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A review by afoof
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
2.0
Warning: I am loathe to be negative but this book was not for me. Read on at your own risk.
I was so excited about this book. It came highly recommended by my fav podcast, Slate's Double X Gabfest, and I usually love whatever they suggest. But, I quite ill-advisedly read only the first page or two and then brought this on an 12 hour flight as my only reading material. Needless to say I spent a good deal of the flight zoning out rather then read (or try to navigate the geriatric entertainment system on Alitalia, good gracious!).
The first novella, Folly, seemed promising. But a somewhat pastiche/cliche fever dream of all young writers/readers making their way in NYC publishing world; compelling enough for I can relate to this fantasy. In the second novella, Madness, Jaafari is an interesting character. I like the back story of his childhood in Brooklyn and his Iraqi family and time in Iraq. I particularly enjoyed the pages in the airport detention. His observations, his grace and the unfairness of it all was compelling.
As for the third bit, I really couldn't get through it. I love the Desert Island Discs program and so was excited to see the section's title. I enjoyed the drollness of the interviewer and Ezra's answers seemed plausible for a famous author of a certain generation but I can't say I enjoyed reading it.
I was so excited about this book. It came highly recommended by my fav podcast, Slate's Double X Gabfest, and I usually love whatever they suggest. But, I quite ill-advisedly read only the first page or two and then brought this on an 12 hour flight as my only reading material. Needless to say I spent a good deal of the flight zoning out rather then read (or try to navigate the geriatric entertainment system on Alitalia, good gracious!).
The first novella, Folly, seemed promising. But a somewhat pastiche/cliche fever dream of all young writers/readers making their way in NYC publishing world; compelling enough for I can relate to this fantasy. In the second novella, Madness, Jaafari is an interesting character. I like the back story of his childhood in Brooklyn and his Iraqi family and time in Iraq. I particularly enjoyed the pages in the airport detention. His observations, his grace and the unfairness of it all was compelling.
As for the third bit, I really couldn't get through it. I love the Desert Island Discs program and so was excited to see the section's title. I enjoyed the drollness of the interviewer and Ezra's answers seemed plausible for a famous author of a certain generation but I can't say I enjoyed reading it.