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raemundo's review against another edition
5.0
again, another book i dont know how to rate.
i dont know my feelings about this.
if it was good or terrible, i couldnt tell you.
it just.... was.
read it, and you'll know what i mean.
i dont know my feelings about this.
if it was good or terrible, i couldnt tell you.
it just.... was.
read it, and you'll know what i mean.
lunaphorie's review
5.0
Amazing is too small a word for what I feel for this book. I love Block's way of writing. It is full of passion and music and magic. It's like the whole world is a glittery, shiny, wonderful and terrible place.
Echo is a girl with issues, just like everyone else, but in a unique kind of way. She falls in and out of love, meets and looses people and wants to be loved and to be beautiful. This novel is about love - not just the romantic kind of love, but the accepting and respecting yourself-kind of love. It is Echo's story but it is also a story about Los Angeles and how to survive in this beautiful and cruel world.
I think it is a very inspiring book. It's even poetic in a sensual way. Block has the talent to describe the things in such a beautiful way, as if she was the fairy of the words. I love her style and I recommend her novel to everyone!
Echo is a girl with issues, just like everyone else, but in a unique kind of way. She falls in and out of love, meets and looses people and wants to be loved and to be beautiful. This novel is about love - not just the romantic kind of love, but the accepting and respecting yourself-kind of love. It is Echo's story but it is also a story about Los Angeles and how to survive in this beautiful and cruel world.
I think it is a very inspiring book. It's even poetic in a sensual way. Block has the talent to describe the things in such a beautiful way, as if she was the fairy of the words. I love her style and I recommend her novel to everyone!
cpliego's review against another edition
2.0
The whole book is written in a dreamlike way, sort of poetically. Each chapter tells a new short story, which didn't make sense to me. I was confused with the new characters that were introduced in every chapter, each different and not related to the last, some only appearing once and with no meaningful significance. In the end, I could see how the stories all connected to Echo in some way, but I didn't like the way it was brought together. I'm not sure how I feel about the author's writing, but I will definitely pick up another one of her books and see how I like it.
danigerous's review
2.0
It was written in that typical Francesca Lia Block style - the writing is precariously balancing on that 'simplistic' borderline, where at some points it leans to the ridiculously stupid side and at others to the part where it's deeply philosophical underneath. I don't know if I made myself clear or it sounded like a bunch of nonsense. The book's composed of several episodes that are in some way connected with the principal character Echo - a girl with far too many issues in my opinion. Sometimes it seemed like it was a bit chaotic too, jumping here and there and from one character to the other. Anyway, I don't think I was in the mood for that book now, thus the low rating.
saraluna's review
3.0
I have been a longtime Block fan since my youth, and I recently revisited her work with this book. It's in her signature style alright, lovely and highly visual language, often surreal. But I also noticed flaws. I don't know whether to attribute them to this particular book, or to simply being older. This book was disjointed, switching between characters, narrative mode, and place with every chapter, often without giving any information to the reader about whose head they're in now. Many characters are just not fleshed out or believable as people. A few similes are laughable. "my father painted my mother in water once. She looked like pearls."
Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed Echo. I love Block's writing style, and whether that's because of nostalgia or not, her books will always have a place on my shelf. To someone considering reading her for the first time, though, try the dangerous angels books (weetzie bat). Or my other favorites: 'Violet and Claire' and 'I was a Teenage Fairy'.
Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed Echo. I love Block's writing style, and whether that's because of nostalgia or not, her books will always have a place on my shelf. To someone considering reading her for the first time, though, try the dangerous angels books (weetzie bat). Or my other favorites: 'Violet and Claire' and 'I was a Teenage Fairy'.
ponthestargazer's review
4.0
This book actually wasn't to bad, it was kinds hard to follow
but for a short easy read it was perfect
but for a short easy read it was perfect
bookgirl01's review
2.0
While I thought the prose eerily beautiful, I found it difficult to really invest in the characters or really care about them in any way. I might have liked the book better had it been condensed into a single short story, as it's much too jumpy as is. The short story is where Block shines; I much prefer her short, "Psyche's Dark Night".
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