erthxy's review against another edition
1.0
Bad. Bad bad bad. When I was a little Tumblr tween in 2012-2016 I remember seeing the movie version of this everywhere, along with an actually pretty banging soundtrack. I don’t believe I read it before, but I am angry that I even tried. We really are just letting B-list actors make “art” that’s number one horribly crafted, but also racist/misogynistic/whatever else James Franco has under his belt. Fuck this dude, fuck this book, and fuck his dumb little career.
corneliadolian's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up at the library, after puttering around and not settling on anything because, like always, there were too many good options. This was in the new fiction section, closest to the counter, so really it was an impulse borrow. I wanted to see if James Franco, he of the half dozen simultaneous graduate programs and work-til-you-drop ethic was actually as talented a writer as he seems an actor.
Two things: 1. I didn't like most of this collection, and found it very flawed. 2. I don't think Franco is a bad writer.
All the stories are interconnected, but loosely. They involve most of the same recurring characters, including three or four recurring narrators, but no two stories ever mention/rehash the same events. They're all in first person. The problem is that most of the narrators sound exactly the same. And you don't know whose story you're reading until several pages in and they start to give some details about themselves, some of which aren't even all that telling. Maybe Franco meant to have them all blend and be interchangeable. But it doesn't feel very much like having them all sound alike was purposeful, it feels more like it was due to a lack of skill. That was a huge hurdle for me. There's no way, even in a group of close-knit friends, even in a vacuum, that every character would speak/think/write identically.
For the first four or five stories, I found myself laughing at bits that weren't meant to be funny because the prose was so lazy and repetitive I thought they must all be writing exercises for a prompt like: "Write about something violent/sick/idiotic/sexual and use no more than 200 unique words to do so. The more curse words, the better." I realize they're from the perspectives of teenagers, who sometimes don't have the most developed vocabularies, whose brains are still gelling so that their reasoning isn't always so sharp, who live in bubbles of their own maudlin existences. But, honestly, did it have to be so bleak?
The most disturbing story of all comes almost halfway through. In the most positive light, you can say it describes how a dumb, horny teenage boy makes his girlfriend into a prostitute for his friends. In the harshest light, it's about how a future Law & Order SVU perp orchestrates numerous gang rapes.
That said, I did like a couple of the stories. "April in Three Parts" was good. It actually had something to grab onto and go with, it had narrators who were reflective, who did things and had lives inside them. It was compelling and thoughtful. It's the main reason I'm giving the collection 2 stars, instead of 1.
"Camp" was decent. There were messed up things going on, like in all the stories, but it gave off the vibe that the most messed up things were under the surface of the stories, in the things that were only being hinted at and mentioned in passing. I thought that was well-done.
Franco may become a good writer, even a great one, someday. But, he wasn't one when he wrote the majority of the stories in Palo Alto. I feel like this collection is the thesis for his first MFA (maybe even his undergrad thesis). I feel like he throws some early, really amateur, flat stuff in there, and then some more polished stuff from later in the game. At least I hope that's what happened. I hope some of the crappier stories were written earlier, and ones like "April in Three Parts" were some sort of culmination to his "Palo Alto teen nihilism and debauchery" phase.
Two things: 1. I didn't like most of this collection, and found it very flawed. 2. I don't think Franco is a bad writer.
All the stories are interconnected, but loosely. They involve most of the same recurring characters, including three or four recurring narrators, but no two stories ever mention/rehash the same events. They're all in first person. The problem is that most of the narrators sound exactly the same. And you don't know whose story you're reading until several pages in and they start to give some details about themselves, some of which aren't even all that telling. Maybe Franco meant to have them all blend and be interchangeable. But it doesn't feel very much like having them all sound alike was purposeful, it feels more like it was due to a lack of skill. That was a huge hurdle for me. There's no way, even in a group of close-knit friends, even in a vacuum, that every character would speak/think/write identically.
For the first four or five stories, I found myself laughing at bits that weren't meant to be funny because the prose was so lazy and repetitive I thought they must all be writing exercises for a prompt like: "Write about something violent/sick/idiotic/sexual and use no more than 200 unique words to do so. The more curse words, the better." I realize they're from the perspectives of teenagers, who sometimes don't have the most developed vocabularies, whose brains are still gelling so that their reasoning isn't always so sharp, who live in bubbles of their own maudlin existences. But, honestly, did it have to be so bleak?
The most disturbing story of all comes almost halfway through. In the most positive light, you can say it describes how a dumb, horny teenage boy makes his girlfriend into a prostitute for his friends. In the harshest light, it's about how a future Law & Order SVU perp orchestrates numerous gang rapes.
That said, I did like a couple of the stories. "April in Three Parts" was good. It actually had something to grab onto and go with, it had narrators who were reflective, who did things and had lives inside them. It was compelling and thoughtful. It's the main reason I'm giving the collection 2 stars, instead of 1.
"Camp" was decent. There were messed up things going on, like in all the stories, but it gave off the vibe that the most messed up things were under the surface of the stories, in the things that were only being hinted at and mentioned in passing. I thought that was well-done.
