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meawarren's review against another edition
4.0
Read this before watching the movie American Fiction, and as typical, enjoyed the book more but enjoyed both for different reasons. A good story about how stereotypes permeate society and the lengths one will go to in order to break through.
charles_vivian's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I watched the film first and must say it was a very accurate adaptation!!!
I feel like I was definitely too stupid to read this book as there were points where it would reference all these big philosophers and artists that I know absolutely nothing about lol but outside of that there was still very much to enjoy!
<SPOILERS BELOW>
I loved the way it portrayed the narrative voice of a writer! There were segments of “story ideas” and small little scenes that would interject the text - including the entire novel the character publishes in the world of the text, which is written out in full over about 70 pages.
I also was very invested in the family drama - a daughter killed by an abortion protester, a mother developing Alzheimer’s, a brother coming to terms with his sexuality, and a dead father who leaves letters revealing he had another child with another woman.
It also explored a very interesting dialogue about racism, the publishing industry, and the commercialisation of black stories. None of Monk’s books get mainstream recognition and his novel ideas keep getting rejected by publishers, where he’s told he’s not writing “black enough” - so he writes a parody of “black fiction” that incorporates racial stereotypes and it goes completely viral and racks up both commercial and critical success. I felt this exposed the double standards of supporting art made by minorities - the way in which the world refused to read the work of a black author until he played up to the stereotypes of what it means to “be black” and then they completely lapped it up.
One gripe is that the author seemed obsessed with referring to everyone as fat?!? He just couldn’t seem to stop body shaming everyone it was really weird lmao
I feel like I was definitely too stupid to read this book as there were points where it would reference all these big philosophers and artists that I know absolutely nothing about lol but outside of that there was still very much to enjoy!
<SPOILERS BELOW>
I loved the way it portrayed the narrative voice of a writer! There were segments of “story ideas” and small little scenes that would interject the text - including the entire novel the character publishes in the world of the text, which is written out in full over about 70 pages.
I also was very invested in the family drama - a daughter killed by an abortion protester, a mother developing Alzheimer’s, a brother coming to terms with his sexuality, and a dead father who leaves letters revealing he had another child with another woman.
It also explored a very interesting dialogue about racism, the publishing industry, and the commercialisation of black stories. None of Monk’s books get mainstream recognition and his novel ideas keep getting rejected by publishers, where he’s told he’s not writing “black enough” - so he writes a parody of “black fiction” that incorporates racial stereotypes and it goes completely viral and racks up both commercial and critical success. I felt this exposed the double standards of supporting art made by minorities - the way in which the world refused to read the work of a black author until he played up to the stereotypes of what it means to “be black” and then they completely lapped it up.
One gripe is that the author seemed obsessed with referring to everyone as fat?!? He just couldn’t seem to stop body shaming everyone it was really weird lmao
readingmermaid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mkrmkr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
vkce23's review against another edition
challenging
funny
medium-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
3.5
I admired this book a lot. I loved the main storyline throughout, following Monk and his life and work at a specific time. I initially found the novel within a novel a bit jarring, but soon got over this. Erasure has Everett’s wonderful wit, it’s sad and humorous at the same time, such a skill. A lot of the literary references, sections of other books and things Monk was thinking or had written, went over my head a little. The satire of it all and the themes are excellent and I think if I was better at analysis and a deeper thinking reader, this would have reached me on a deeper level. The Trees is still my favourite of his this far.
bianca89279's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
tscott907's review against another edition
3.75
Read after recently seeing American Fiction, which I liked but had criticisms which I was hoping the novel would paper over for me. Luckily they were mostly answered. I liked that the book was more interior and had less of the family plot that I felt stretched the length of the film. I loved that it included a section of the fictional book because that section really did showcase Monk’s self-loathing and how ridiculous a lot of popular “urban fiction” is — I was uncomfortable reading these chapters, yet every white character was frothing at the mouth over how real and raw they were. Everett’s prose is excellent.
geoccali's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
carolita1128's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
sad
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
4.0
jenniferhorn's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0