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ir_sharp2's review against another edition
2.0
To be honest, I didn't follow a lick of this book. My eyes moved over words, I got a couple mental movie clips, and I glossed over everything else. Somebody dies at the end, though. :-P
nixxa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Strange and weird but somehow interesting.
mwatermaneotw's review against another edition
5.0
Not much to add--one can probably piece together quickly via the reviews below whether this book is 'for them' or not. My main, overarching thought is that this should be read as much as a meditation as a linear story. If you start it...make sure you have the quietude and the time to finish it in one sitting.
kimzc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
terroreesa's review against another edition
2.0
well that was quick.
the art is lovely.
the story is boring.
the art is lovely.
the story is boring.
souponthebarby's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this, but I think I'm going to need another reading or two before I really start to understand this. With Danielwiski writing it, this absolutely doesn't shock me.
This runs at an interesting pace, but the visuals in the book absolutely play into what you're feeling as you read it. It seriously feels unnerving at the end, even if I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that ending is. If you've read House of Leaves and loved it, give this book a try and see what you think. It rolls quickly, and the visuals in my head still leave me pretty freaked out.
This runs at an interesting pace, but the visuals in the book absolutely play into what you're feeling as you read it. It seriously feels unnerving at the end, even if I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that ending is. If you've read House of Leaves and loved it, give this book a try and see what you think. It rolls quickly, and the visuals in my head still leave me pretty freaked out.
ondrobondro's review against another edition
5.0
[4.5+++ stars, so basically 5]
I read this book twice in the space of a day - that probably gives you some indication of how much I adored this. It tells the tale of a recently divorced seamstress named Chintana, and her witnessing of a strange Halloween party in which a dark storyteller (literally called the Story Teller in the book) gathers five young attendees of the party, and places a large five-latched box at his feet. These five attendees are slowly drawn in by his dark tale of the "search of a weapon" - the reasons as to why he needs this weapon are not made entirely clear. We soon discover that he has come across The Fifty Year Sword, a sword that, despite the absence of a blade, is still capable of doing immense and unthinkable damage.
I was a little apprehensive going into this book. I read House of Leaves early last year and fell in love with it - friends of mine know not to ask me about House of Leaves unless they have an hour to spare. But I'd heard from fans and critics that Danielewski's later work was a little more inconsistent, which concerned me. Fortunately, I didn't find this to be the case at all. Is it as good as House of Leaves? Well, no, not quite. Is it still fantastic and innovative, surprising and a reminder of the incredible things that books are capable of doing? Absolutely, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Much like Danielewski's previous work, T50YS is absolutely brimming with complexity. So much so that I bought a notebook after reading this for the first time, with the express purpose of rereading it and taking notes. And boy, notes did I take. There's an incredible intricacy to this book - every sentence is necessary in some way or another, even if some don't appear that way at first. Moreover, seemingly casual choices of words come to have profound depth later on, if one is willing to look deeply enough (ask me about the "severed mutters" on pages 40-42!). Even the object of the book itself, handstitched by a group known as Atelier Z, provides further subtext.
As well as this, the book is utterly beautiful to look at. Seriously. Just look at it. Look at it again. Just once more. Readers of Danielewski's previous works will probably find themselves quite at home here - coloured fonts (here, 5 colours of quotation marks to represent the book's 5 narrators), shifting and separating text, and even points where you're forced to turn the book from portrait to landscape in order to read it. But even if you are a longtime Danielewski fan, there's still plenty of surprises here. That being said it might not be the best book to start with if you're new to his writing - T50YS is a little more ambiguous at times, and slightly harder work on occasion as well. Better to start with House of Leaves before delving into this one.
If I do have one complaint, it's that for a "horror" novel, the book ultimately isn't particularly scary. I found myself spending so much time analysing the text, tearing it apart and trying to decipher its hidden meanings, that very little time was left to actually enjoy the creeping sensation that the novel tries to achieve. But perhaps, in some way, that's the point. Still, if you want an utterly captivating and innovative novel, full of (if you'll excuse the pun) intertwining narratives and subtexts, then look no further.
I read this book twice in the space of a day - that probably gives you some indication of how much I adored this. It tells the tale of a recently divorced seamstress named Chintana, and her witnessing of a strange Halloween party in which a dark storyteller (literally called the Story Teller in the book) gathers five young attendees of the party, and places a large five-latched box at his feet. These five attendees are slowly drawn in by his dark tale of the "search of a weapon" - the reasons as to why he needs this weapon are not made entirely clear. We soon discover that he has come across The Fifty Year Sword, a sword that, despite the absence of a blade, is still capable of doing immense and unthinkable damage.
I was a little apprehensive going into this book. I read House of Leaves early last year and fell in love with it - friends of mine know not to ask me about House of Leaves unless they have an hour to spare. But I'd heard from fans and critics that Danielewski's later work was a little more inconsistent, which concerned me. Fortunately, I didn't find this to be the case at all. Is it as good as House of Leaves? Well, no, not quite. Is it still fantastic and innovative, surprising and a reminder of the incredible things that books are capable of doing? Absolutely, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Much like Danielewski's previous work, T50YS is absolutely brimming with complexity. So much so that I bought a notebook after reading this for the first time, with the express purpose of rereading it and taking notes. And boy, notes did I take. There's an incredible intricacy to this book - every sentence is necessary in some way or another, even if some don't appear that way at first. Moreover, seemingly casual choices of words come to have profound depth later on, if one is willing to look deeply enough (ask me about the "severed mutters" on pages 40-42!). Even the object of the book itself, handstitched by a group known as Atelier Z, provides further subtext.
As well as this, the book is utterly beautiful to look at. Seriously. Just look at it. Look at it again. Just once more. Readers of Danielewski's previous works will probably find themselves quite at home here - coloured fonts (here, 5 colours of quotation marks to represent the book's 5 narrators), shifting and separating text, and even points where you're forced to turn the book from portrait to landscape in order to read it. But even if you are a longtime Danielewski fan, there's still plenty of surprises here. That being said it might not be the best book to start with if you're new to his writing - T50YS is a little more ambiguous at times, and slightly harder work on occasion as well. Better to start with House of Leaves before delving into this one.
If I do have one complaint, it's that for a "horror" novel, the book ultimately isn't particularly scary. I found myself spending so much time analysing the text, tearing it apart and trying to decipher its hidden meanings, that very little time was left to actually enjoy the creeping sensation that the novel tries to achieve. But perhaps, in some way, that's the point. Still, if you want an utterly captivating and innovative novel, full of (if you'll excuse the pun) intertwining narratives and subtexts, then look no further.