snp46's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
josefonee's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hannicogood's review
3.0
There’s quite a bit going on here. I think it is effective satire and also grapples with questions of the identity we create for ourselves and what we present to others, versus the identity others want us to have. However, the different references, the Latin phrases, the conversations between dead artists and philosophers, unfortunately meant that there was so much information the reader had to know to really “get” it 100%. I did not - and it does say more about me than the author. Everett is is an excellent writer and I will happily read more of his work, but I may need to take several philosophy classes first.
lisagreen65's review
challenging
dark
reflective
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
4.25
veronicaouellette's review
5.0
This is by far my favorite novel I've ever read for school. It was assigned for an African American literature class last year, in my third year of university. The professor had this as the last reading for the class, and it's placement there was strikingly appropriate in the context of what we'd studied that semester. The themes of this novel made me go back and rethink all the prior readings we'd done. That being said, there is a lot of allusions (and poking fun at) other works by African American authors, so you definitely take more from the book if you have some knowledge of those texts - namely "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison and "The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man" by James Weldon Johnson. I don't know if I would have enjoyed Erasure quite as much as I did if I hadn't read those other works first.
merrilywereadalong777's review
4.0
really more of a 4.5 because barring those random dialogue bits with Hitler and Rothko (which, straight up, I had NO idea what those were about or what any of that meant but thankfully they were all super short) this was an astonishing novel.
It's fitting that, at least in my edition that I bought, this book is forwarded by the great Brandon Taylor because I found, ultimately, this book evoked the same (or very similar) feelings of extreme isolation which Taylor was getting at in Real Life with Wallace. The loneliness and defeat particularly when confronting a white audience that is utterly incapable (or more in the case here just oblivious as all hell) of having any understanding of the experience of being black in America. Admittedly, Erasure is a completely different style and genre of book but even with it's wild satiric premise those last 20-30 pages I found quite devastating. It may have a simple prose at first glance and be easy and engrossing enough to devour quickly but my God this book is doing so many things and working on so many layers at once. It's really masterful to witness. This was my first Everett book and I immediately ordered several others which I can't wait to get into because I really loved the writing here. Sharp as a tack and STINGINGLY funny in the most delicious dark way that really left me impacted. Fantastic read.
It's fitting that, at least in my edition that I bought, this book is forwarded by the great Brandon Taylor because I found, ultimately, this book evoked the same (or very similar) feelings of extreme isolation which Taylor was getting at in Real Life with Wallace. The loneliness and defeat particularly when confronting a white audience that is utterly incapable (or more in the case here just oblivious as all hell) of having any understanding of the experience of being black in America. Admittedly, Erasure is a completely different style and genre of book but even with it's wild satiric premise those last 20-30 pages I found quite devastating. It may have a simple prose at first glance and be easy and engrossing enough to devour quickly but my God this book is doing so many things and working on so many layers at once. It's really masterful to witness. This was my first Everett book and I immediately ordered several others which I can't wait to get into because I really loved the writing here. Sharp as a tack and STINGINGLY funny in the most delicious dark way that really left me impacted. Fantastic read.
jessgock's review
4.0
Excellent novel about a black writer whose academic works are considered "too white," and who writes - as a joke - an over-the-top "black" novel, which horrifies him by becoming a best-seller.
jendella's review against another edition
4.0
A struggling black male author, frustrated with by the state of US publishing, the lack of interest in his high concept, dense novels, and his own money issues decides to write a stereotypical “ghetto” novel. The literary world falls other themselves to publish this work written under another name, but what does that mean for “art” and him as the “artist”? Lots of questions around the place of (or lack of place for) the black writer and intellectual.
This is an interesting and conceptual novel itself – very meta at points, but I think that’s the point! It was sharp-witted, funny and thought provoking and written with a kind of effortless skill. I can see why this is a regarded as a modern classic.
This is an interesting and conceptual novel itself – very meta at points, but I think that’s the point! It was sharp-witted, funny and thought provoking and written with a kind of effortless skill. I can see why this is a regarded as a modern classic.
sssnoo's review
4.0
It’s hard to review a book where the reader - or readers in general - are the butt of the joke.
But I’ll give it a go...
Everett’s novel is a parody (satire?) of art. His use of language, metaphor, pun and other word art provides multiple layers to decipher. I think I missed quite a bit, but I also “got” some of the underlying messages.
Do you ever ponder what art is? Do you wonder why the “professional” critics love something that leaves you scratching your head? Do you get frustrated by the tropisms and stereotypes that make up a lot of the literary world? If any of these questions pass through your mind when considering a highly acclaimed novel, then you’ll probably enjoy Erasure.
I liked it a lot - but it also made me squirm some as I recognized myself in the readers he pokes fun of.
Thanks Mr Everett for holding up a mirror that sees the truth.
At least I “got” the meaning behind Stagg R. Leigh.
But I’ll give it a go...
Everett’s novel is a parody (satire?) of art. His use of language, metaphor, pun and other word art provides multiple layers to decipher. I think I missed quite a bit, but I also “got” some of the underlying messages.
Do you ever ponder what art is? Do you wonder why the “professional” critics love something that leaves you scratching your head? Do you get frustrated by the tropisms and stereotypes that make up a lot of the literary world? If any of these questions pass through your mind when considering a highly acclaimed novel, then you’ll probably enjoy Erasure.
I liked it a lot - but it also made me squirm some as I recognized myself in the readers he pokes fun of.
Thanks Mr Everett for holding up a mirror that sees the truth.
At least I “got” the meaning behind Stagg R. Leigh.