giantarms's review
4.0
Yes, hello, do you need a book where half of it is an expedition to the North Pole in a hot air balloon and the other half is a mixed up remembrance of a gender-bending romance? Would you like all of the people involved to be absolute weirdos? How do you feel about page-long walls of introspective text?
Sounds good? Yes?
All right. HAVE I GOT A BOOK FOR YOU.
. . .
It's, uh, it's this one.
. . .
What? Do you need more? Fine.
It took a while to get into, which can be a problem in my current child-related attention deficit problem, but luckily I brought it along while I got my oil changed. Alone. Glory be!
You see, one day I was up in the stacks and a bright red book with a golden blimp* on it caught my eye. "READ THIS BOOK. THE GUY'S DEAD. LAST CHANCE. NOBODY KNOWS THIS GUY. WHAT IS YOU PEOPLE'S PROBLEM? Also, he wrote the The Balloonist."
Now, I can't tell you why I thought it would a good idea to go get two books when I can barely read one these days, but there I was with a bare yellow cover I didn't even notice the title had been embossed into until I finished reading it. Which is to say, I went in blind. Had I read the bright red book with the glowing reviews and therefore developed some reason to trust its recommendation? No. Did I look up some critical reviews and make a decision based on their opinions? Not really. Have I been disappointed by random books plucked off the shelves before? Yes.**
Nevertheless, I found myself reading about this orderly man going about his orderly ways with his competent, yet colorful companions and then . . . he does . . . an insignificant thing, but a bonkers one. And from there, complementary oatmeal creme pie in my belly, tire fumes in the air, I had to know what the heck was going on.
So I read the book. Ta-da! Now I know and you don't and I won't tell you! Ha-ha! Find your own oatmeal creme pie, sucker!
* [b:The Carp Castle|16479529|The Carp Castle|MacDonald Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441199761s/16479529.jpg|22675918]
** Jose Builds a Woman
Sounds good? Yes?
All right. HAVE I GOT A BOOK FOR YOU.
. . .
It's, uh, it's this one.
. . .
What? Do you need more? Fine.
It took a while to get into, which can be a problem in my current child-related attention deficit problem, but luckily I brought it along while I got my oil changed. Alone. Glory be!
You see, one day I was up in the stacks and a bright red book with a golden blimp* on it caught my eye. "READ THIS BOOK. THE GUY'S DEAD. LAST CHANCE. NOBODY KNOWS THIS GUY. WHAT IS YOU PEOPLE'S PROBLEM? Also, he wrote the The Balloonist."
Now, I can't tell you why I thought it would a good idea to go get two books when I can barely read one these days, but there I was with a bare yellow cover I didn't even notice the title had been embossed into until I finished reading it. Which is to say, I went in blind. Had I read the bright red book with the glowing reviews and therefore developed some reason to trust its recommendation? No. Did I look up some critical reviews and make a decision based on their opinions? Not really. Have I been disappointed by random books plucked off the shelves before? Yes.**
Nevertheless, I found myself reading about this orderly man going about his orderly ways with his competent, yet colorful companions and then . . . he does . . . an insignificant thing, but a bonkers one. And from there, complementary oatmeal creme pie in my belly, tire fumes in the air, I had to know what the heck was going on.
So I read the book. Ta-da! Now I know and you don't and I won't tell you! Ha-ha! Find your own oatmeal creme pie, sucker!
Spoiler
Hello, me. It's me, me. This is a note to remind you there's a sad, melancholy ending to this one. It's beautiful and appropriate, but if you're looking for a pick-me-up, try something else, ok? Good, I love you, good-bye.* [b:The Carp Castle|16479529|The Carp Castle|MacDonald Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441199761s/16479529.jpg|22675918]
** Jose Builds a Woman
mrlzbth's review
1.0
The book jacket description and the quote from Philip Pullman about not being able to stop turning pages once one starts reading this book led me to expect a very different type of story--a literary "Arctic adventure" that would primarily focus on getting a balloon to the North Pole. Sounded exciting!
Instead the book's primary focus is the tedious love affair between two ridiculously pretentious people, narrated in fittingly pretentious prose. (Needlessly lengthy sentences, no missed opportunity to use a big word, foreign phrases that aren't translated, etc., etc.) Luisa, our protagonist's love interest, is a stereotypically "enigmatic" woman who distracts our scientist hero from his noble pursuit of Science by frequently removing her clothing, breaking his lab equipment, and forcing him to endure long parties supervised by her spinster aunt. The protagonist, meanwhile, is a misogynist who finds Luisa's supposed interest in his work to be laughable even while he finds himself completely unable to resist her feminine wiles. Their endless squabbles get old really fast, and the reader patiently waiting for scenes of Arctic adventure will be waiting a long, long time. They're there, but they're few and far between!
I can understand that people with different literary tastes might love this book, but it definitely wasn't a match for mine.
Instead the book's primary focus is the tedious love affair between two ridiculously pretentious people, narrated in fittingly pretentious prose. (Needlessly lengthy sentences, no missed opportunity to use a big word, foreign phrases that aren't translated, etc., etc.) Luisa, our protagonist's love interest, is a stereotypically "enigmatic" woman who distracts our scientist hero from his noble pursuit of Science by frequently removing her clothing, breaking his lab equipment, and forcing him to endure long parties supervised by her spinster aunt. The protagonist, meanwhile, is a misogynist who finds Luisa's supposed interest in his work to be laughable even while he finds himself completely unable to resist her feminine wiles. Their endless squabbles get old really fast, and the reader patiently waiting for scenes of Arctic adventure will be waiting a long, long time. They're there, but they're few and far between!
I can understand that people with different literary tastes might love this book, but it definitely wasn't a match for mine.
msjenne's review
2.0
WTF. The only reason I gave this two stars was because the ending, where , was extremely satisfying.
Spoiler
everyone diesbr3nd4n's review
4.0
This novel, inspired by an actual attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon in the 1890’s, is a well-wrought tale of adventure that includes a rather odd but memorable love affair. Harris seems very much forgotten, and yet he wrote to some acclaim in his day and is cited by authors such as Philip Pullman as an influence on their work (most obvious perhaps in Northern Lights). He is very adept at describing the science of the day along with the practice of ballooning, but surprisingly he is at his best with his creative rendering of the erotic.
Sentus Libri 100 word reviews of overlooked books.
Sentus Libri 100 word reviews of overlooked books.
avid_d's review
4.0
This is a strange book - part adventure story, part curious romance - both comic and philosophical. I don't know if I would be safe recommending it to anyone yet I really liked it.
jenne's review
2.0
WTF. The only reason I gave this two stars was because the ending, where , was extremely satisfying.
Spoiler
everyone dies
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