alcazarz's review
3.0
I liked it, well I liked that I finished it. Lots of interesting unreliable narrator stuff, but I found it bit of a slog to get through
joejoh's review
3.0
While I found the premise interesting, I found most of the characters inauthentic. There was a lot of unrealized potential in this book. Miller's voice felt particularly unreal. No 10 year old, no matter how precocious, talks like Miller does. I enjoyed the novel, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
jimmypat's review
5.0
It’s practically a prerequisite to have read Frederick Exley’s incredible fictional memoir, A Fan’s Notes, before proceeding with this novel. If you don’t, you’re going to miss some humor and some insights into the delusions of the main character. Besides, Exley’s book is really, really, really good.
With that preamble aside, this book is the running for the best book I’ve read in 2019. It’s a bit of a puzzle box where the main character, Miller, is clearly lying and yet equally clear that he is not. It’s also a surprisingly moving and melancholic novel about relationships and alienation. You need to read both books, right now!
With that preamble aside, this book is the running for the best book I’ve read in 2019. It’s a bit of a puzzle box where the main character, Miller, is clearly lying and yet equally clear that he is not. It’s also a surprisingly moving and melancholic novel about relationships and alienation. You need to read both books, right now!
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
Exley is one very strange book - the intertwining of fantasy and reality is so well done that by the end it's difficult to tell exactly what's real and what's not. By "fantasy", I don't mean the genre starring otherworldly ideas and creatures, I mean the type of lies one makes up to help you get through difficult times.
And M is definitely going through difficult times: his father has left, to go to Iraq, while his mother states quite clearly that no, T has not gone to fight. As a result, M is sent to see ashrink mental health professional; this book combines the notes from those visits with M's journal in a way that makes you question what is actually going on. There's added confusion because M writes in a way that echoes that of Frederick Exley, author of his father's favorite book. I was surprised to learn that Exley actually existed in our world, not just in the world of the book!
The descent of Dr. ? (we never do learn his real name) into an alcoholic Exley-substitute is just a little too rapid to be believed - are his notes really his notes, or are they M's version of his notes? Does T really die, or are the Dr. and C. in collusion about it even being T in the hospital? Why do so many people give in to M's fantasy, or is this just another part of his fantasy?
All-in-all, a very satisfying read.
ARC provided by publisher.
And M is definitely going through difficult times: his father has left, to go to Iraq, while his mother states quite clearly that no, T has not gone to fight. As a result, M is sent to see a
The descent of Dr. ? (we never do learn his real name) into an alcoholic Exley-substitute is just a little too rapid to be believed - are his notes really his notes, or are they M's version of his notes? Does T really die, or are the Dr. and C. in collusion about it even being T in the hospital? Why do so many people give in to M's fantasy, or is this just another part of his fantasy?
All-in-all, a very satisfying read.
ARC provided by publisher.
littlespeck's review
1.0
Ugh. I don't know how to even describe this book. This is a perfect example of a book that I think the author was going for something that I just didn't get. I realize it may just be me that wanted to throw this book across the room, but that is how I felt.
The kid pissed me off constantly. The completely detached and horrible parent the mother was pissed me off. The ridiculousness that the therapist engaged in pissed me off.
The kid pissed me off constantly. The completely detached and horrible parent the mother was pissed me off. The ridiculousness that the therapist engaged in pissed me off.
sklewi's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mldavisreads's review
4.0
Interesting narrative about a nine year old boy trying to understand a world that is too complicated for him, and a therapist that will do anything to help him. I've read very few books with an unreliable narrator, so I kept reading to figure out the "actual" story. Great characters.