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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Linguistically complicated and beautiful. A hard read, emotionally, especially towards the end.
I so wanted to like this... but I spent so much time trying to figure out WHAT they were saying that the plot was lost.
I wanted this book to be amazing. I wanted the language to work, but it just wasn't for me.
I wanted this book to be amazing. I wanted the language to work, but it just wasn't for me.
Ya, this book bone gratty. If you look twice at that sentence, be prepared, the book is not for everyone. I generally can't sift through such dialect when I read, but Newman did a good job bringing me into the story, despite language. I'm impressed with the world she created and the dedication she made to write a story with basically a totally different form of English. Like I said, I don't think I would recommended this book to everyone. If you are up to the challenge of this book, give it time and you will enjoy it.
#6. Notable for its invented dialect, highly recommended on audio for the brilliant narration. Dystopian female hero who doesn't want to be a hero.
I'm not going to go into too much detail here other than to state that I really don't understand how anyone could enjoy this book. We picked this up for our Young Adult Bookclub, and NOT ONE of us could even muster up the strength to finish this book.
Now normally, I'm not one for abandoning a book, but I just couldn't finish it. Somewhere around 400 pages in, I decided I'd had enough with the awful plot. Around the 400 page mark the plot takes an even stranger turn, and I just couldn't stick it out. THE PLOT MADE NO SENSE. Especially not in connection with Ice Cream Star's supposed main goal- to find a cure for the disease that causes everyone to die at an early age. Seriously- 400 pages in and they STILL weren't even close to actually working out a plan for finding this supposed cure- what was the whole point of the book?! The characters were completely unlikeable, I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for Ice Cream Star- she shuns people for their mistakes and decisions whilst simultaneously making THE SAME mistakes and decisions. And there were many, MANY rape scenes in this book, all which had nothing to do with the plot, and were very uncomfortable to read. My bookclub and I all agreed that it seemed like the author couldn't think up a way to make nuanced characters, and decided to define quite a number of them by how badly they treated women, and how many women they raped. (And none of us could understand why Ice Cream Star would want to keep hooking up with "the King of the Rapists" as we referred to him. You shun your friend for shacking up with one of the rapists, and yet you continuously sleep with their rapist leader? What??)
All in all, we agreed that this was a terrible book. And we tried oh so hard to get through it. One girl stopped at page 5 because she couldn't handle the writing style, and the others stopped around the 200 page mark. Only book in the history of our bookclub that none of us could finish.
Now normally, I'm not one for abandoning a book, but I just couldn't finish it. Somewhere around 400 pages in, I decided I'd had enough with the awful plot. Around the 400 page mark the plot takes an even stranger turn, and I just couldn't stick it out. THE PLOT MADE NO SENSE. Especially not in connection with Ice Cream Star's supposed main goal- to find a cure for the disease that causes everyone to die at an early age. Seriously- 400 pages in and they STILL weren't even close to actually working out a plan for finding this supposed cure- what was the whole point of the book?! The characters were completely unlikeable, I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for Ice Cream Star- she shuns people for their mistakes and decisions whilst simultaneously making THE SAME mistakes and decisions. And there were many, MANY rape scenes in this book, all which had nothing to do with the plot, and were very uncomfortable to read. My bookclub and I all agreed that it seemed like the author couldn't think up a way to make nuanced characters, and decided to define quite a number of them by how badly they treated women, and how many women they raped. (And none of us could understand why Ice Cream Star would want to keep hooking up with "the King of the Rapists" as we referred to him. You shun your friend for shacking up with one of the rapists, and yet you continuously sleep with their rapist leader? What??)
All in all, we agreed that this was a terrible book. And we tried oh so hard to get through it. One girl stopped at page 5 because she couldn't handle the writing style, and the others stopped around the 200 page mark. Only book in the history of our bookclub that none of us could finish.
A+ for originality. Didn't mind the patois. But the middle and end were a little...much.
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman is nothing short of epic, both in narrative scope and literary achievement.
