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meredith_gayle's review
The writing is difficult to understand. Nothing is happening. I am a character-driven reader, so I look for good character development. I didn't see any at all. The book only succeeded in boring and putting me to sleep.
ondrobondro's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little apprehensive about starting on this one, because a 27 volume series is something of an investment (especially at this page count), and I wasn't sure how I'd go if I ended up not enjoying it. Danielewski is one of my favourite authors, so I feared I might feel obligated to continue with it. But I'm pleased to say that I had a pretty great time with this book. It's good. Very good, actually.
Admittedly I found some of the subplots a little difficult - I can see that they'll intersect with the main story at some point, but I just found myself unable to care about most of them. Many of the plots are completely different genres, written in very different ways, which can be really difficult to switch your brain to. That being said all of the tricky sections are more than made up for by the main storyline of Xanther and her parents. The parent/child relationship is so beautifully defined and developed that it's difficult not to fall in love with the story, and for me that was enough to keep me interested.
So I'll be reading the next one in the series, certainly. From there, we'll see.
Admittedly I found some of the subplots a little difficult - I can see that they'll intersect with the main story at some point, but I just found myself unable to care about most of them. Many of the plots are completely different genres, written in very different ways, which can be really difficult to switch your brain to. That being said all of the tricky sections are more than made up for by the main storyline of Xanther and her parents. The parent/child relationship is so beautifully defined and developed that it's difficult not to fall in love with the story, and for me that was enough to keep me interested.
So I'll be reading the next one in the series, certainly. From there, we'll see.
scottjbaxter's review against another edition
4.0
Danielewski's book is not something one should attempt to summarize without a good amount of trepidation. The story has somthing like nine different narrrators, each with their own geographic location, time, font and typography as well as, at least in my opinion, colored tabs in the upper corners of the page to differentiate one from another. Truly difficult to imagine copy editing and typesetting the book. The book is definitely meant to be read in paper, not electronic form. Let me put my thoughts about the book so far in the form of favorite passages that I jotted down while reading.
Astair's "No question: no" didn't stop speculations about the risks inherent when turning to romances, grimoires*, something about a defiant lightbulb, the Bible, the Qur'an, books devoted to computers and game programming, Watchmen, American Psycho, Emily Dickinson (of all things!), even the I Ching made the list (Anwar (much to his dismay) was quoted incessantly: "Dad always says reading is risky business.") p. 257
*grimoires: from wikipedia: A grimoire is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets; how to perform magic spells; charms and divination; and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons.
There is also a now discontinued Linux distribution called Sorcerer. Instead of using acronyms such as rpm or dpkg, Sorcerer's tool terminolofy was based on magic words. For example, a recipe for downloading, compiling, and installing software is called a spell. The software catalog was called a grimoire.
"What does societal static mean?"
"signage, cellphones, web traffic, YouTube, the modern buzz of electronic alienation." p. 259
***
"You might say these graphics represent, in a way that's instantly quntifiable, the parametrics of code:...
"You lost me Dad."...
"Image subitizes language."
"Subitize?"
"Ah ha! Your word of the day!"...
"Subitize is easy, " Anwar continued. "It means to quantify without counting. So when you see a 5 or a 6 on the side of a dice you don't count the five or six dots individually but know at once the number." p. 346
***
A comic strip [without the drawings]
panel 1: A spoon crossed with a fork is a spork.
panel 2: Our lab has successfully crossed a spork with a spoon.
panel 3: With your funding, we could breed hybrids in proportions corresponding to any binary function.
spoon - - 1/8 - - 1/4 -- 1/2 - - 3/4 -- fork
fork-spoon spectrum
panel 4: "You're toying with powerful forces here."
