writer_matt's review
5.0
I picked this up after I saw a presentation about print type that discussed the use of unusual form of narrative in Marche's book, and I must admit I was blown away.
The plot is simple and rather ordinary, a couple meet in a foreign city to engage in an adulterous relationship while the woman's husband is committed to a hospital for mentally challenged. You would suppose at reading that plot synopsis that this book would offer nothing new - but it is the physical structure of the book's print that changes one's perception of the novel. In fact, the book challenges ideas of how we physically read. Being forced to turn and twist and unfold and refold and read across pages...it's exhilarating!
The actual story did very little for me, but it was the experience of reading the book that make this a five star read. I actually want to re-read it just to see what new ways of reading it can force me to discover.
The plot is simple and rather ordinary, a couple meet in a foreign city to engage in an adulterous relationship while the woman's husband is committed to a hospital for mentally challenged. You would suppose at reading that plot synopsis that this book would offer nothing new - but it is the physical structure of the book's print that changes one's perception of the novel. In fact, the book challenges ideas of how we physically read. Being forced to turn and twist and unfold and refold and read across pages...it's exhilarating!
The actual story did very little for me, but it was the experience of reading the book that make this a five star read. I actually want to re-read it just to see what new ways of reading it can force me to discover.
alixwongo's review
3.0
A lyrical novel that combines prose and poem and graphic design, Love and the Mess We're In tells a story of a descent into madness, a love triangle, and the messy, messy living. While the graphic design layout (imagine words shaped into waves, words shaped into infinity circles, words as a screenplay, and much more) first piqued my interest, I still can't decide if it felt more like a gimmick or like an element that enhanced the story.
The prose itself was often delicately crafted, metaphors strung like beads; until it delved into crudeness and odd euphemisms.
The prose itself was often delicately crafted, metaphors strung like beads; until it delved into crudeness and odd euphemisms.
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