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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I almost never read the synopsis of a book before starting it but with this one it would've been very helpful. This is a gender transforming retelling of the myth of Oedipus.
A quiet, moody mediation on Oedipus, gender, and language itself.
I see a few of my Goodreads friends are rather lukewarm about this novel. Maybe because I'm coming to it late--not sure how, I found it on my Kindle so I must have pirated it on Bittorrent at some point but I don't remember, now, what prompted me to do so--and so I started reading it with no hype in my ear, I really loved it. This is the most original and wonderful contemporary novel I've read since Anna Burns's Milkman.
Interestingly, because of its Rome setting, I'd picked up Tom Rachman's The Italian Teacher, and had gotten around 15 pages in when the writing style really started to grate. Although the characters and story was starting to pull me in, I was resisting the tone, put the book down and started casually browsing through the novels on my Kindle. Maybe it was the contrast, but even just the first few sentences of Everything Under hooked me and I plowed right through. The language was so inventive it grabbed me right away and carried me straight through to the end. The narrative voice is just wonderfully quirky and original--as are the characters and the tale. Also the greater forms, the non-linear story telling and the slow reveal back to the heart of the story, were just perfect. Absolutely great writing in my opinion.
Oddly, I found it reminding me of Davis Grubb's Night of the Hunter, maybe because of the take on childhood and adolescence, and the relative innocence of the narrative voice, or perhaps having a river as a main character. Well, and the fear permeating both tales. Also, beyond the crux of the narrative--which I won't give away as it was so pleasurable to slowly figure it out--the situations and characters here were so raw and human, it was refreshing. not only are there no cellphones or social media, but not much school or taxes or anything bourgeois at all. The river people here, bordering on madness, I suppose, but also wholly rejecting the mainstream world as we know it today for the most part made the story all the more real, alluring, and important. Loved the blurring of myth, dreams, paranoid fears, and a kind of reality. So well done.
Interestingly, because of its Rome setting, I'd picked up Tom Rachman's The Italian Teacher, and had gotten around 15 pages in when the writing style really started to grate. Although the characters and story was starting to pull me in, I was resisting the tone, put the book down and started casually browsing through the novels on my Kindle. Maybe it was the contrast, but even just the first few sentences of Everything Under hooked me and I plowed right through. The language was so inventive it grabbed me right away and carried me straight through to the end. The narrative voice is just wonderfully quirky and original--as are the characters and the tale. Also the greater forms, the non-linear story telling and the slow reveal back to the heart of the story, were just perfect. Absolutely great writing in my opinion.
Oddly, I found it reminding me of Davis Grubb's Night of the Hunter, maybe because of the take on childhood and adolescence, and the relative innocence of the narrative voice, or perhaps having a river as a main character. Well, and the fear permeating both tales. Also, beyond the crux of the narrative--which I won't give away as it was so pleasurable to slowly figure it out--the situations and characters here were so raw and human, it was refreshing. not only are there no cellphones or social media, but not much school or taxes or anything bourgeois at all. The river people here, bordering on madness, I suppose, but also wholly rejecting the mainstream world as we know it today for the most part made the story all the more real, alluring, and important. Loved the blurring of myth, dreams, paranoid fears, and a kind of reality. So well done.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That was deliciously weird, but I really wish we could have departed from the literary enough to allow room for conclusions to be drawn, ramifications understood, a message to emerge, etc.
This book was so unsettling and haunting, but still so beautifully written. The story was separated in different point of views and times, that were not really specified, which was confusing at first. The writing style is so beautiful and captivating. I cannot put in words how good it was.
I think I got it, maybe, but I'm not sure I cared.
There were some interesting elements and some fine writing, but I found this to be a struggle.
There were some interesting elements and some fine writing, but I found this to be a struggle.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book had parts that were captivating, but overall I never could quite believe or lose myself in the story, and I felt that parts of it were confusing. I liked the attempt at modernizing a classic myth, but it fell a bit flat for me.