2001astaceodyssey's review against another edition
4.0
At first I wasn't sure what to make of Tao Lin. The almost child like simplicity of his sentence structure, his purposeful repetition of exactly the same wording in one sentence immediately after another, and his omission of most sensory details left me sort of... baffled. I thought a lot about it and often when the book wasn't even in my hands. Who was this guy? How on purpose is his style? Is the story about him? Is it just playing dress up with a well known name? And whats the deal with those anyway?
Now having finished the book, and despite having very few to none of the above questions answered, I've been pleasantly surprised with the experience of reading this novel. The simplicity of it is deceptive, the sparse prose bringing a bit of rambling to my own inner monologue. I am now very of the opinion that Mr. Lin knows exactly what he's doing, and he does it very well.
Now having finished the book, and despite having very few to none of the above questions answered, I've been pleasantly surprised with the experience of reading this novel. The simplicity of it is deceptive, the sparse prose bringing a bit of rambling to my own inner monologue. I am now very of the opinion that Mr. Lin knows exactly what he's doing, and he does it very well.
dexterw's review against another edition
funny
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Self harm
wildpaleyonder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.5
showlola's review against another edition
2.0
I tried. I really tried. After reading the 'Adrien Brody' short story by Marie Calloway where she mentioned this book, I picked it up in an effort to better understand this whole MuuMuu house thing.
I'm going to leave it to the hipsters. This book made me feel so old.
I'm going to leave it to the hipsters. This book made me feel so old.
audaciaray's review against another edition
1.0
I really did not enjoy this book. That said, it is really "good" if you appreciate existential nihilism.
(I'm giving the book one start to counter David's 5 stars. It could really be either. Does it matter?)
(I'm giving the book one start to counter David's 5 stars. It could really be either. Does it matter?)
jmbg's review against another edition
4.0
I'm always surprised at how much detail tao lin shares with his readers. tao lin's cut and pasted instant messages are now used as dialogue through a study of a relationship.
Dakota Fanning is Ellen Kennedy and Hayley Joel Osment is tao lin and they are both fucked existentially. They do regular things: listen to music, have sex, drive around, steal things from stores like Virgin Megastore and Walmart. They eat organic food and tempeh and smoothies.
And they're awful to each other.
I felt that the book's focus point was the intersection between what the characters say and what they do. as a silent and omniscient narrator, tao is entirely declaratory, and he stacks short quick sentences together, the two characters playing off the other's neuroses. The characters are introverted and strange and somehow relatable. They struggle to control each other and their own behavior. Both constantly analyze the relationship. They interact with few other people.
I think tao lin is autistic. I attribute some of his popularity to our generation's relationship with the internet and the internet's side effect of alienation. Not to mention youth alienation as American status quo since ~the 1950's. tao lin writes for an audience that is his own age and who appreciate his references (the book has an index by subject in the back). For that reason, I think he will enjoy a certain amount of notoriety, if not now, eventually, especially if he writes more books. His current reputation as a 'hipster' author only concretes his reputation, as countercultural writers often enjoy the most renown in the Western literary canon.
'Richard Yates' is a book worth reading. While it sometimes verges on distressing to read, it will be useful when our chunk of the century is written about later in the future—if we even make through 2012 or whatever. I wonder what the real Dakota Fanning and Hayley Joel Osment would think of 'Richard Yates'. tao should send them copies.
Dakota Fanning is Ellen Kennedy and Hayley Joel Osment is tao lin and they are both fucked existentially. They do regular things: listen to music, have sex, drive around, steal things from stores like Virgin Megastore and Walmart. They eat organic food and tempeh and smoothies.
And they're awful to each other.
I felt that the book's focus point was the intersection between what the characters say and what they do. as a silent and omniscient narrator, tao is entirely declaratory, and he stacks short quick sentences together, the two characters playing off the other's neuroses. The characters are introverted and strange and somehow relatable. They struggle to control each other and their own behavior. Both constantly analyze the relationship. They interact with few other people.
I think tao lin is autistic. I attribute some of his popularity to our generation's relationship with the internet and the internet's side effect of alienation. Not to mention youth alienation as American status quo since ~the 1950's. tao lin writes for an audience that is his own age and who appreciate his references (the book has an index by subject in the back). For that reason, I think he will enjoy a certain amount of notoriety, if not now, eventually, especially if he writes more books. His current reputation as a 'hipster' author only concretes his reputation, as countercultural writers often enjoy the most renown in the Western literary canon.
'Richard Yates' is a book worth reading. While it sometimes verges on distressing to read, it will be useful when our chunk of the century is written about later in the future—if we even make through 2012 or whatever. I wonder what the real Dakota Fanning and Hayley Joel Osment would think of 'Richard Yates'. tao should send them copies.
cmadrenas's review against another edition
1.0
Why did I even read this? Don’t I pride myself on having better judgment than this? Isn’t this book just an overlong tract explaining why, exactly, Tao Lin would be the WORST to date?