"We know what we're doing." p. 374
***
There is a Czech writer whose work was extremely political but it was also so extremely convoluted it communicated nothing to anyone except himself and in that way, because he was the one writing it down, offered some personal exculpation for reporting crimes made by the state even if his reports failed to alert anyone to those crimes. I've said what matters, he seems to have shouted, but all that matters he had shouted in an unintelligible way. p. 403
***
No one remembers everything, which I assure you is a blessing. A memory of everything would be a curse [one day Borges.] p. 544
Here Danielewski is referring to Jorge Luis Borges' story "Funes the Memorious" in which, one day Funes falls off a horse and finds that he has perfect memory. Contrary to what one might at first think, perfect memory is a real problem. Funes is incapable of talking in generalizations, summarizing, or even using numbers like most people would.
***
As the old Narcons put it: "There is not space in the universe to the universe. Therein lies the peculiar beauty and sadness of stories: to tell it all without all at all." p. 566 (pages not number in this section of the book.)
***
To be born in a country is not to know a country until you've left your country. This applies to ideas and beliefs p. 610.
***
(In the course of writing her paper) Astair had come across The Lost Horizon Case (out of Kissimmee Florida (the woman in question referred to as K.)). K. had purchased a Powerball ticket with sizable winnings at stake (over $300 million). (when the numbers were announced) K. saw that every number she had picked (according to meticulous reasons and noted omens and signs (from death dates to license plates)) was a match and her life had forever changed (and it had).
(furthermore upon presenting her winning ticket ) K. saw how every winning number she'd read off was echoed by the same winning number announced by lottery officials (and yet her ticket was declared ineligible for the prize). K.'s confusion escalated to aggression until on-hand security (and finally officers (of the peace)) were called upon to remove her from the premises.
In fact it took K. months before she could see (correctly) the numbers on the (losing) ticket (which she still held in her possession (greasy, crumpled, intcat:. intact.:)). Her desire to win (rooted in a neurotic disposition toward denial) had created a hallucination so strong that the numeric order she had summoned (by both reason and whim) imposed its order on every announcement, publication, confirmation pertaining to those actual numbers drawn by the lottery committee.
In fact not even one of K.'s numbers matched the winning numbers. Her victory was entirely (and always (only)) in her mind p.675.
***
Astair's "No question: no" didn't stop speculations about the risks inherent when turning to romances, grimoires*, something about a defiant lightbulb, the Bible, the Qur'an, books devoted to computers and game programming, Watchmen, American Psycho, Emily Dickinson (of all things!), even the I Ching made the list (Anwar (much to his dismay) was quoted incessantly: "Dad always says reading is risky business.") p. 257
*grimoires: from wikipedia: A grimoire is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets; how to perform magic spells; charms and divination; and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons.
There is also a now discontinued Linux distribution called Sorcerer. Instead of using acronyms such as rpm or dpkg, Sorcerer's tool terminolofy was based on magic words. For example, a recipe for downloading, compiling, and installing software is called a spell. The software catalog was called a grimoire.
"What does societal static mean?"
"signage, cellphones, web traffic, YouTube, the modern buzz of electronic alienation." p. 259
***
"You might say these graphics represent, in a way that's instantly quntifiable, the parametrics of code:...
"You lost me Dad."...
"Image subitizes language."
"Subitize?"
"Ah ha! Your word of the day!"...
"Subitize is easy, " Anwar continued. "It means to quantify without counting. So when you see a 5 or a 6 on the side of a dice you don't count the five or six dots individually but know at once the number." p. 346
***
A comic strip [without the drawings]
panel 1: A spoon crossed with a fork is a spork.
panel 2: Our lab has successfully crossed a spork with a spoon.
panel 3: With your funding, we could breed hybrids in proportions corresponding to any binary function.
spoon - - 1/8 - - 1/4 -- 1/2 - - 3/4 -- fork
fork-spoon spectrum
panel 4: "You're toying with powerful forces here."
"We know what we're doing." p. 374
***
There is a Czech writer whose work was extremely political but it was also so extremely convoluted it communicated nothing to anyone except himself and in that way, because he was the one writing it down, offered some personal exculpation for reporting crimes made by the state even if his reports failed to alert anyone to those crimes. I've said what matters, he seems to have shouted, but all that matters he had shouted in an unintelligible way. p. 403
***
No one remembers everything, which I assure you is a blessing. A memory of everything would be a curse [one day Borges.] p. 544
Here Danielewski is referring to Jorge Luis Borges' story "Funes the Memorious" in which, one day Funes falls off a horse and finds that he has perfect memory. Contrary to what one might at first think, perfect memory is a real problem. Funes is incapable of talking in generalizations, summarizing, or even using numbers like most people would.
