Reviews

IBID by Mark Dunn

heathersbike's review

1.0

I wish there was a "I couldn't finish this" button instead of the three options. I was SOOO disappointed with this book after reading "Ella Minnow Pea." What a horrible second book. I would say don't bother, but you should always check a book out for yourself.

mellomellomello's review

3.0

Fun but meh.

bottomlesslibrary's review

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

karencarlson's review

2.25

 I knew this book was a gimmick going in. After all, I knew Dunn’s earlier book, Ella Minnow Pea, was likewise a gimmick, but I loved it anyway, and it turned out to have more depth than I’d expected. I’d hoped the same for this one: a book composed only of end notes, the only copy of the main text having been accidentally destroyed.
Alas, no.
It starts well, and I was with it up to a point; I do love goofy humor. But after fifty pages of random, not-very-connected absurdist anecdotes, it got tiring. I didn't finish it.
It might, however, be a book worth reading in a unique way: Start, enjoy the setup and the goofiness of the premise, then scan the rest, perhaps reading a page now and then to recapture the mirth of the initial impression.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.

 

katieohara's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

taurustorus's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-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? No

3.25

coffeeandreads's review

While I still think it's a fascinating idea, the story is so boring that I can't find the motivation to keep up with it. 200+ pages of endnotes of a biography of a 3-legged circus performer is a bit too much. It's not even as interesting as the endnotes and footnotes sections in the CMS.

merricatct's review

3.0

I'm a big fan of Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea, which combined a fascinating experiment in written language with a story that was both delightful and frightening; unfortunately, this was much less of a success for me. The experiment in written language (here, a novel written entirely in endnotes) was interesting, but the story itself was lacking. The main character is very Forrest Gump-y in encountering lots of famous historical figures, but otherwise, it wasn't very entertaining or compelling. Despite being fairly short, it took me far longer than I expected to read this, just because I avoided picking it up or kept getting distracted while reading it. But I got through it! I'm giving it three stars because of the creative format, but Pale Fire this definitely isn't.

clarentium's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An inventive way of telling a story. It was very funny but also made me unexpectedly emotional.

rebeccabateman's review

1.0

1.5 stars

Dunn's idea is creative, but implemented in such a contrived, inane and unsophisticated manner it left me angry as I persevered through it. Chock full of lame puns and innuendo and completely lacking in quality or plot (granted, I guess that was the idea). However, had the actual book been available, I don't think I would have found it to have any merit either.