chasingholden's review against another edition
4.0
When a once-promising young writer agrees to ghostwrite a famous physicist’s memoir, his life is already starting to crack, weighed down by debt, marital issues, and depression he exaggerates his abilities knowing that every portion of the memoir he writes repairs his own life a little bit more. So what happens when partway through the project,: the physicist vanishes, leaving him with only a fraction of the information he needs to finish the job?
With everything, including his sanity is in jeopardy, he undergoes an experimental, psychedelic treatment and finds his world completely transformed.. With incredible imagination and expertly formed sequences, Brewer paints a bold and beautiful picture of a person on the edge, zig-zagging through art, memory, and the ways our lives intertwine and align within the riddles of space and time, and. exploring the depth of the human spirit.
The Red Arrow is in a category all its own and is easily the best mind-bending, compulsively readable story to hit shelves in a long time.
A big thank you to negalley and publishers for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and give my honest opinions on the experience that is The Red Arrow.
With everything, including his sanity is in jeopardy, he undergoes an experimental, psychedelic treatment and finds his world completely transformed.. With incredible imagination and expertly formed sequences, Brewer paints a bold and beautiful picture of a person on the edge, zig-zagging through art, memory, and the ways our lives intertwine and align within the riddles of space and time, and. exploring the depth of the human spirit.
The Red Arrow is in a category all its own and is easily the best mind-bending, compulsively readable story to hit shelves in a long time.
A big thank you to negalley and publishers for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and give my honest opinions on the experience that is The Red Arrow.
chasingholden's review against another edition
4.0
When a once-promising young writer agrees to ghostwrite a famous physicist’s memoir, his life is already starting to crack, weighed down by debt, marital issues, and depression he exaggerates his abilities knowing that every portion of the memoir he writes repairs his own life a little bit more. So what happens when partway through the project,: the physicist vanishes, leaving him with only a fraction of the information he needs to finish the job?
With everything, including his sanity is in jeopardy, he undergoes an experimental, psychedelic treatment and finds his world completely transformed.. With incredible imagination and expertly formed sequences, Brewer paints a bold and beautiful picture of a person on the edge, zig-zagging through art, memory, and the ways our lives intertwine and align within the riddles of space and time, and. exploring the depth of the human spirit.
The Red Arrow is in a category all its own and is easily the best mind-bending, compulsively readable story to hit shelves in a long time.
A big thank you to negalley and publishers for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and give my honest opinions on the experience that is The Red Arrow.
With everything, including his sanity is in jeopardy, he undergoes an experimental, psychedelic treatment and finds his world completely transformed.. With incredible imagination and expertly formed sequences, Brewer paints a bold and beautiful picture of a person on the edge, zig-zagging through art, memory, and the ways our lives intertwine and align within the riddles of space and time, and. exploring the depth of the human spirit.
The Red Arrow is in a category all its own and is easily the best mind-bending, compulsively readable story to hit shelves in a long time.
A big thank you to negalley and publishers for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and give my honest opinions on the experience that is The Red Arrow.
claireanne33's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.5
courtneycarmona's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
daniellemjoyce's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
bemmens's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brookeworm88's review against another edition
4.0
This stream of consciousness novel chronicles the memories and mental journey of a writer ( turned “ghostwriter”) and his battle with a depression that he coins “the mist”.
This has elements of Faulkner’s writing style, with Proustian themes, replete with gorgeous passages of philosophical musings. I found the task of “ghostwriting” to get out of his burden of debt from a previous novel to be a great metaphor for being a ghost in his own life under the “mist” and fog of his depression.
This has elements of Faulkner’s writing style, with Proustian themes, replete with gorgeous passages of philosophical musings. I found the task of “ghostwriting” to get out of his burden of debt from a previous novel to be a great metaphor for being a ghost in his own life under the “mist” and fog of his depression.
clapton_pond's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent debut that has echoes of some of my favourite clever authors (Ben Lerner, Bolaño, Auster) whilst retaining an original voice.
The constant bending and folding of narrative time (an intriguing theme throughout) is impressive, causing scenes and thoughts to almost become nesting dolls. But this is entirely outdone by the narrator's - and therefore the author's, he's writing from experience here - self awareness and bravery regarding the crippling depression suffered for a staggering 20 years.
Seriously, the clarity of thought here is on another level... I can't stop thinking about this book.
Oh and did I mention it's often very, very funny? What follows after the narrator's brother tells him to "go downstairs" to their father's basement is an extraordinary scene, simply breathtaking.
The constant bending and folding of narrative time (an intriguing theme throughout) is impressive, causing scenes and thoughts to almost become nesting dolls. But this is entirely outdone by the narrator's - and therefore the author's, he's writing from experience here - self awareness and bravery regarding the crippling depression suffered for a staggering 20 years.
Seriously, the clarity of thought here is on another level... I can't stop thinking about this book.
Oh and did I mention it's often very, very funny? What follows after the narrator's brother tells him to "go downstairs" to their father's basement is an extraordinary scene, simply breathtaking.