneliness, how we retreat into invented worlds to make sense of our existence & how sometimes we do things & we cannot ultimately explain why.
Like love, a purple sky.
They'll never wonder where you are.
I'm so lonesome I could cry. - The Mountain Goats.
Wolf In White Van by John Darnielle was a good but disturbing book. Its writing style is somewhat stream-of-consciousness-heavy in its lyrical writing. The non-linear narrative always keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Narrated by Sean, a young man whose face has been partially destroyed by an 'accident' at 17. Sean makes his living through a role-playing game by correspondence that he devised during his recovery. Called Trace Italian & set in a post-apocalyptic America, it's played by the readers of comic books & science-fiction magazines who pay a subscription fee & receive each step in the game by post, mailing their choices for the next move back to Sean in an attempt to reach the game's ultimate goal, a secretly-located haven for survivors.
The descriptions in this book are fantastic; they give a sense of anticipation & horror within the authentic narratives of mundane, everyday life. It's a concise novel, but it smartly speaks many themes that permeate modern-day life, such as loneliness, how we retreat into invented worlds to make sense of our existence & how sometimes we do things & we cannot ultimately explain why.
Listened to this one on audio. I’m not sure if that’s what caused me to get lost or not. Maybe it was too high brow subject matter for me but the story lines never connected in my eyes. Why include the plot about the kids if that never gets solved? I’m still so confused by this book.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
GAH DANG
Okay wow. This book takes you on a ride that you don't even realize you're riding until you're literally at the peak. Then you get thrown downhill with no warning and you have to grab on tight.
John Darnielle mastered the backwards-timeline technique so effectively that I sometimes wondered if this book was actually already in the right order. There's something about Sean's character and his slow revealing of information that makes you feel like you know him more and less with every page. As the novel winds up to the major event, Sean notices and comments on so many things that it makes you wonder if all of this was meant to happen. I get the feeling that Sean is playing a version of Trace Italian where he is the player but he does not get to decide his moves.
I mean the sense of eventuality, the idea that this was meant to happen, even though it already had but it felt like it hadn't, was so masterfully achieved. I can't stop thinking about the structure of this book.
It slows down a little towards the middle, which is natural, but I was so greedy for information that I couldn't stop turning pages anyway. My jaw was dropped for the last fifteen pages.
Good writing, good storytelling, good concept. Great novel.
Okay wow. This book takes you on a ride that you don't even realize you're riding until you're literally at the peak. Then you get thrown downhill with no warning and you have to grab on tight.
John Darnielle mastered the backwards-timeline technique so effectively that I sometimes wondered if this book was actually already in the right order. There's something about Sean's character and his slow revealing of information that makes you feel like you know him more and less with every page. As the novel winds up to the major event, Sean notices and comments on so many things that it makes you wonder if all of this was meant to happen. I get the feeling that Sean is playing a version of Trace Italian where he is the player but he does not get to decide his moves.
I mean the sense of eventuality, the idea that this was meant to happen, even though it already had but it felt like it hadn't, was so masterfully achieved. I can't stop thinking about the structure of this book.
It slows down a little towards the middle, which is natural, but I was so greedy for information that I couldn't stop turning pages anyway. My jaw was dropped for the last fifteen pages.
Good writing, good storytelling, good concept. Great novel.
Found all the bits about Trace Italian super interesting but (despite everything) the protagonist not-so-interesting, and could have easily stopped reading at any point until about a third of the way through. Was pretty sucker-punched by the ending though, not because there was a twist or anything but because it was just very sad.
You know, I like a good oddball book. I wanted this to be a good oddball book, because it’s truly a strange plot, but it just didn’t do it for me.
Told essentially in reverse, but you know the end the entire time, so it just kind of… happens… instead of crescendoing.
It never went too deep into any of its characters. Maybe on purpose, but it made it hard to get into.
Told essentially in reverse, but you know the end the entire time, so it just kind of… happens… instead of crescendoing.
It never went too deep into any of its characters. Maybe on purpose, but it made it hard to get into.