wigginsblake's review against another edition
4.0
More like a 3.5, but a very fascinating story. Not for the faint of heart. Captivating narrator, though his story has its peaks as well as deep pits.
tatianasergent's review against another edition
3.0
I’m really glad I read this book. I think it was fascinating and I’m very excited to see the movie next year. I was amazed that it was autobiographical in its nature, and it covered several topics I had never read about nor experienced. My only “complaint” is that it got to be repetitive toward the end, but I will admit that I believe that was intentional to portray the lifestyle of the main character.
revawra's review against another edition
4.0
It’s almost like Charlie from The Perks of Being A Wallflower grew up 90 miles away and had a few harder turns. There’s these same moments of feeling infinite here for all the wrong reasons. He also mentions Scott McClanahan, and I’d say Cherry is in that vein. I wonder about a rustbelt genre and tempo that has been forged over the last 20 years.
Folks who have reviewed this and jump on the misogyny (while true) reduce it to a trope, and miss the point of the novel. I’d love to see wokeness get direction towards solutions and not just to problems, but that seems to much to ask.
Which is why I’m not sure what to do with this book. Now that the dust has settled from the Poor White Folk Voting Badly investigation, and JD Vance feels undone by his venture capital firms, we can bury the heroin and opiate crisis - now a problem longer than I’ve been alive - back in the rip currents of dominant culture. Sure, someone might drown if it gets bad again, but we can wait and lament it later. Cherry ought to wake us up, but it feels so indulgent sometimes - so meant for an Apple TV+ movie - that you get the Michael Bay experience of the opiate crisis, all too easily made tragically beautiful by Spider-Man. So, we watch the waves, we swim and admire how beautiful it all is, until it’s too late again.
Folks who have reviewed this and jump on the misogyny (while true) reduce it to a trope, and miss the point of the novel. I’d love to see wokeness get direction towards solutions and not just to problems, but that seems to much to ask.
Which is why I’m not sure what to do with this book. Now that the dust has settled from the Poor White Folk Voting Badly investigation, and JD Vance feels undone by his venture capital firms, we can bury the heroin and opiate crisis - now a problem longer than I’ve been alive - back in the rip currents of dominant culture. Sure, someone might drown if it gets bad again, but we can wait and lament it later. Cherry ought to wake us up, but it feels so indulgent sometimes - so meant for an Apple TV+ movie - that you get the Michael Bay experience of the opiate crisis, all too easily made tragically beautiful by Spider-Man. So, we watch the waves, we swim and admire how beautiful it all is, until it’s too late again.
salyerstiffany's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lzbthrmrz995's review against another edition
2.0
Kinda disliked this book. Seemed repetitive with the whole drug addiction thing. Nothing really happened. Nothing but army and drug talk.
kumipaul's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely not for everyone. It's a story of drug addiction, wasted lives, abused people, hopelessness, both in the military in Iraq and back at home. I roared through it because it was pretty compelling, but also because I had to get away from the despair masquerading as heroin mania.
sophlovesbooks41's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
katiebartmess's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not a ton of plot, but the writing style is so endearing in a well-meaning, salt-of-the-earth, blue-collar way that it was largely a really enjoyable read. Had to power through a good bit when our narrator was actively in Iraq because it used a lot of war jargon that I didn't understand but it picked right back up once he left. I have so much appreciation for the context that this book was written in, its a fascinating story.