So much of the the joy of Ice Cream Star lies in the act of discovery: of the completely foreign, but not-to-distant future in which it takes place and of the language in which Ice Cream Star, the 15 year old young woman who's the book's narrator, sets down her story. The world Newman creates is original, richly detailed, and compellingly realized, down to the Pidgen English patois that the story is told in.
From the get-go, Newman drops us into Ice Cream Star's world in media res. This is Ice Cream Star's reality and Newman, to her credit, trusts her readers enough not to contort her story to hold our hands. She deftly brings readers along, threading details into the story so we slowly begin to piece together what happened and establish a operational framework for this world. Then, just when you think you have a handle on the book's human and social landscape, the world opens up in surprising, delightful ways.
While the world-building that Newman does here is remarkable, Margaret Atwood-caliber stuff, what elevates and separates The Country of Ice Cream Star from other post-apocalyptic literary fiction is the language.
The strange and deceptively simple language Newman created makes the book a bit of a challenge to get immediately immersed in. But it is entirely worth the effort. The story grabs you from the start and the plot moves swiftly, carrying you along until you get adjusted. Once accustomed to the language, I found it a slyly effective way to incisively and humorously (and often beautifully) take a sideways angle to cut through absurdities of human relations, American institutions and societal norms. By the end, I'd grown to love the language and Ice Cream Star's voice: a hickory stick with a poet's radiant heart.
At turns violent, romantic, funny and touching, The Country of Ice Cream Star wraps an exploration of power, American institutions, race and human nature into a ripping, twisting, turning epic.
As is true for the most rewarding and memorable trips to foreign lands, visitors to The Country of Ice Cream Star should immerse themselves. Comprehension and navigation are a challenge at first, but you'll catch on quickly, freeing you to fully experience the particular wonders the place has to offer. The Country of Ice Cream Star is wonderful.
So much of the the joy of Ice Cream Star lies in the act of discovery: of the completely foreign, but not-to-distant future in which it takes place and of the language in which Ice Cream Star, the 15 year old young woman who's the book's narrator, sets down her story. The world Newman creates is original, richly detailed, and compellingly realized, down to the Pidgen English patois that the story is told in.
From the get-go, Newman drops us into Ice Cream Star's world in media res. This is Ice Cream Star's reality and Newman, to her credit, trusts her readers enough not to contort her story to hold our hands. She deftly brings readers along, threading details into the story so we slowly begin to piece together what happened and establish a operational framework for this world. Then, just when you think you have a handle on the book's human and social landscape, the world opens up in surprising, delightful ways.
While the world-building that Newman does here is remarkable, Margaret Atwood-caliber stuff, what elevates and separates The Country of Ice Cream Star from other post-apocalyptic literary fiction is the language.
The strange and deceptively simple language Newman created makes the book a bit of a challenge to get immediately immersed in. But it is entirely worth the effort. The story grabs you from the start and the plot moves swiftly, carrying you along until you get adjusted. Once accustomed to the language, I found it a slyly effective way to incisively and humorously (and often beautifully) take a sideways angle to cut through absurdities of human relations, American institutions and societal norms. By the end, I'd grown to love the language and Ice Cream Star's voice: a hickory stick with a poet's radiant heart.
At turns violent, romantic, funny and touching, The Country of Ice Cream Star wraps an exploration of power, American institutions, race and human nature into a ripping, twisting, turning epic.
As is true for the most rewarding and memorable trips to foreign lands, visitors to The Country of Ice Cream Star should immerse themselves. Comprehension and navigation are a challenge at first, but you'll catch on quickly, freeing you to fully experience the particular wonders the place has to offer. The Country of Ice Cream Star is wonderful.
I read about 25% of the book... until kids my own kid's age were locked into a burning building and almost died. Too sad. Couldn't make myself keep reading.
Really, really, really well done. Amazing, really. Well, there you have it, the five star rating says it all. It's rare you come across a book as unparalleled and genius, and done so, so well.
Initially challenging and difficult, once one fully gets into the author's rhythm and the language of this dystopian future, it is a fast paced yet thoughtful examination of the fragmentation of modern society. It's as good as any modern novel I've read, which is saying something during the dearth of talent that is the last 30 years.