Franco may become a good writer, even a great one, someday. But, he wasn't one when he wrote the majority of the stories in Palo Alto. I feel like this collection is the thesis for his first MFA (maybe even his undergrad thesis). I feel like he throws some early, really amateur, flat stuff in there, and then some more polished stuff from later in the game. At least I hope that's what happened. I hope some of the crappier stories were written earlier, and ones like "April in Three Parts" were some sort of culmination to his "Palo Alto teen nihilism and debauchery" phase.
glendaleereads's review against another edition
3.0
Some short stories were good while others were hard to figure out. However I enjoyed it, but I must say that I actually enjoy the movie better than the actual book.
vivacissimx's review against another edition
1.0
I actually read this collection/book years ago, I barely remember it but just wanted to come back and say it was horrible. Like the least effort was put in as possible to make this into a book. Cancel James Franco based on the underwhelmingness of this book alone please.
priyankav's review against another edition
3.0
Found this book at my local cafe and picked it up solely because I was curious about the way James Franco, the actor, would write. Although the writing style and stories were surprisingly decent, the stories were rather one dimensional in terms of the actual subject. Got a bit repetitive for me, but a lazy read and good for short journeys.
dispositionpictures's review against another edition
3.0
Deep, and dark stories. Not at all what I expected from James Franco. A solid book of short stories.
ghostofyesterday's review against another edition
3.0
In a style reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis' "Less than Zero", James Franco vividly depicts the aimlessness and ennui of being a teenager. His characters are frustrated, horny, angry, bored and confused, and they wander about their native Palo Alto in a state of perpetual angst, trying to find meaning and purpose in their existence via wanton destruction, drug and alcohol ingestion and meaningless sex.
It seems to me a great deal of folk didn't enjoy "Palo Alto", and don't believe Franco to be a particularly good writer. I think the key to appreciating it is in reminding one's self that Franco is taking on the voice of adolescence, and the dialogue and sentence structure mimics the impassive, insecure speech and thought patterns of teens. C'mon, we were all there once! I know I was a pretty moody kid preoccupied with trying to get my kicks because I wanted a distraction from who I was and what I was supposed to do with my life!
In summation, I really enjoyed "Palo Alto" and would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. Curious to see if the films that are in the works eventuate too!
It seems to me a great deal of folk didn't enjoy "Palo Alto", and don't believe Franco to be a particularly good writer. I think the key to appreciating it is in reminding one's self that Franco is taking on the voice of adolescence, and the dialogue and sentence structure mimics the impassive, insecure speech and thought patterns of teens. C'mon, we were all there once! I know I was a pretty moody kid preoccupied with trying to get my kicks because I wanted a distraction from who I was and what I was supposed to do with my life!
In summation, I really enjoyed "Palo Alto" and would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. Curious to see if the films that are in the works eventuate too!
rebeccavenchers's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. This one I'm on the fence about. Honestly, I picked this book up 2-3 years ago just because it was written by James Franco, and never really got around to reading it until now. Palo Alto is a quick read - a collection of short stories told from the perspective of a group of teenagers in the nineties, when Franco would have been growing up in the area. I get the feeling that Franco decided to spend more time on the style of writing, rather than substance, which isn't always a bad thing. What gets left behind is any sort of connection or emotion from the teenagers. All the stories are written in short, snappy sentences with little emotion or descriptors - it really is just straightforward writing. It's easy to get used to, but I got left with the feeling that all the teenagers spoke with the same detachment and monotony. Whether this was something Franco was going for is to be determined, but I still felt like there was always something missing with the story.
servemethesky's review against another edition
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Franco's writing is masterful. The prose is often lovely, evoking stirring images that remain with you for a long time.
I also really enjoyed how the stories and characters' lives intertwined. With some characters, like Ryan, we see their life unfurled in reverse chronological order, which is an interesting devolution of sorts.
As horrible as these kids are, it's almost impossible not to feel sorry for them, and often even a twinge of sympathy. April and Teddy are not bad kids, but they aren't good ones either. Their lives are hard for me to imagine because I grew up in such a vastly different environment, but Franco makes it real.
One thought did run through the back of my mind, though, constantly as I read this: where are the parents?! If the parents were around, I doubt these kids would be getting away with such fucked up shit.
These stories are disturbing and provocative, and eerily beautiful and lovely at times. I was thoroughly absorbed in reading them because their pull was so strong.
My favorite English professor apparently was one of Franco's teachers, too, so there's another mark in his favor.
I also really enjoyed how the stories and characters' lives intertwined. With some characters, like Ryan, we see their life unfurled in reverse chronological order, which is an interesting devolution of sorts.
As horrible as these kids are, it's almost impossible not to feel sorry for them, and often even a twinge of sympathy. April and Teddy are not bad kids, but they aren't good ones either. Their lives are hard for me to imagine because I grew up in such a vastly different environment, but Franco makes it real.
One thought did run through the back of my mind, though, constantly as I read this: where are the parents?! If the parents were around, I doubt these kids would be getting away with such fucked up shit.
These stories are disturbing and provocative, and eerily beautiful and lovely at times. I was thoroughly absorbed in reading them because their pull was so strong.
My favorite English professor apparently was one of Franco's teachers, too, so there's another mark in his favor.