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tommooney's review against another edition
3.0
Harry Potter meets Richard Brautigan by way of Thomas Pynchon. Fucking mental.
Jim Dodge wrote one of my favourite novels, well a novella really, the brilliant, hilarious Fup. A story that works perfectly at its 100 or so pages. Take any 100 pages of Stone Junction and you get a similar feeling. Absurd, funny Brautigan-esque brilliance. And yet, somehow, the whole thing adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Maybe the craziness of the story and the shear breadth of the characters and locations starts to grate after a while. I'm not sure. Anyway, after an epic start, I grew a touch weary of it by the 2/3 Mark and it was a crawl to the finish. This is also the point at which some of the more fantastical elements hinted at earlier in the book come to the fore, so that may have had something to do with it.
BUT it is still a hell of a lot of fun. Some of the characters are wonderfully conceived and there are so, so many hilarious set pieces and brilliant throwaway lines. Despite the flaws it's well worth the read.
Jim Dodge wrote one of my favourite novels, well a novella really, the brilliant, hilarious Fup. A story that works perfectly at its 100 or so pages. Take any 100 pages of Stone Junction and you get a similar feeling. Absurd, funny Brautigan-esque brilliance. And yet, somehow, the whole thing adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Maybe the craziness of the story and the shear breadth of the characters and locations starts to grate after a while. I'm not sure. Anyway, after an epic start, I grew a touch weary of it by the 2/3 Mark and it was a crawl to the finish. This is also the point at which some of the more fantastical elements hinted at earlier in the book come to the fore, so that may have had something to do with it.
BUT it is still a hell of a lot of fun. Some of the characters are wonderfully conceived and there are so, so many hilarious set pieces and brilliant throwaway lines. Despite the flaws it's well worth the read.
freewaygods's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Reading Stone Junction is driving down the 101 with the top down, wind in your hair, radio blaring, a joint and a cigarette lit and hanging from your lips. It's a wild ride, it's fun and it’s poignant. The story of outlaws and magicians is fantastical, but it's also a human story of love and how we can teach and be taught. Like all of Jim Dodge's unfortunately slim bibliography, it's absolutely worth your time.
rosmona's review against another edition
4.0
Ritmo narrativo perfecto, personaxes envidiables, un sistema educativo tentador (mais analóxico). Notei, literalmente, cómo se me ralentizaba o corazón ó rematar - e cómo pesaba máis. Tamén se aprecia o intento de alonxarse do falogocentrismo, con personaxes femeninas fortes, fascinantes, independentes e case perfectamente libres (incluso da sociedade), pero queda niso: nun bo intento.
Desgraciadamente, falla a última parte toda, cando o narrador deixa de comunicarse eficazmente cun lector que agarda algo máis de realismo.
Desgraciadamente, falla a última parte toda, cando o narrador deixa de comunicarse eficazmente cun lector que agarda algo máis de realismo.
hannahbrennan's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
oedipa_maas's review against another edition
5.0
This may eventually bump up to 5, depending on how long it sticks with me. I mean, damn, what a tale. I didn't want it to end, but when it did, it made sense. Tons of fun.
Edit: 2021, ja it did stick with me. I recommend it to anyone who wants a crazy adventure tale.
Edit: 2021, ja it did stick with me. I recommend it to anyone who wants a crazy adventure tale.
rumast's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
wintermute314's review against another edition
Young boy is being trained by some sort of ancient secret society. Boy meets several weird characters, all social misfits, all with some special knowledge/ability. Of course the system is out to get them and several times they escape their enemies by a hair's breadth. Too many clichés. Halfway through the book I dropped out. I'm sure the boy will come of age, become a worthy member of the secret society and revenge his mother in due time. But I won't be around to read it.
obscene_jack's review against another edition
5.0
Rereading it was a wonderful experience, and it very clearly reminded me why Jim Doge is one of my favourite authors, even though Much Stone, Such Junction is not my favourite book written by him.
It just grabs you and drags you (with your permission, or possibly without) through itself, constantly surprising you, raining on you colourful people for whom you immediately open all the doors into your heart, a spirit of America so quirky and beautiful you can't help but fall in love with it, and things that are so right they make you want to cry.
This is a magical realist work, an alchemical thriller, a beautiful road book. This is a story from the man who knows a lot of things and knows how to tell them. This is a story about what's right, and what makes life worth living.
On the other hand, there's one thing that irks me a little.
It's clearly divided in the middle, and the parts don't exactly fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle you manage to insert into each other with a little force, and the picture just doesn't add up. When you look at the bare bones of the story in your head, it feels fine, but the execution lacks things. And nope, didn't guess, all the plotpoints are interesting and worthy, it's just it begs for more. In the first half of the book the protagonist is learning things, and then the thrillery fast-paced part comes in, and he just doesn't have enough space to use his multiple hard-earned skills. Some padding between the parts could have been an unnecessary distraction, but the situation the protagonist finds himself in just begs to come up with cargo ship loads of interesting things he could have been doing. If anything, it just undervalues the first part, making some awfully interesting things unnecessary to the story.
I partly wish this book made its way into the hands of some greedy tv producer, who would keep the original outline, but milk his new awesome show for additional episodes. Then it would get cancelled, like it happens with all the good shows, and the world would be heartbroken forever. Oh well, at least it'd still have the book.
It just grabs you and drags you (with your permission, or possibly without) through itself, constantly surprising you, raining on you colourful people for whom you immediately open all the doors into your heart, a spirit of America so quirky and beautiful you can't help but fall in love with it, and things that are so right they make you want to cry.
This is a magical realist work, an alchemical thriller, a beautiful road book. This is a story from the man who knows a lot of things and knows how to tell them. This is a story about what's right, and what makes life worth living.
On the other hand, there's one thing that irks me a little.
It's clearly divided in the middle, and the parts don't exactly fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle you manage to insert into each other with a little force, and the picture just doesn't add up. When you look at the bare bones of the story in your head, it feels fine, but the execution lacks things. And nope, didn't guess, all the plotpoints are interesting and worthy, it's just it begs for more. In the first half of the book the protagonist is learning things, and then the thrillery fast-paced part comes in, and he just doesn't have enough space to use his multiple hard-earned skills. Some padding between the parts could have been an unnecessary distraction, but the situation the protagonist finds himself in just begs to come up with cargo ship loads of interesting things he could have been doing. If anything, it just undervalues the first part, making some awfully interesting things unnecessary to the story.
I partly wish this book made its way into the hands of some greedy tv producer, who would keep the original outline, but milk his new awesome show for additional episodes. Then it would get cancelled, like it happens with all the good shows, and the world would be heartbroken forever. Oh well, at least it'd still have the book.