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dylan2219's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
v well written and full of rich and tantalising commentary, I liked the structure a lot - especially the first section. That being said this book is also full of all the problems you find in a book full of New York art types: you are always thinking a little, at the back of your mind, “who cares?” And it’s a relentless downer, a little too brain poisoned by depression I think to see the forest for the trees. But the final section is genuinely moving
eleanordoesreading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.25
robs320's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
zachwerb's review
5.0
My kinda book. Somehow Gary Indiana just keeps getting better as I read more and more (this being the sixth book, the ones I have read in no particular order). This one was brutal and hilarious. A certain kind of life that slowly unravels in America is in focus here.
eriknoteric's review against another edition
3.0
Gary Indiana has a belied knack for building his characters in a way that makes you really wonder if he knows where his books will end when he starts writing. Admittedly, this left me a bit frustrated as I began the book because for much of the first third of the book readers are left in the dark about the characters they are encountering.
But I did not give up and by the middle of the book I had some how gotten hooked onto the stories of these characters. And what arises out of this confusing introduction is a deeply thoughtful and theoretical conversation about the ways in which we as contemporary subjects deal with the ever encompassing problem of boredom. As boredom comes to rule out lives what do things like death and mental illness and love and sex mean? Are they merely just tools we use to avoid confronting how bored we really are? Or is there something meaningful in them? For Indiana, I think the answer is both and neither. But in the end, readers walk away from his writing confronted with the reality that their own boredoms can't be covered up or hidden away.
While the writing itself is tedious at times, and as I mentioned, Indiana isn't the best at building up his characters, the overall theoretical ideas he is considering make this book a notable read.
But I did not give up and by the middle of the book I had some how gotten hooked onto the stories of these characters. And what arises out of this confusing introduction is a deeply thoughtful and theoretical conversation about the ways in which we as contemporary subjects deal with the ever encompassing problem of boredom. As boredom comes to rule out lives what do things like death and mental illness and love and sex mean? Are they merely just tools we use to avoid confronting how bored we really are? Or is there something meaningful in them? For Indiana, I think the answer is both and neither. But in the end, readers walk away from his writing confronted with the reality that their own boredoms can't be covered up or hidden away.
While the writing itself is tedious at times, and as I mentioned, Indiana isn't the best at building up his characters, the overall theoretical ideas he is considering make this book a notable read.
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