maddyjo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
thecommonswings's review against another edition
5.0
Devastating. At first it feels like a slightly less whimsical version of things like the Robertson Davies’ Bildungsromans but it soon takes the reader into far darker, stranger and agonisingly melancholy territory.
I’ve read a couple of reviews that described the narrator as unlikeable and the narrative as constantly flitting about, and to that I ask how readers would suggest a book about a man who intensely hates himself and is beginning the slow process of killing himself would read? It’s agonisingly forensic in how detailed Miller goes into Bland’s narrative. It genuinely feels like a confessional - flailing in anger and frustration and loss like it does - and the more whimsical moments are definitely deliberately there because Bland is kidding himself about his past. Miller’s not that dumb a writer. And by the time the narrative begins to unravel into strange paranoid and almost surreal vignettes, which interestingly don’t fit into the narrative Bland is trying to control, the effect absolutely wipes you out
It’s also a book about PTSD, about nature versus nurture and - as Pearl wisely points out in her introduction- about self loathing covering someone’s real personality. Miller’s homosexuality doesn’t fully chime in with Bland’s narrative, but there are moments where the implications are very direct. It’s possibly the most awful evocation of self hatred within depression I have ever read. Every word feels true and particularly feels like Miller must have suffered every word, every sentence of this. I was horrified in a way I can truly say I haven’t been by a book in living memory. It’s a brutal masterpiece but I’m not entirely sure a book I could or can ever revisit
It’s astonishing. It’s horrible. It’s horrifying. It’s gut wrenching. It deserves to be a modern classic
I’ve read a couple of reviews that described the narrator as unlikeable and the narrative as constantly flitting about, and to that I ask how readers would suggest a book about a man who intensely hates himself and is beginning the slow process of killing himself would read? It’s agonisingly forensic in how detailed Miller goes into Bland’s narrative. It genuinely feels like a confessional - flailing in anger and frustration and loss like it does - and the more whimsical moments are definitely deliberately there because Bland is kidding himself about his past. Miller’s not that dumb a writer. And by the time the narrative begins to unravel into strange paranoid and almost surreal vignettes, which interestingly don’t fit into the narrative Bland is trying to control, the effect absolutely wipes you out
It’s also a book about PTSD, about nature versus nurture and - as Pearl wisely points out in her introduction- about self loathing covering someone’s real personality. Miller’s homosexuality doesn’t fully chime in with Bland’s narrative, but there are moments where the implications are very direct. It’s possibly the most awful evocation of self hatred within depression I have ever read. Every word feels true and particularly feels like Miller must have suffered every word, every sentence of this. I was horrified in a way I can truly say I haven’t been by a book in living memory. It’s a brutal masterpiece but I’m not entirely sure a book I could or can ever revisit
It’s astonishing. It’s horrible. It’s horrifying. It’s gut wrenching. It deserves to be a modern classic
jessferg's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what to think of this one. I mean, I liked it but I can't say I've read a true "memoir as novel" before (or maybe it was novel as memoir?) A rather depressing read - very self-depreciating and bitter - but still compelling, particularly for the socio-historical aspect (is that a thing?). The ending is quite dramatic - as the life-long literate narrator deteriorates, it becomes difficult to decipher what is going on and it becomes increasingly disturbing. Not necessarily a fitting end but one that is understandable. Def a book that deserves to be read and discussed.
terril's review against another edition
1.0
Hated. Made it all the way to the end, which I should not have done, and I still don't know what happened. Argh.
kathleenitpdx's review against another edition
4.0
A man,who has led an interesting and tragic life, and has decided to end it, dictates a record of his experiences.
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