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foofers1622's review against another edition
3.0
A must read if you are into acting. I listened to this one which was great since James was reading it. Strange short stories but then again it's what James does best.
chlosophis's review against another edition
1.0
Nooooooo! I defended Palo Alto with my soul, and I have been let dowwnnnn.
Alright, straight up. The text really only connects with a certain breed of reader - namely, Actors/ movie people. I consider myself a well-to-do movie buff and I could not care about any of the characters. But really, I tried.
It was much easier to emotionally connect with Palo Alto because, who hasn't been an angry teenager? I don't work in the movies, I don't know any actors, so I care very little about the philosophical ramblings of acting, Hollywood and celebrity.
Franco's writing is actually quite good in AA, nothing ground breaking, but he retains a dry simplicity that reads well. The thing that weirded me out was the form... Is this a novel? Parts felt a little self-indulgent, like Franco has taken small interesting things from his career or things he's heard from other actors, dramatized and fictionalize these moments and crafted a story to project an image he wants to be seen as in the public eye. He also takes the luxury of bringing up old dirt the media dished on him, like falling asleep in class, professors being fired etc... this all felt a little tacky, but I understand what he was trying to say about celebrity blah blah blah blah blah - this is the 21st Century, we worship celebrity but we don't CARE about it.
The annoying thing is (and this really frustrates me) you can see Franco has IDEAS, like really good IDEAS, but he can only execute them through what he knows (being young, being an actor) - he actually half-heartedly mentions this in the text. He says he doesn't know anything about sci-fi etc, but he knows about literature. It's okay to write a novel about nothing but a guy walking around (Henry Miller/ Albert Camus/ the entire Beat generation) Hollywood making observations and stating his ideas with minimal plot - and I think to a certain extend, this IS what Franco is trying to do. But he's missing the single dominant character who we identify with and who's ideas we care about - unless that character is the author, but here is where he falls into the self indulgent trap. Poor guy, he would have been better writing an autobiography, or (ironically) publishing this book anonymously.
Alright, straight up. The text really only connects with a certain breed of reader - namely, Actors/ movie people. I consider myself a well-to-do movie buff and I could not care about any of the characters. But really, I tried.
It was much easier to emotionally connect with Palo Alto because, who hasn't been an angry teenager? I don't work in the movies, I don't know any actors, so I care very little about the philosophical ramblings of acting, Hollywood and celebrity.
Franco's writing is actually quite good in AA, nothing ground breaking, but he retains a dry simplicity that reads well. The thing that weirded me out was the form... Is this a novel? Parts felt a little self-indulgent, like Franco has taken small interesting things from his career or things he's heard from other actors, dramatized and fictionalize these moments and crafted a story to project an image he wants to be seen as in the public eye. He also takes the luxury of bringing up old dirt the media dished on him, like falling asleep in class, professors being fired etc... this all felt a little tacky, but I understand what he was trying to say about celebrity blah blah blah blah blah - this is the 21st Century, we worship celebrity but we don't CARE about it.
The annoying thing is (and this really frustrates me) you can see Franco has IDEAS, like really good IDEAS, but he can only execute them through what he knows (being young, being an actor) - he actually half-heartedly mentions this in the text. He says he doesn't know anything about sci-fi etc, but he knows about literature. It's okay to write a novel about nothing but a guy walking around (Henry Miller/ Albert Camus/ the entire Beat generation) Hollywood making observations and stating his ideas with minimal plot - and I think to a certain extend, this IS what Franco is trying to do. But he's missing the single dominant character who we identify with and who's ideas we care about - unless that character is the author, but here is where he falls into the self indulgent trap. Poor guy, he would have been better writing an autobiography, or (ironically) publishing this book anonymously.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
Just glad that it is over and I don't have to listen anymore!
librarylapin's review against another edition
1.0
I was so disappointed by this book. I am a fan of James Franco's acting, namely his portrayal of Ginsberg, but one talent doesn't necessarily give way to another. This book was a joke on the reader, a con. The best I can hope for is that this was his version of performance art and he was critiquing everything he wrote in society. Either way he is putting out homophobic misogynistic writing into the universe and I have lost a lot of respect for him. I love memoirs and if he would have written one and called it that I would have had more sympathy for life experiences even though all of the "characters" in this book are horrible. There is nothing likable about any of them. The only female character is a girl who lost her virginity to James Franco and talks about how much she worships him. Aside from socially being a terrible book, it is also horribly written. It is a group of short stories that try to be meta by intertwining with the actors actual narrative. You are introduced with a character and then in the next chapter James is talking about James. The use of the character "THE ACTOR" is particularly egotistical with another character obsessing over living in his apartment and finding pieces of his journal. There is a random argument with a magazine thrown in the middle for no apparent reason. This book has no depth. The best part of the book was a snippet in which a professor tells one of the characters (I assuming Franco himself) how horrible the writing is and how the book has no rhyme or reason. He should have taken the advice.
By far the worst book I have read all year.
By far the worst book I have read all year.
kade_spade's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I DNFed this book twice years ago, but I finally shoved through it to get it off my shelf and into the trash. I would never throw a book away, always pass it on. However, this book is criminal and will go in the trash immediately. This book and Franco are grotesque, narcissistic, and delusional. This isn’t “art” or “experimental” or even “pushing boundaries”. It reads as if each stories is trying to up the criminal and shock factor of the last. These stories are supposed to be fictional but after everything we know about Franco now I’m not so sure. A truly deplorable book.
rmesquirrel's review against another edition
1.0
So glad it was free
So downloaded because James Franco's name was on it. Didn't realize it was a bunch of mostly poorly written stories. One which **spoiler** is written about how the chick lost her virginity to Franco. Which is how she probably got her story in the book.
So downloaded because James Franco's name was on it. Didn't realize it was a bunch of mostly poorly written stories. One which **spoiler** is written about how the chick lost her virginity to Franco. Which is how she probably got her story in the book.
elleunchained's review against another edition
3.0
Part of me wants to say 5 stars, part of me wants to say 1 star. Definitely artsy and experimental, and not very cohesive.
rockette8's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't finish this. Terrible. Don't waste your time.
edarcys's review against another edition
3.0
It felt like a Tucker Max book combined with the movie Se7en. Part offensively puerile, part oddly touching, all disjointed and confusing. Eventually you find out what brings the unconnected stories - somewhat - together. That being said, it is artistic and intelligent...dreck.