margarete's review
4.0
“The point changes and goes out. You cannot be forever watching for the point, or you lose the simplest thing: being a major character in your own life.”
hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars
took me a while to finish this, but very glad to have read it. Jen Fain’s voice is so aloof and observant, witty and dry in a delicious way.
hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars
took me a while to finish this, but very glad to have read it. Jen Fain’s voice is so aloof and observant, witty and dry in a delicious way.
regattagala's review against another edition
2.0
It took me two months to read this 167 page book. It felt like having a conversation in a loud bar, with someone who has amole social anxiety and fills every silence with a story about something or other, unable to delve deeply into any of them. I left the book for a few weeks to see if returning with fresh energy would allow me to connect with it more, but having to return to it felt like a chore. I understand some people like exactly that, how quickly she moves from one subject to the other, but it didn’t work for me.
moonshake's review
4.0
about to commit the grave mistake of rating this book for how much of it I could actually parse and not of its actual quality. there are some fucking daggers in this book and it was such a great read but I really need to invest in heavy critical analysis to see what I missed (not that the book lacks)
rachel_the_managing_editor's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Speedboat was originally published in 1976, yet somehow it feels fresher than many novels that came out this year. This is no small feat. It's somewhat hard to process if you read too much in one sitting, but pick it up, put it down, and read a few vignettes here and there. Funny, clever, and keenly observed.
Speedboat was originally published in 1976, yet somehow it feels fresher than many novels that came out this year. This is no small feat. It's somewhat hard to process if you read too much in one sitting, but pick it up, put it down, and read a few vignettes here and there. Funny, clever, and keenly observed.
earlyandalone's review
4.0
I would say this book, for me, was more like 3 1/2 stars. I read this in a very short time, mostly on a bus from Providence to New York. In that time, I felt like the narrator was speaking to me, was telling me stories about her life. And I liked that aspect of it, very much.
But even though I tend to shy away from plot-driven stories, I found the lack of plot here jarring and disorienting. I appreciated the fragmentary structure of the novel--I think it's innovative and smart and thought-provoking. But it didn't work for me, it didn't make me think especially deep thoughts or want to revel in the words.
Maybe I'm more disappointed because I've been looking forward to reading this for so long, but there you are.
But even though I tend to shy away from plot-driven stories, I found the lack of plot here jarring and disorienting. I appreciated the fragmentary structure of the novel--I think it's innovative and smart and thought-provoking. But it didn't work for me, it didn't make me think especially deep thoughts or want to revel in the words.
Maybe I'm more disappointed because I've been looking forward to reading this for so long, but there you are.
soulpopped's review against another edition
5.0
there was a point in the middle of this book where i thought, "is this my favorite book of all-time?" that cooled a bit (i like the first half/nyc stuff a lot more than the second half/global stuff), but i still loved it overall. adler writes in a way that really hits on a lot of things i love, and this book is really effective in how funny/mean/cutting/insightful it is.
encyclopedia's review against another edition
it's been a while since i read a book that i instantly knew would exert an influence on me—something i liked in a way that made me want to emulate it in my own work. speedboat is that. it's a political novel about sociality. it locates the creation of political and ideological meaning in fumbling miscommunications between people. it's impressionistic but immensely observant. it's deeply linked to the mid-70s but so weirdly prescient; it's rare that fiction from and about the past gives me better insight into why we are the way we are today. this is also a great book to pair with rick pearlstein's reaganland, which effectively picks up the year speedboat was published. the unraveling discontent of speedboat crescendoes in reaganland, culminating in the rise of american conservatism as we know it today.
anyway, i'm rambling because i'm tired but def check this out! especially if u are american and have gone to school too much. u will be like woah. renata knew
anyway, i'm rambling because i'm tired but def check this out! especially if u are american and have gone to school too much. u will be like woah. renata knew