jessicaa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maryeverettb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emilypolcyn's review against another edition
5.0
700 pages and I was engaged the whole time. I’ve been getting back into reading as a hobby, and this book reminded me why I love it so much. Hill has such an excellent grasp on what makes a book interesting. His characters, who often begin as hate-able caricatures, each feel fully-formed, real, and messy. Plus I love an ensemble cast. I was a bit leery of reading a book written by a white dude about a white dude writing a book, but even though it’s framed through Samuel’s novel, the world is so much larger than that. This book truly created a fully fleshed out world that I wanted to keep returning to.
Hill has a mastery of technical writing that doesn’t bog down the book at all. Hill isn’t afraid to experiment, like the 10-page long sentence about a dude who’s trying to quit gaming. His writing style always lends itself excellently to feelings of being lost, stuck in a rut, and spiraling (which is great, since that’s such a huge theme in the book). My favorite technique he uses is his imagery. We’ll be listening in on an important conversation, intercut with prose about a seemingly mundane detail in the background, like the goods being sold in an airport. Hill uses these details to build on the themes in the scene and really show us the lens of who is telling us about the world—Samuel’s inner monologue is so vastly different from Ginsberg’s and Faye’s and Perwinkle’s (and WHAT a character Periwinkle is).
My one concern early on was Laura. As a college student who’s had to formally complain against professors… that’s not how it works, lol. But I always got the sense that we were seeing Laura through a specific lens and that she was being made into a caricature for thematic reasons. This all made sense and paid of when it’s really implied that we’re reading Samuel’s novel. Also, oh my God, I loved that ending. I’m such a sucker for utilizing the medium through which you’re telling the story as an important part of the story itself.
Overall, this book was masterfully written and is going to stick with me for a long, long time. Can’t wait to force everyone in my life to read this book.
Hill has a mastery of technical writing that doesn’t bog down the book at all. Hill isn’t afraid to experiment, like the 10-page long sentence about a dude who’s trying to quit gaming. His writing style always lends itself excellently to feelings of being lost, stuck in a rut, and spiraling (which is great, since that’s such a huge theme in the book). My favorite technique he uses is his imagery. We’ll be listening in on an important conversation, intercut with prose about a seemingly mundane detail in the background, like the goods being sold in an airport. Hill uses these details to build on the themes in the scene and really show us the lens of who is telling us about the world—Samuel’s inner monologue is so vastly different from Ginsberg’s and Faye’s and Perwinkle’s (and WHAT a character Periwinkle is).
My one concern early on was Laura. As a college student who’s had to formally complain against professors… that’s not how it works, lol. But I always got the sense that we were seeing Laura through a specific lens and that she was being made into a caricature for thematic reasons. This all made sense and paid of when it’s really implied that we’re reading Samuel’s novel. Also, oh my God, I loved that ending. I’m such a sucker for utilizing the medium through which you’re telling the story as an important part of the story itself.
Overall, this book was masterfully written and is going to stick with me for a long, long time. Can’t wait to force everyone in my life to read this book.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
5.0
Epic. Can’t wait to discuss at book club on Friday!
marschwartz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lindzeliza's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hannahbrostrom's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and American are not strung together nearly as often recently as they were some decades ago. But on account of this book, these two words are it's best descriptors. This novel has this fascinating quality to it that is almost infuriating in it's perfection. It's story is so wonderful, so gripping, so raw and real and gorgeous that I was caught in this terrible ultimatum of not being able to put it down but having to tear myself away from it in order to make it last as long as humanly possible. This is well written in a way that is seperate from the way one would picture "well written", with lengthy descriptions that did not ever become boring despite this length, because they were so relatable and humourous and accurate. There is nothing in this book that did not work for me. Truly a work of art.