michelle_cloud's review against another edition
5.0
If you like postmodern fiction that challenges your assumptions about what a novel is and should be, you should read this one. It's fun in many of the same ways that Lemony Snicket's children's books are fun, but it's not a children's book. It delegates a lot of responsibility to the reader to put things together and keep track of characters and details. If I didn't have any other responsibilities, I'd read this book all in one big gulp, because I think it would reward such a reading. Since I had to pace my reading over a few days, I'm sure I missed a lot. I rarely reread books, but I'm going to reread this one.
nkives's review against another edition
3.0
I disliked the book early on, and grew to like it more and more with the weird connection to other stories as i read on. I like this book more for its attempt at trying something a little different than the actually follow through. I'm just not sure if I'm a fan of Handler's writing style (will have to read another to really know I guess).
stilldirty's review against another edition
3.0
The balance of comedy and drama is often too imbalanced to enjoy the effects. Sipping the pages like a cocktail with too much sugar or alcohol, and the details get fuzzy because the recurring characters (it’s a novel that reads like vaguely/drunkenly-related short stories) don’t always stand out enough to leave an impression on the memory. They change their names at times, and the narrator’s narrative either had a hiccup a couple times and forgot to remove itself, or gave away its position as that character(s). The humor and style is always clever, but that doesn’t usually make me want to invest emotional attention for a whole book, especially when the other mix-ins aren’t concrete enough to give me foundation or explanation. (A mixed metaphor!) People I know would just love this book the way it is. But I struggle with getting to know characters and story in such a flippant way. Really enjoyed ‘Basic Eight’ from Handler, and read a handful of ‘Lemony Snicket’, but very clever writing amidst inexplicable tiny umbrellas, too many olives, and weird layers that serve a thinly-masked purpose (each chapter is driving home a point, generally about the concepts of “love”) gets to be too ornate to keep its function; giving me a no-headache reading buzz.
snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
This strange and mythical-feeling book is more than a little frustrating at the outset, but settles into a rhythm of sweeping generalizations, specific happenings, thoughts on love, and moments in a person's life where everything changes, or maybe nothing does. I liked the way the characters with the repeating names might be the same people, or might be completely different from story to story. I'm frustrated that I never found out what happened to the girl in the woods with the boy who may or may not have hurt his leg. I liked that Handler made himself part of the story, which he is always so very good at.
kairosdreaming's review
1.0
I am utterly and totally confused by this book. To start off this review, I think a quote from the author about this book would be appropriate.
Quoth Handler "Yes, there's a volcano in the novel. In my opinion a volcano automatically makes a story more interesting." And there is a volcano in the novel, it seems to be one of his favorite things to talk about. In addition to this there is an abundance of birds, alcohol, and taxis.
I'd like to provide a timeline and a list of characters but the story is so jambled it wouldn't make sense. The characters all reoccur during the novel but are so unmemorable you can't keep track of who's who. In addition, some seem to have mystical powers in what is otherwise, a realistic fiction type book.
The novel is supposed to be about love, different forms and presentations of it. However, if Handler's love is supposed to be real love it scares me. Most of his characters are stalkerish in quality and their love is very superficial. There are several divorces, break ups, hook ups and just plain fake love. At the end it seems several of the female characters are pregnant and possibly this means another type of love to the author.
Handler's writing style is very disjointed. I think he tries to be more flowery and "hip" with his writing than he needs to be. It jumps around so much that you just get lost and confused. The book, at 272 pages went on way too long for my tastes. If you like the odd and random type of book go ahead and read, otherwise I recommend spending your time on a better piece of literature.
Quoth Handler "Yes, there's a volcano in the novel. In my opinion a volcano automatically makes a story more interesting." And there is a volcano in the novel, it seems to be one of his favorite things to talk about. In addition to this there is an abundance of birds, alcohol, and taxis.
I'd like to provide a timeline and a list of characters but the story is so jambled it wouldn't make sense. The characters all reoccur during the novel but are so unmemorable you can't keep track of who's who. In addition, some seem to have mystical powers in what is otherwise, a realistic fiction type book.
The novel is supposed to be about love, different forms and presentations of it. However, if Handler's love is supposed to be real love it scares me. Most of his characters are stalkerish in quality and their love is very superficial. There are several divorces, break ups, hook ups and just plain fake love. At the end it seems several of the female characters are pregnant and possibly this means another type of love to the author.
Handler's writing style is very disjointed. I think he tries to be more flowery and "hip" with his writing than he needs to be. It jumps around so much that you just get lost and confused. The book, at 272 pages went on way too long for my tastes. If you like the odd and random type of book go ahead and read, otherwise I recommend spending your time on a better piece of literature.
mznomer's review
5.0
I thought this book was beautifully written and very unusual. Each individual chapter was like a long prose-poem and could easily be read just by itself. The whole book also worked as a whole, with arcing issues and themes intertwined in every story. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, necessarily. It's not a particularly easy read - the plot (if there is one) is confused and it's very difficult to keep track of the characters - are they different people with the same name? Or are they the same people every time they show up? Doe it really matter? Couldn't they just be anyone? I do think it's a lovely and meditative book though. I really enjoyed reading it.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of tangentially related stories contains some very funny moments, Lemony Snicket-funny moments, and were overall quite entertaining.
skrau's review against another edition
3.0
I had no idea what was going on in most of this book, and sometimes that made it terrible and sometimes it was fun to just go with it. There were too many characters to keep apart, but I actually remember most of them in great detail. The writing was ridiculously annoying sometimes, but every once in a while there was a perfect, if slightly crazy, phrase or paragraph or several pages that resonated with me.
Of course the one time a guy actually asks me, "What are you reading? What's it about?" while I sat outside on a lunch break, it's this book, which is impossible to describe especially in once sentence, so he walked away probably regretting it but it's okay because he wasn't that cute anyways. And I'm sure Daniel Handler could have made that story into a whole chapter that was barely about the actual anecdote.
I couldn't really recommend this book, I found it hard to get through in some parts, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I think.
Of course the one time a guy actually asks me, "What are you reading? What's it about?" while I sat outside on a lunch break, it's this book, which is impossible to describe especially in once sentence, so he walked away probably regretting it but it's okay because he wasn't that cute anyways. And I'm sure Daniel Handler could have made that story into a whole chapter that was barely about the actual anecdote.
I couldn't really recommend this book, I found it hard to get through in some parts, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I think.
corbad's review against another edition
3.0
Unless you’re reading this alongside a corkboard and have post-its and red thread handy, it can only be treated as a collection of theme and motif joined short stories - which is far from unreadable but also a distance from fulfilling. Still, if the entire project exists just as a platform for “Soundly” to stand on, it is more than worth it; that chapter or story, as a standalone, is some of the best literature I’ve ever read.
madamwobbles's review against another edition
2.0
I expected I wouldn't like this from the book jacket but it looked so interesting that I picked it up. I was right. I loved reading The Series Of Unfortunate Events and he is a funny, witty author but I couldn't take how disjointed these stories were. I do like short stories, but the confusion over characters knowing each other and no real plot to any of the stories (the plots were more thrown in haphazardly and let loose) added up to a disappointing experience. That being said, Daniel Handler is a good narrator and I wish people would stop being so bitter about not liking a book and give a real review instead of a list of whiny complaints. You don't need to personally attack an author. Christ.