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hmcgivney 's review for:
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
by Matthew Dicks
I can't really identify my problem with this book, because it's well written and a great premise. Maybe it's because I don't really like kids, or maybe I'm just cranky. It had that overly precious flavor of sentimentality that my cynical heart sometimes rejects. Unless it's kittens. I'm a puddle on the floor for kittens.
It took forever for the plot to finally go somewhere. Every bit of action was described to death, then drawn out and prolonged. I don't know if that counts as being "overwritten," but after a while it didn't seem suspenseful to me. It tried my patience. Fiercely.
And that miracle ending where the autistic spectrum kid was suddenly able to make independent decisions in a crisis, didn't seem realistic to me. Even when it was backpedaled a little in the denouement, saying that "Max is still Max."
Finally, the whole "dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight" metaphor was lost on me after the first few mentions. Ultimately I found it repetitive and annoying. At the end it became ridiculously literal and didn't have any relation to its original meaning.
I'll be interested to see what my book group thinks. A few days ago I had a similar reaction to a book club book and I was the lone disliker of the group. I must be going through a phase.
Spoiler
I think that Budo is annoying. I get that he's advanced for an imaginary being, but still limited in his thinking and reasoning. But how many times can he have the same existential crisis (with others telling him, showing him -- repeatedly -- that his job is to do the right thing for his kid and that he won't care about dying when the time comes)?It took forever for the plot to finally go somewhere. Every bit of action was described to death, then drawn out and prolonged. I don't know if that counts as being "overwritten," but after a while it didn't seem suspenseful to me. It tried my patience. Fiercely.
And that miracle ending where the autistic spectrum kid was suddenly able to make independent decisions in a crisis, didn't seem realistic to me. Even when it was backpedaled a little in the denouement, saying that "Max is still Max."
Finally, the whole "dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight" metaphor was lost on me after the first few mentions. Ultimately I found it repetitive and annoying. At the end it became ridiculously literal and didn't have any relation to its original meaning.
I'll be interested to see what my book group thinks. A few days ago I had a similar reaction to a book club book and I was the lone disliker of the group. I must be going through a phase.