sonia_reppe's review against another edition
5.0
This book stayed with me whenever I put it down. There are some bold, interesting choices that I appreciated, and the writing is top-notch. The characters are interesting and entertaining, and even thought-provoking.
Samuel has mother issues. She left when he was on the verge of puberty. Now he is an under-appreciated college professor who is being sued by a publishing company for the advance on his book that he has not delivered on, and his mother comes back into his life. The narrative flashbacks to her younger days. I loved the parts in Chicago in 1968: hippies, cops, college kids, drugs, drifters.
I'm surprised that some reviewers say this should be edited down. I was prepared, based on these reviews, to brace myself to endure the depiction of gamers playing Elfscape; but I liked these parts, which were centered around the character Pwanange. It wasn't about the game so much as about his severe addiction to the game. As the narration describes what is happening in Pwanage's brain, my brain was being amused.
Also funny, and what probably bumped this up to a 5 (4.5) is the character of Guy Periwinkle and what he reveals at the end. The dialogue between him and Samuel at the end is clever, and the reader gets to laugh at Periwinkle--most would call him a phony--but he believes his worldview earnestly, so does that mean he is the most authentic of all?
Oh--the Nix was a ghost tale told by Samuel's parents. They moral changed according to who was telling it. According to Samuel's mom, "The things you love the most will one day hurt you the most."
Samuel has mother issues. She left when he was on the verge of puberty. Now he is an under-appreciated college professor who is being sued by a publishing company for the advance on his book that he has not delivered on, and his mother comes back into his life. The narrative flashbacks to her younger days. I loved the parts in Chicago in 1968: hippies, cops, college kids, drugs, drifters.
I'm surprised that some reviewers say this should be edited down. I was prepared, based on these reviews, to brace myself to endure the depiction of gamers playing Elfscape; but I liked these parts, which were centered around the character Pwanange. It wasn't about the game so much as about his severe addiction to the game. As the narration describes what is happening in Pwanage's brain, my brain was being amused.
Also funny, and what probably bumped this up to a 5 (4.5) is the character of Guy Periwinkle and what he reveals at the end. The dialogue between him and Samuel at the end is clever, and the reader gets to laugh at Periwinkle--most would call him a phony--but he believes his worldview earnestly, so does that mean he is the most authentic of all?
Oh--the Nix was a ghost tale told by Samuel's parents. They moral changed according to who was telling it. According to Samuel's mom, "The things you love the most will one day hurt you the most."
jmorr290's review against another edition
3.0
There are some truly great and laugh out loud moments and observations in The Nix, as well as some fabulous writing. I enjoyed ( albeit didn't like) most of the characters, but they all were not necessary to the story. This would have been a 5 star for me if a few ( meaning about 150-200 ) pages had been cut.
salowlbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
peppes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
laurenpedersen's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book because the story intertwined but was somewhat predictable. However, the primary reason this book kept my attention was the narrator. Ari Fliakos was terrific! He acted so many different characters and they were each perfect to their description. At the time of listening to this book, I have just begun my own voice acting class and new business venture as a narrator. While I don't particularly want to narrate and act many different fictional characters, I do hope that I can capture a reader's attention and draw them into the text.
ellemmm3's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book, but thought it had the potential to be so much better. It could really have benefited from some stronger editing. It was way too long, some parts dragged too much, and other parts just weren't even necessary to include at all. That being said, some parts were very well done, even humorous, and I did enjoy the book overall.
I don't think I'd recommend The Nix though because it was just too long for what was necessary to tell this particular story.
I don't think I'd recommend The Nix though because it was just too long for what was necessary to tell this particular story.
natalieba's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5