A review by hrdboildwndrlnd
300,000,000 by Blake Butler

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Comparisons to 2666 are flat out insulting. This is simply an unbearable book, and no, not in the way the author wants it to be as they throw rape, murder, disembowelment, loss of sanity, and more at you for 450 pages. It's unbearable because it's so high on its own stupid metaphor-laden supply that it thinks it's the most insightful book about violence ever published. It's boring, and banal which is far more offensive than whatever skewering of American culture the author was intending. What should have been an incredible setup and a fantastic way to examine America's complicated (uncomplicated?) love of violence instead becomes an entirely unintelligible, couched in 400 pages of metaphor (and the author reuses metaphors again and again), unsatisfying book that will probably put you to sleep every 15 pages instead of shocking you into insomnia. SKIP IT