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nickanderson's review against another edition
2.0
When it's good, its very good. Vivid, poetic, and beautifully rendered scenes that leave just enough mystery to make the world feel whole and real. When its bad, though, its painful - long, meandering scenes last for pages and accomplish little for the story. Key moments are muddied by confusing passages where characters talk over each other or actively hallucinate; nearly every moment is drenched in randomness for the sake of wacky, zany randomness. Observed from any other perspective, the protagonist is a stone-cold psychopath that shifts her narrow focus of empathy from one character to the next, often at the expense of her last companion. In the end, all of her questionable effort produces nothing that wouldn't have happened had she remained in bed for the duration of the story.
What shines through is Wagner's intense sensibility to youth and his ability to express it in new but familiar ways. Buried inside this needlessly lengthy book is a story that is both sharp and warm, a surreal touchstone to the terrible magic of growing up.
What shines through is Wagner's intense sensibility to youth and his ability to express it in new but familiar ways. Buried inside this needlessly lengthy book is a story that is both sharp and warm, a surreal touchstone to the terrible magic of growing up.
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