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sonnetson's review
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are about 250 pages in here that are some of the best prose I have ever read. The rest is a mixed bag, from uniniteresting, to confusing and frustrating, to pretty damn good. Overall, I felt like I'd never read anything quite like this before. Kaufman said he wanted to make something that would be impossible to make into a movie, but I think he also made an impossible novel. It's flawed and brilliant, obsessive and redundant. It's a contradiction. I had to push myself to finish a couple times, but I'm glad I did. And I'm glad this novel exists—I just don't know if I can ever read it again.
Something else I will say is that Kaufman's knowledge of literature is astounding. The reference material he pulls from (that is Kaufman the author, not B. the pedantic critic) is suprisingly vast and textured at times. There were also moments throughout, especially in the early part, where I felt like he was fucking with me in the act of reading the book—not just expectations but the actual process of reading. I've never experienced anything quite like it; these two things alone are worth reading for.
Something else I will say is that Kaufman's knowledge of literature is astounding. The reference material he pulls from (that is Kaufman the author, not B. the pedantic critic) is suprisingly vast and textured at times. There were also moments throughout, especially in the early part, where I felt like he was fucking with me in the act of reading the book—not just expectations but the actual process of reading. I've never experienced anything quite like it; these two things alone are worth reading for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Racism
gergen's review against another edition
5.0
Genuinely one of the best books I've ever read. The rampant desire to be un-filmable is potent, pungent, and delightfully devilish. I still think about every storyline at times.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Yeah, I liked this book. At times I hated it, but now that I am done. I can see that I actually liked it.
I hated B. Rosenberger Rosenberg. I hated B. Rosenberger Rosenberg with a passion. B. is the sort of person who works too hard to be holier-than-thou while genuinely believing that they are humble and empathetic and I just could not handle it. There are two reasons I kept reading. The first is that I love most of Kaufman's movies and I trusted that the journey would be worth it. (Even if B. Rosenberger Rosenberg--in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge way--disdains Kaufman and his oeuvre. The second is that it reminded me of [a:Tom McCarthy|30757|Tom McCarthy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459588677p2/30757.jpg]'s [b:Remainder|101334|Remainder|Tom McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412059487l/101334._SY75_.jpg|515722], a superior work (perhaps because of its comparative brevity) of another man obsessed with recreating a memory.
I hated B. Rosenberger Rosenberg. I hated B. Rosenberger Rosenberg with a passion. B. is the sort of person who works too hard to be holier-than-thou while genuinely believing that they are humble and empathetic and I just could not handle it. There are two reasons I kept reading. The first is that I love most of Kaufman's movies and I trusted that the journey would be worth it. (Even if B. Rosenberger Rosenberg--in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge way--disdains Kaufman and his oeuvre. The second is that it reminded me of [a:Tom McCarthy|30757|Tom McCarthy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459588677p2/30757.jpg]'s [b:Remainder|101334|Remainder|Tom McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412059487l/101334._SY75_.jpg|515722], a superior work (perhaps because of its comparative brevity) of another man obsessed with recreating a memory.
bobrodgerunners's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
clivota's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, wow.
This has been an incredible and endlessly amusing journey into Kaufman's stream of consciousness meets continuous self-awareness, cutting edge literary technology, firm and cheeky tongues, obscure references galore, a satirical socio-political commentary on anything and everything and some bloviation to glue them together.
It took me a year but this one was well worth the read, especially as a fan of most of his past endeavours.
This has been an incredible and endlessly amusing journey into Kaufman's stream of consciousness meets continuous self-awareness, cutting edge literary technology, firm and cheeky tongues, obscure references galore, a satirical socio-political commentary on anything and everything and some bloviation to glue them together.
It took me a year but this one was well worth the read, especially as a fan of most of his past endeavours.
annaha99's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
samgray's review against another edition
4.0
"No more flag-planting...From this day on, I will submit to great art. Let it eviserate me..."
I'm addicted to long books now, help!
I'm addicted to long books now, help!
liyanakamar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The entire two weeks I spent reading this felt like a fever dream in the best way.
Charlie Kaufman's debut novel follows B. Rosenberger Rosenberg, the most neurotic, self-centered, 'ultra-woke' man in existence. His only crime? Being a straight white man. B. discovers a previously unseen three-month-long stop-motion film. He decides to share this film with the entire world, but it is destroyed, except for a single frame. The rest of the novel follows B.'s attempts to recover this film entirely from memory.
Charlie Kaufman's debut novel follows B. Rosenberger Rosenberg, the most neurotic, self-centered, 'ultra-woke' man in existence. His only crime? Being a straight white man. B. discovers a previously unseen three-month-long stop-motion film. He decides to share this film with the entire world, but it is destroyed, except for a single frame. The rest of the novel follows B.'s attempts to recover this film entirely from memory.
evilbjork's review
4.0
AnTkind is Kaurfman's ultimate expression of self wankery in a career full of nothing but that, so for a fan of his like me, I loved it. It's as much of a self-aware meta-comedy as Adaptation and it goes way further into surrealism than even Synecdoche New York could have. Out of the 720 pages, there are easily 300 pages that could have been cut out considering they have little to do with the plot or theme, and they contain plotlines that don't even pay off. With that in mind, it's pretty obvious that this book is specifically for fans of Kaufman's humor and meta storytelling. It's a bloated, nonsensical mess, and a fun read.