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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I feel like this book was written by someone who loved the mountain goats and was trying to write like they think John Darnielle would. It seems too dramatic, and too depressing. Loving Darnielle and the mountain goats as much as I do just left me a little unimpressed at the apparent lack of effort that John put into his book. I would have liked to have seen some sort of ground breaking effort on the part of Darnielle in this book, but it seemed to carry the same style, and feeling as many of his songs, but made into a slow moving book.
*I did like that The Mountain Goats song "you were cool" got stuck in my head almost every time I cracked the book open.
*I did like that The Mountain Goats song "you were cool" got stuck in my head almost every time I cracked the book open.
I know everyone who reviews this loves it and says it's genius. Maybe you have to like dark stories. Maybe you have to be a video game nerd. I'm not sure. I appreciated the book but I didn't like it. If I can escape in a book, I don't want one about a character so twisted.
Good. I enjoyed reading it, but I don't really like the protagonist. In reading it, I told others that there seemed to be two strands to the book: the mundane life of our hero and his introspective/nigh-omniscient perspective of things. The former I disliked, and the latter I enjoyed. I think, ultimately, the Trace Italian could have saved me. But it didn't. It doesn't really save anyone, though, so perhaps that's the truth beyond all truths. (I'm sorry to my friends who love John Darnielle; I don't deserve your love anymore).
I'm putting this behind a spoiler shield, but not going to reveal much. This is the story of a psychologically messed up person, who also ends up in an accident. You may want it to be explained some other way, but it is not. The other thing is that it is written in a style that isn't as poetic or pretty as it needs to be to carry off the conceit the author is trying to carry off. Not a terrible read, but not a great one.
I couldn't put this down. It's exactly the kind of novel you would imagine JD would write, if you have listened to his music. I read it just after it came out, the week my grandmother died, when I needed a distraction of just this kind.
Read it.
Read it.
Incredible book that trudges into the darkness and finds..
Be warned!
Be warned!
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual content