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A review by steph01924
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
5.0
Anything I try to say in this review will pale in comparison to this book. It was clever, laugh-out-loud funny, touching, quirky, eccentric and, simply, awesome.
I had such fun reading The Spellman Files (sometimes it can be a mixed bag when you have a book so full of side notes and indexes that you have to flip around to keep track, but it works in this case), learning about this wacky family of private investigators and a reluctant 'best friend' cop, that I didn't want it to end. The mixture of mediums on the page, with present regular narratives, pauses for backstories, lists/indexes, page notes, and--my favorite--the transcripts of secretly recorded conversations makes this series stand out from others in a really fresh way.
The next few in the series are just as good as this first. The characters are so witty, but the book doesn't come across as being too clever for it's own good. It's kind of like watching Gilmore Girls--I can imagine the conversations going at rapid fire between these intelligent individuals, and it makes you wish you could have that kind of great comeback response time in your own life.
For those of you who just recoiled at the mention of Gilmore Girls (and you're lame, but whatever), please note that these books are NOT like the show in the slightest, except in regards to the fact that someone always has a ready reply, usually drenched in sarcasm.
I can't recommend these books enough!
I had such fun reading The Spellman Files (sometimes it can be a mixed bag when you have a book so full of side notes and indexes that you have to flip around to keep track, but it works in this case), learning about this wacky family of private investigators and a reluctant 'best friend' cop, that I didn't want it to end. The mixture of mediums on the page, with present regular narratives, pauses for backstories, lists/indexes, page notes, and--my favorite--the transcripts of secretly recorded conversations makes this series stand out from others in a really fresh way.
The next few in the series are just as good as this first. The characters are so witty, but the book doesn't come across as being too clever for it's own good. It's kind of like watching Gilmore Girls--I can imagine the conversations going at rapid fire between these intelligent individuals, and it makes you wish you could have that kind of great comeback response time in your own life.
For those of you who just recoiled at the mention of Gilmore Girls (and you're lame, but whatever), please note that these books are NOT like the show in the slightest, except in regards to the fact that someone always has a ready reply, usually drenched in sarcasm.
I can't recommend these books enough!