***
As the old Narcons put it: "There is not space in the universe to the universe. Therein lies the peculiar beauty and sadness of stories: to tell it all without all at all." p. 566 (pages not number in this section of the book.)
***
To be born in a country is not to know a country until you've left your country. This applies to ideas and beliefs p. 610.
***
(In the course of writing her paper) Astair had come across The Lost Horizon Case (out of Kissimmee Florida (the woman in question referred to as K.)). K. had purchased a Powerball ticket with sizable winnings at stake (over $300 million). (when the numbers were announced) K. saw that every number she had picked (according to meticulous reasons and noted omens and signs (from death dates to license plates)) was a match and her life had forever changed (and it had).
(furthermore upon presenting her winning ticket ) K. saw how every winning number she'd read off was echoed by the same winning number announced by lottery officials (and yet her ticket was declared ineligible for the prize). K.'s confusion escalated to aggression until on-hand security (and finally officers (of the peace)) were called upon to remove her from the premises.
In fact it took K. months before she could see (correctly) the numbers on the (losing) ticket (which she still held in her possession (greasy, crumpled, intcat:. intact.:)). Her desire to win (rooted in a neurotic disposition toward denial) had created a hallucination so strong that the numeric order she had summoned (by both reason and whim) imposed its order on every announcement, publication, confirmation pertaining to those actual numbers drawn by the lottery committee.
In fact not even one of K.'s numbers matched the winning numbers. Her victory was entirely (and always (only)) in her mind p.675.
***
nosfredatu's review against another edition
4.0
Beaucoup aimé, même si je suis loin d'avoir tout compris. L'aspect méta de la narration et de la mise en page est fascinant, mais ce n'est certainement pas une lecture pour tout le monde.
sixtythreecents's review against another edition
2.0
"...most experimental stuff is hellaciously unfun to read...it requires an amount of work on the part of the reader that's grotesquely disproportionate to its payoff." - DFW
While I'm not certain that "The Familiar: Vol. 1" would even qualify as the type of experimental literature to which Wallace is referring, I do think he'd have a similar reaction upon reading this book. The heavy-handed gimmick which permeates and in some ways defines Danielewski's style does little to enhance the narrative here, instead suffocating the few truly beautiful and affecting passages and making it difficult to want to continue.
I'll probably still read Volume 2, though.
While I'm not certain that "The Familiar: Vol. 1" would even qualify as the type of experimental literature to which Wallace is referring, I do think he'd have a similar reaction upon reading this book. The heavy-handed gimmick which permeates and in some ways defines Danielewski's style does little to enhance the narrative here, instead suffocating the few truly beautiful and affecting passages and making it difficult to want to continue.
I'll probably still read Volume 2, though.
aimeeverret's review against another edition
4.0
At first I was like: "OK, let's give it a try". Halfway through, I thought "Fuck that, I'm never reading 27 of these". (English not being my first language, it takes me quite some time.) Now that I'm done, I know I'm going to buy #2. I'm still game.
I was really caught up in Anwar-Astair-Xanther's story. Others seemed less interesting (Luther and his gang bored me) or hard to understand (jingjing). I liked Shnorhk, the oddball, and Ozgur the detective. The other ones didn't leave me a lasting impression.
Overall I feel that I'd rather read only the parts that compel me. So I'm curious to see how everything will pan out and if the links will appear soon enough for me to go all the way.
I was really caught up in Anwar-Astair-Xanther's story. Others seemed less interesting (Luther and his gang bored me) or hard to understand (jingjing). I liked Shnorhk, the oddball, and Ozgur the detective. The other ones didn't leave me a lasting impression.
