Scan barcode
couuboy's review against another edition
4.0
At times I felt the influence of Carver and other times of Gass, but also throughout all of these stories was its own distinct, singular tone. Denis Johnson paints a world that you want to believe is 2-dimensional but which always ends up taking the bleak shape you felt it would all along. There is an architectonic linking all the stories in this collection which can basically be distilled to the narrators 'chewed up and spat out' ontology, which is what maintains the bleakness but also what maintains the poetics.
I first came across Johnson in an anthology of experimental fiction with the story "Car Crash While Hitchhiking" (which is the first story in this collection) and knew that if any of his other works were even half as impressive they would be worth reading. I stand by this claim although I must say that Car Crash probably remains the clear standout (this is not to say that other stories didn't come close - Dirty Wedding and Emergency often coming very close).
I won't say any more of my own words and will instead drop a few quotes that I believe particularly demonstrate the genius that lurks.
"I could understand how a drowning man might suddenly feel a deep thirst being quenched."
"No more pretending for him! He was completely and openly a mess. Meanwhile the rest of us go on trying to fool each other."
"All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us."
"The three of us had formed a group based on something erroneous, some basic misunderstanding that hadn't yet come to light, and so we kept on in one another's company, going to bars and having conversations."
"I know there are people who believe that wherever you look, all you see is yourself. Episodes like this make me wonder if they aren't right."
I first came across Johnson in an anthology of experimental fiction with the story "Car Crash While Hitchhiking" (which is the first story in this collection) and knew that if any of his other works were even half as impressive they would be worth reading. I stand by this claim although I must say that Car Crash probably remains the clear standout (this is not to say that other stories didn't come close - Dirty Wedding and Emergency often coming very close).
I won't say any more of my own words and will instead drop a few quotes that I believe particularly demonstrate the genius that lurks.
"I could understand how a drowning man might suddenly feel a deep thirst being quenched."
"No more pretending for him! He was completely and openly a mess. Meanwhile the rest of us go on trying to fool each other."
"All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us."
"The three of us had formed a group based on something erroneous, some basic misunderstanding that hadn't yet come to light, and so we kept on in one another's company, going to bars and having conversations."
"I know there are people who believe that wherever you look, all you see is yourself. Episodes like this make me wonder if they aren't right."
timeforgsopinion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sarahrussell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
probably_birds's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
Whew, these stories were fast. They flew by like flecks along your windshield, but you're not sure what they were, maybe a speck of earth or even a bug ramming against the car not knowing what hit it. If that makes sense. I loved the narrator, and his voice seemed so fucking real. I felt for him, for his abjectness, for everyone around him. But I don't think I'll remember these stories too well. For one thing, they shot by me so fast they barely grazed my skin. And they weren't especially deep, or perhaps weren't conspicuously deep--just stories from the life of a troubled man. I most clearly can bring to mind the emergency room slash jackrabbit story, just because it was so vivid. The story where they're breaking apart walls in a house looking for wires.
I would've given it three stars if I didn't feel like the guy's voice felt so genuine, but it did.
I would've given it three stars if I didn't feel like the guy's voice felt so genuine, but it did.
davirodcz's review against another edition
3.0
"Toda aquela gente bizarra, e eu ali no meio, ficando a cada dia melhor. Eu nunca tinha pensado, nunca tinha sequer imaginado, que houvesse lugar pra gente como nós."
Um retrato sensível e simples de uma realidade marginalizada, que muita das vezes é maquiada e vendida para o mundo de outra forma.
Um retrato sensível e simples de uma realidade marginalizada, que muita das vezes é maquiada e vendida para o mundo de outra forma.
relyen's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lee_loryn_'s review against another edition
2.0
When I hovered over the 2 stars I couldn't bring myself back down to just 1 star. The stories were so short that I was delighted mostly by that aspect. Otherwise, I get why Denis Johnson's writing is interesting and why I think I've met a few people who've drooled over it. I was not taken by it at all and only really fell for a few sentences, quips, and phrases. Glad I read it after all these years, but it was followed by more hype than I thought it was worth.
robin_booklabpartner's review against another edition
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0