Scan barcode
micksland's review against another edition
3.0
Like Cormac McCarthy's The Road, it presents a bleak and hopeless picture of existential horror. Unlike The Road, it doesn't leave any room for hope. Not even a smidgen.
Also, it was almost intolerably weird. Characters were introduced and then abandoned. Plot points were stressed and then left to rot until later in the book, where they were mentioned once and then forgotten again. None of the characters except the narrator actually matter. This sounds like a terrible story, right? In some ways, it is. But in other ways, you feel like the author is trying to tell you something through the medium of this weirdness.
Toward the end of the novel, I thought I almost understood, but the book ended and I was still grasping for straws, trying to figure out what the author was trying to tell us. Maybe that's the point. Maybe he wasn't trying to say anything at all. Maybe this book's infuriating existentialism has finally gotten to me. This book wasn't actually enjoyable to read, but it's going to bother me for a while. Ah, well, at least I'll remember it...
Also, it was almost intolerably weird. Characters were introduced and then abandoned. Plot points were stressed and then left to rot until later in the book, where they were mentioned once and then forgotten again. None of the characters except the narrator actually matter. This sounds like a terrible story, right? In some ways, it is. But in other ways, you feel like the author is trying to tell you something through the medium of this weirdness.
Toward the end of the novel, I thought I almost understood, but the book ended and I was still grasping for straws, trying to figure out what the author was trying to tell us. Maybe that's the point. Maybe he wasn't trying to say anything at all. Maybe this book's infuriating existentialism has finally gotten to me. This book wasn't actually enjoyable to read, but it's going to bother me for a while. Ah, well, at least I'll remember it...
themorsecode's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting ideas surrounding authenticity and memory but the book didn't seem to work as a whole for me, especially towards the end.
jennifermreads's review against another edition
1.0
Phooey. Why are artsy, surreal books so popular with book clubs?!? This is another title I picked up because my local newspaper selected it for their book club. But, I never connected with the eccentric weirdo who paid people to recreate his real life events down to the most minute of details.
All-in-all: Dumb. Skip it.
All-in-all: Dumb. Skip it.
nsyapod's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
diane21's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars for being one of the most unusual and unique things I've ever read. I'm still, kind of, "what just happened?"
greg_fox's review against another edition
3.0
Being a bit generous here because of the poignancy of the overarching theme.
litprof's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I wish this book could have been a DNF by page 50, but my MA student is writing her thesis on it, so I had to push through the pain. Sure, one can read into it commentary on Baudrillardian simulacra or Freudian melancholia, but it’s not worth the mind-numbingly dumb and repetitive novel, with gratuitous sexism and racism.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Racism, and Sexism
cathyleigh1's review against another edition
3.0
Such a strange book. I read this a number of months ago, and still don't know what I think about it. All I can say is that it's a book that's hard to forget.
matt_books's review against another edition
5.0
Totally insane. One of my favorite things I’ve read all year!
portlandcat's review against another edition
3.0
Great writer - but for some reason, I was a little bored by the plot.