Overall I feel that I'd rather read only the parts that compel me. So I'm curious to see how everything will pan out and if the links will appear soon enough for me to go all the way.
cyhwuhx's review against another edition
4.0
No thinkings, only feelings. And boy, are there many feelings.
naydene00's review against another edition
5.0
What a strange and wonderful experience this book is. Thanks to Carmen for the recommendation. I don't think I would have found this without you. I very much enjoyed this book.
adamchalmers's review against another edition
4.0
Let's get this out of the way: not as good as House of Leaves. No way. It has all the MZD trappings - the typography, colors, text all over the page, images - it's possibly more elaborate than House of Leaves. But the story doesn't hold up nearly as much. There's 9 different characters with their own chapters, and you only really care about 3.
And yet.
Somehow I couldn't put it down. I wanted to - I thought 'this is getting kinda boring' a number of times, but I still kept reading. Because I guess TF1 is a promise about the rest of the series. It's an introduction. Just setting up the stage.
Ultimately I can't recommend it yet - not until I know if the rest of the series keeps the promise made in TF1. But if you're already a MZD fan, then you may as well get started. Personally, I don't care if TF turns out good or bad. I just want it to be interesting. So I'll buy TF2 and probably 3, and we'll see if this goes anywhere.
And yet.
Somehow I couldn't put it down. I wanted to - I thought 'this is getting kinda boring' a number of times, but I still kept reading. Because I guess TF1 is a promise about the rest of the series. It's an introduction. Just setting up the stage.
Ultimately I can't recommend it yet - not until I know if the rest of the series keeps the promise made in TF1. But if you're already a MZD fan, then you may as well get started. Personally, I don't care if TF turns out good or bad. I just want it to be interesting. So I'll buy TF2 and probably 3, and we'll see if this goes anywhere.
adrian_bubie's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up after finishing House of Leaves last year, looking for something similarly creepy, complex and weird. The Familiar has at least some of the third - but not in abundance, or at least, not in a way that makes you want to read further. The pace of this book is very slow; exacerbated I think by the myriad of characters who, if the story had focused on one in particular, could have created an interesting narrative, but instead jumps back and forth at seemingly arbitrary points to create a disconnected mess.
The use of text styles and font manipulation, which was used to great effectiveness in Danielewski's other work, also disappointed me. There WERE interesting and meaningful uses on occasion, adding emphasis or helping to literally "paint a picture with words", but otherwise it did not add anything to the story and felt almost forced. I would have much rather seen it used more infrequently to help highlight the important parts of the book than see it used on almost every page until it becomes almost mundane.
The book is not all bad though, and to give it some credit, it is the 1st of 27 volumes, so much of the groundwork for the full 'meat' of the story has to be laid out here. And setting up the characters is not always the most interesting thing (though in this case, some characters like the Detective Ozman and Xanther's familiy were a pleasure to learn about). Though there is no unifying thread yet, all the individual pieces have some driving force that keep it from feeling like a waiting game of "when is X going to meet Y?". Especially near the end, there are some strange and creepy revelations that will reward those who see this book to its conclusion -- Let's just hope the second volume can speed up the action.
Final thoughts: would not re-read or recommend to someone unless they have read Danielewski before; will try out the second volume, though.
The use of text styles and font manipulation, which was used to great effectiveness in Danielewski's other work, also disappointed me. There WERE interesting and meaningful uses on occasion, adding emphasis or helping to literally "paint a picture with words", but otherwise it did not add anything to the story and felt almost forced. I would have much rather seen it used more infrequently to help highlight the important parts of the book than see it used on almost every page until it becomes almost mundane.
The book is not all bad though, and to give it some credit, it is the 1st of 27 volumes, so much of the groundwork for the full 'meat' of the story has to be laid out here. And setting up the characters is not always the most interesting thing (though in this case, some characters like the Detective Ozman and Xanther's familiy were a pleasure to learn about). Though there is no unifying thread yet, all the individual pieces have some driving force that keep it from feeling like a waiting game of "when is X going to meet Y?". Especially near the end, there are some strange and creepy revelations that will reward those who see this book to its conclusion -- Let's just hope the second volume can speed up the action.
Final thoughts: would not re-read or recommend to someone unless they have read Danielewski before; will try out the second volume, though.