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nessazee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
amandasbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
ayane13's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dinah56's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ironic. Strong commentary of American culture since 2019.
delightfulalot's review against another edition
challenging
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
2.0
meandering, doesn't actually say anything, not interesting by half
rschulze2's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ammcnamara's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t love this book but I read it until the end so there must have been something there. It is a satire written as a pulp novel. Oftentimes I felt the satire was a bit too on the nose.
emungai's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Uh… what did I just read?
Look, it could just be that I’m not clever enough to understand what O’Brien was trying to do with this book. He is obviously a very accomplished author, and my 1.5 star rating of this book is not a reflection of his objective level of writing skill. But… I did not enjoy this book. And I didn’t find it particularly meaningful, either.
The book is a mediation on the nature of truth, but it doesn’t ring true. It reads like a cynic’s diary or the written equivalent of an abstract painting. It’s postmodernism on speed. None of the emotional beats with characters resonated because the whole book was so detached, disjointed, and frankly delirious. I suppose conceptualizing fake news as a contagious disease is mildly interesting? But certainly not interesting enough to merit multiple pages of O’Brien listing off absurdities scattered throughout the book.
I suppose I can imagine this book having merit in hindsight, as a snapshot of history in this very weird Trump/COVID era. A text that English teachers 100 years from now would have their students read to analyze the period. But even then… who would ENJOY it?
Look, it could just be that I’m not clever enough to understand what O’Brien was trying to do with this book. He is obviously a very accomplished author, and my 1.5 star rating of this book is not a reflection of his objective level of writing skill. But… I did not enjoy this book. And I didn’t find it particularly meaningful, either.
The book is a mediation on the nature of truth, but it doesn’t ring true. It reads like a cynic’s diary or the written equivalent of an abstract painting. It’s postmodernism on speed. None of the emotional beats with characters resonated because the whole book was so detached, disjointed, and frankly delirious. I suppose conceptualizing fake news as a contagious disease is mildly interesting? But certainly not interesting enough to merit multiple pages of O’Brien listing off absurdities scattered throughout the book.
I suppose I can imagine this book having merit in hindsight, as a snapshot of history in this very weird Trump/COVID era. A text that English teachers 100 years from now would have their students read to analyze the period. But even then… who would ENJOY it?
_wmjb_'s review against another edition
2.0
Do I count this as read if I could only get through half of it before giving up? At the beginning, I really enjoyed the social commentary about the ridiculous lies being thrown around and how so many people believe things that are demonstrably untrue. But it quickly got old and I began to feel despair because it is exactly what is happening in the world now. And the book is much too long! DNF