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andreacpowers's review against another edition
3.0
3 or 4, really. I can't find the reference now but I believe John Scalzi mentioned "household deer" somewhere which sent me chasing this down. I had recently finished Motherless Brooklyn so I thought I would continue with reading Lethem. It's weird. It's suspenseful and creepy almost all the way through. The author did wrap things up nicely and left everyone in a good place but I didn't have good feelings about it. The SF aspect is almost irrelevant. Well done though. I guess it's literature.
rkaufman13's review against another edition
4.0
Who knew Lethem wrote sci-fi? Who knew that this book would be so short? Spoiler: I did not know either of these things. Maybe you did.
I loved everything about this book except its length--I felt like things were just getting started at the moment Lethem chose to end the story. But I know in my heart of hearts that if the book had been longer, if we'd spent more time with Pella and learned the secrets of the archbuilders, then this would not be literature anymore and it would instead be genre fiction. Maybe I'm OK with that?
This is probably not a book for fans of "true" sci-fi but for casual consumers or people who like other books too, pick it up.
I loved everything about this book except its length--I felt like things were just getting started at the moment Lethem chose to end the story. But I know in my heart of hearts that if the book had been longer, if we'd spent more time with Pella and learned the secrets of the archbuilders, then this would not be literature anymore and it would instead be genre fiction. Maybe I'm OK with that?
This is probably not a book for fans of "true" sci-fi but for casual consumers or people who like other books too, pick it up.
loujoseph's review against another edition
1.0
pretty poor, considering I've read really good stuff from lethem. i like both some of the literary fiction he's written (motherless brooklyn) and scifi genre writing (as she crawl across the table) but this one is just sort of bad- like he took the borges idea of writing a story like it's a summary of a novel way, way too far, it's like a skeleton of a book.
realtomato_'s review against another edition
5.0
this is one of my favorite books in existence. i’ve read it several times and will read it several more i’m sure.
13renna's review against another edition
2.0
This feels like a book that my ninth grade English lit teacher forced me to read and find meaning in, and I found none.
spinstah's review against another edition
4.0
This is another great Lethem novel. It is set in the future, at a time when the earth has become so polluted that we are setting up colonies on other planets. The novel follows the Marsh family, and in particular the daughter Pella. It picks up as they are finalizing their plans to move to the Planet of the Archbuilders, but the majority of the action takes place there. As you can see this is a sci-fi novel, but something about the way Lethem writes it makes it seem completely normal and plausible. For me, the sci-fi aspects didn't get in the way (but I do like some sci-fi, so keep that in mind). Otherwise, this is basically a story that tracks the disintegration of a family and a town (though there is some hope at the end).
I enjoyed this, and I think the audiobook was done quite well. Unlike "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," the transitions were much clearer (aided in part by longer pauses and some B-movie style music). The tracks were also much shorter and of a more consistent length.
I enjoyed this, and I think the audiobook was done quite well. Unlike "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," the transitions were much clearer (aided in part by longer pauses and some B-movie style music). The tracks were also much shorter and of a more consistent length.
writtenechoes's review against another edition
5.0
This was a beautiful novel in all the best ways. Pella begins as a questioning little girl and ends as a young woman that's ready to start living. I just... I hadn't expected to love the novel as much as I did. Lethem is an excellent writer, the way he wrote the archbuilders was beautiful and the slight Lolita element made it even more riveting to read.
Definitely recommend this novel to anyone that likes a good read. It's not always an easy read but it's good.
Definitely recommend this novel to anyone that likes a good read. It's not always an easy read but it's good.
cami_cosmelli's review against another edition
5.0
Il surrealismo di J. Lethem è tornato a coinvolgermi dopo almeno 15 anni dalla prima lettura. La storia di una ragazza che si trasferisce su un altro pianeta dal sapore di selvaggio west, condito con alieni dai nomi improbabili e piccoli esseri che sembrano giraffine.
E anche se lo stile risente degli anni che passano, alcune immagini erano vivide proprio come se fossero state scritte secondo lo stile trasparente che va più di moda oggi.
E anche se lo stile risente degli anni che passano, alcune immagini erano vivide proprio come se fossero state scritte secondo lo stile trasparente che va più di moda oggi.