The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
hallecarlson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
chamblyman's review against another edition
5.0
Holy moley. My bookstore co-worker called this something like a Boschian hellscape of racist iconography. That's pretty much it, I think. This takes a strong heart/brain/stomach, but wrapped up inside all the horrible racial tropes and x-rated antics is a really smart satire, and a powerful if twisted mirror on the most uncomfortable parts of Black/White relations in America.
elijah_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
josh_caporale's review
1.0
1/2 star
This is a novel that is supposed to address the issue of race and Darius James decides to take the route of magical realism to do so. This is by all means magical realism, kind of like Haruki Murakami meets Melvin Van Peebles. This is a mess, though. A screaming diarrhea kind of mess. This book loses itself in its magical realism and the elements pertaining to real-life people are meant to be humorous, but they are in actuality repulsive and in some cases immoral. There is a scene where JFK's wounded head is attached to spider legs and he is now thrilled that he could give himself a blowjob. Other moments include Uncle Remus raping a white boy, Walt Disney coming back to life from deep freeze as a bigot (Family Guy did this so much better), among so many other sick and twisted occurrences.
So where's the story? The central character is a snooty, blonde bombshell by the name of Bubbles Brazil. After putting down a heavyset, black maid because of her race, the maid puts a voodoo spell on her that will put her through an insane, magical realist experience that will make her see the world, and the black population, so much differently. From here, she goes through various occurrences where she is placed in situations that make no sense to the point that one is left wondering what should be taken out of this piece.
Why a half-star instead of zero stars? I do understand that this is meant to be magical realism, as it is classified as an "urban parable" and as far as that is concerned, there is a sense of direction. There is also that satirical, self-deprecation that these stereotypes are a formation of what others take them to being, but they have a right to share this world and breathe the same air as everyone else from every other background. As far as a story and execution is concerned, there is no story and an execution that is the equivalent to throwing a bowling ball backwards and hitting or tripping the other people from behind. Everything is rushed so rapidly and I had no idea what Bubbles was contributing to the plot aside from the fact she was a bigoted Alice Liddell who was entering this "wonderland" through voodoo (or through the "rabbit's anus") instead of "down the rabbit hole." This story written in both prose and play format is also riddled with unintended grammatical errors, such as Malcolm X's name being spelled "Malcom X" in a few lines. So in essence, a half-hearted effort gets one half of a star.
I have an idea as to where Darius James was getting at with this book, but it did absolutely nothing for me and just about lost me two-thirds through... at least as far as the story is concerned. The ending was just very strange and one that has left an indentation of how I see a particular product for an indefinitely period of time. Perhaps there is someone that sees this as art. I do not. I do not see this as art and if you wanted my opinion, I say avoid this book like you would a bathroom stall that has gone unflushed following an episode of diarrhea.
This is a novel that is supposed to address the issue of race and Darius James decides to take the route of magical realism to do so. This is by all means magical realism, kind of like Haruki Murakami meets Melvin Van Peebles. This is a mess, though. A screaming diarrhea kind of mess. This book loses itself in its magical realism and the elements pertaining to real-life people are meant to be humorous, but they are in actuality repulsive and in some cases immoral. There is a scene where JFK's wounded head is attached to spider legs and he is now thrilled that he could give himself a blowjob. Other moments include Uncle Remus raping a white boy, Walt Disney coming back to life from deep freeze as a bigot (Family Guy did this so much better), among so many other sick and twisted occurrences.
So where's the story? The central character is a snooty, blonde bombshell by the name of Bubbles Brazil. After putting down a heavyset, black maid because of her race, the maid puts a voodoo spell on her that will put her through an insane, magical realist experience that will make her see the world, and the black population, so much differently. From here, she goes through various occurrences where she is placed in situations that make no sense to the point that one is left wondering what should be taken out of this piece.
Why a half-star instead of zero stars? I do understand that this is meant to be magical realism, as it is classified as an "urban parable" and as far as that is concerned, there is a sense of direction. There is also that satirical, self-deprecation that these stereotypes are a formation of what others take them to being, but they have a right to share this world and breathe the same air as everyone else from every other background. As far as a story and execution is concerned, there is no story and an execution that is the equivalent to throwing a bowling ball backwards and hitting or tripping the other people from behind. Everything is rushed so rapidly and I had no idea what Bubbles was contributing to the plot aside from the fact she was a bigoted Alice Liddell who was entering this "wonderland" through voodoo (or through the "rabbit's anus") instead of "down the rabbit hole." This story written in both prose and play format is also riddled with unintended grammatical errors, such as Malcolm X's name being spelled "Malcom X" in a few lines. So in essence, a half-hearted effort gets one half of a star.
I have an idea as to where Darius James was getting at with this book, but it did absolutely nothing for me and just about lost me two-thirds through... at least as far as the story is concerned. The ending was just very strange and one that has left an indentation of how I see a particular product for an indefinitely period of time. Perhaps there is someone that sees this as art. I do not. I do not see this as art and if you wanted my opinion, I say avoid this book like you would a bathroom stall that has gone unflushed following an episode of diarrhea.
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