Reviews

Oreo by Fran Ross

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mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition

3.0

It took me like two months to get through this book. On paper it's super interesting, but actually reading it is a different story.

Oreo is a half black, half Jewish young woman who heads to New York in order to find her father as part of an agreement made between her parents when they separated. This is so he can tell her the secret of her birth.

First off this book is like one big play on words. In fact I'd say it often feels like the book was only made so Fran Ross could flex on everybody with her fancy wordplay. Be prepared to not understand half of what's going on whether that be because of time period or dense language. I can't tell you how many times I'd Google a word and it would turn out to be a grammar joke or allusion or reference and not an actual word with a definition.

That being said, once you get to about halfway the book does move more quickly. The story is secondary to the wordplay but this is much more prevalent in the first half. Once Oreo actually begins on her journey there are now some events taking place. At that point I couldn't understand the cultural aspects more than anything else which I consider progress.

The secret of Oreo's birth is anti-climactic and I had to read it like three times to actually get the gist of what it was. It also ends rather abruptly with no real payoff, however, considering the rest of the book I was not surprised merely disappointed.

There's also some just plain weird parts that don't really add to anything. And be aware that there are parts that are obviously not PC. But, given the tongue in cheek nature of the novel and my lack of historical context I'm also not sure how much subtext I'm missing. Tons of this book *feel* like satire, but without additional knowledge I can't say for certain.

So I gave it a 3 because I did enjoy parts of the book, and I did like the idea of all the wordplay even if I didn't love the execution overall. I also liked the characters for the most part - though they were all underdeveloped.

I cannot stress this enough - do not read this book looking for story. It's about the writing itself above all else.

elevy2's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

lilytucker's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

wickerplane228's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

4.5

esthersedition's review against another edition

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1.0

In short, this is a witty book about a half jewish, half black girl on quest in search of her father.

However, this book was simply just not for me. I don’t know if it’s because it was written quite a while ago but it was confusing to read and probably took a lot longer than it should have though it was only 200 pages.

I normally write quite long detailed reviews about the books I read good or bad, but there is not much to say here, nor did I gain anything or leave with anything enlightening after reading. It was just a witty adventurous story.

If that’s what you like, then you would like this book - but personally I would not recommend it nor did I really enjoy reading this book. Though the most interesting segment would be where Oreo (the protagonist) found herself in Parnell’s strip club.

abbyyy03's review against another edition

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The layout was very strange and not something I was prepared for when I started it. If I had more brain capacity then I would have appreciated the post-modernist design more.