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benvedou's review
3.0
I think I get it, anyway. I think I’m probably very different from this author, but I believe we are both unusual men navigating a dicked up world. This text was not transgressive for me, I won’t use it as a rubric for encountering life, and I was not especially thrilled with it as a narrative. But I enjoyed it. It was different.
I am really not sure what people are trying to accomplish by expounding negative criticism of this book, because to me there is no subterfuge or hidden subtext here. It’s a very “heart on its sleeve” type read. You get the proper toolbox for reading it based on the bookjacket blurb and the author’s bio. Read at own risk or otherwise spare everyone the facsimile New Yorker reviews. This is a good book to fart into your bedsheets whilst reading, which I did many times. Did I mention I have a master’s degree in writing? My opinion is correct here. If you disagree please go directly to jail!
(Better than Kerouac)
danangj's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
andrewjw98's review
5.0
personally i think everybody who is giving it a 1 star review is just jealous
hadenriles's review
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
mitytt's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
birdbeakbeast's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thehommeboii's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Fuccboi is a vibe.
Take the poet's name out of the quote below and replace it with Sean Thor Conroe and that's the review.
And Eileen Myles didn't do the thing poets be doing at poetry readings where they make everyone uncomfortable at their self-seriousness, and by the end feel (the audience, or at least I would) like the poet just jerked it, straddling them so they were trapped, and then busting prematurely onto their chest.
No. Eileen was charming, charismatic, self-aware.
Honestly hilarious.
Lubed everyone up with killer banter before plunging into the bars.
Which themselves didn't sound all that different than the banter. Just more ordered.
Would definitely read again.
Update 3/24/2023: Previously rated 4.25 stars; upgraded to 4.5 stars.
matthewmeriwether's review
3.25
i laughed a lot reading this. the language and rhythm of it feels different than any other book i've read. it never quite, in my opinion, cohered into anything that insightful or interesting, but i mostly enjoyed the reading experience, which seems impressive to me, since the premise/character wouldn't ordinarily be my cup of tea..
tommooney's review
3.0
The controversy around this book is fucking stupid - you can't plagiarise a writing style. End of.
The book itself is a strange mix of utterly fresh and ultimately pointless. For the first 150 pages I was so excited by the style, so intrigued by Sean's character and felt he was building up to saying something really profound about modern masculinity. I love books that feel raw and gritty and examine fringe or working class living. Take Gabriel Krauze's fucking masterpiece, Who They Was, as an example. That's where I thought Fuccboi was heading.
But Conroe, for all this promise, doesn't ever get to the point. He has nothing much to say. Who They Was never once comes across as self indulgent. Fuccboi only ever does.
There's a whole genre built around (largely male, largely American) writers detailing their lives through thinly veiled protagonists and the project building to something so much bigger than themselves - Bret Easton Ellis, Bukowski, Fante et al. Conroe's debut doesn't achieve that.
But make no mistake - the kid has got skills. He just needs to harness them better. I feel like he needs someone to help him hone his style and refine his storytelling so he can maintain that early brilliance across a whole book. I know he recently lost his trusted editor, Giancarlo DiTrapano, who passed away last year. I hope he finds someone to take up the mantle. Because he's got something.
The book itself is a strange mix of utterly fresh and ultimately pointless. For the first 150 pages I was so excited by the style, so intrigued by Sean's character and felt he was building up to saying something really profound about modern masculinity. I love books that feel raw and gritty and examine fringe or working class living. Take Gabriel Krauze's fucking masterpiece, Who They Was, as an example. That's where I thought Fuccboi was heading.
But Conroe, for all this promise, doesn't ever get to the point. He has nothing much to say. Who They Was never once comes across as self indulgent. Fuccboi only ever does.
There's a whole genre built around (largely male, largely American) writers detailing their lives through thinly veiled protagonists and the project building to something so much bigger than themselves - Bret Easton Ellis, Bukowski, Fante et al. Conroe's debut doesn't achieve that.
But make no mistake - the kid has got skills. He just needs to harness them better. I feel like he needs someone to help him hone his style and refine his storytelling so he can maintain that early brilliance across a whole book. I know he recently lost his trusted editor, Giancarlo DiTrapano, who passed away last year. I hope he finds someone to take up the mantle. Because he's got something.