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A review by woolfardis
Breakfast at Cannibal Joe's by Jay Spencer Green
3.0
*I was sent this book by the author for an un-biased review.
Oh, well. Where do you begin with a book that ends with "The End"?
Joe Chambers is a CIA agent and he's been sent to Dublin because of a misdemeanour in Athens. His CIA, MI6 and other nefarious spy-related governmental body comrades are trying their best to keep their heads down whilst simultaneously seeking ways of making money. And some other stuff.
Or something like that. It's an odd plot. It's an odd book.
Usually when I'm asked to review a book that isn't directly sent from a publisher, it's not written all that well and I'm pretty much expecting a low standard of writing when that happens. That wasn't the case with this book: it was written so well I felt a bit queasy. It had everything in the correct place except, I think, I remember one tiny typo. Just the one. It really ambled on at a nice pace with as many twists and turns as I presume Dublin streets have. I've never been.
There are many authors who popped in to my head whilst I was reading this book, most notable Robert Rankin, James Joyce and Anne Frank, but only if all of them were on mescaline. It's written in a sort of diary-style, without the diary format, and then you have the insane protagonist who really can't handle drugs and has a very Joyce moment, and then you have a kind of really budget sci-fi feel to the whole thing, without the space or time travel.
Now, the plot I felt wasn't quite for me. It started out strongly, but it lagged in the middle and wasn't sure which way to really go. I had flashbacks of my failed attempt to read Trainspotting. The ending was certainly strong and the whole thing left me with a "what the fuck have I just read" kind of feeling. I haven't felt that for a long while. Not even Catch-22 did that to me. It definitely had it's moments, but was often lacking, too: some great high points but also a few great low points, too.
And to be succinct, the things that didn't quite sit well with me were my lack of sympathy, empathy or any other kind of -athy for any of the characters. That's quite tough in any kind of book. I also didn't laugh out loud at any point (not even a titter), which was quite disappointing as it's pretty much down the same kind of toilet as my humour usually is. I'm a big girl and I can handle satire, political incorrectness and sublimely bad (well-written) sex scenes, but I just wasn't feeling it as whole.
Now, I think if you enjoy things like Catch-22, Trainspotting, James Joyce, The Catcher in the Rye and maybe a sprinkle of early 80's Political Punk Poetry you'll find it suits you very well.
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Oh, well. Where do you begin with a book that ends with "The End"?
Joe Chambers is a CIA agent and he's been sent to Dublin because of a misdemeanour in Athens. His CIA, MI6 and other nefarious spy-related governmental body comrades are trying their best to keep their heads down whilst simultaneously seeking ways of making money. And some other stuff.
Or something like that. It's an odd plot. It's an odd book.
Usually when I'm asked to review a book that isn't directly sent from a publisher, it's not written all that well and I'm pretty much expecting a low standard of writing when that happens. That wasn't the case with this book: it was written so well I felt a bit queasy. It had everything in the correct place except, I think, I remember one tiny typo. Just the one. It really ambled on at a nice pace with as many twists and turns as I presume Dublin streets have. I've never been.
There are many authors who popped in to my head whilst I was reading this book, most notable Robert Rankin, James Joyce and Anne Frank, but only if all of them were on mescaline. It's written in a sort of diary-style, without the diary format, and then you have the insane protagonist who really can't handle drugs and has a very Joyce moment, and then you have a kind of really budget sci-fi feel to the whole thing, without the space or time travel.
Now, the plot I felt wasn't quite for me. It started out strongly, but it lagged in the middle and wasn't sure which way to really go. I had flashbacks of my failed attempt to read Trainspotting. The ending was certainly strong and the whole thing left me with a "what the fuck have I just read" kind of feeling. I haven't felt that for a long while. Not even Catch-22 did that to me. It definitely had it's moments, but was often lacking, too: some great high points but also a few great low points, too.
And to be succinct, the things that didn't quite sit well with me were my lack of sympathy, empathy or any other kind of -athy for any of the characters. That's quite tough in any kind of book. I also didn't laugh out loud at any point (not even a titter), which was quite disappointing as it's pretty much down the same kind of toilet as my humour usually is. I'm a big girl and I can handle satire, political incorrectness and sublimely bad (well-written) sex scenes, but I just wasn't feeling it as whole.
Now, I think if you enjoy things like Catch-22, Trainspotting, James Joyce, The Catcher in the Rye and maybe a sprinkle of early 80's Political Punk Poetry you'll find it suits you very well.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Shop | Etsy