Reviews

Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash

taurustorus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

lindsrobking's review against another edition

5.0

Check marks, underlines, exclamation marks, and sighs on every page of my copy. This might be the best examination of obsession and loneliness I’ve ever read.

helloandie's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

wassercommaeric's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

larabavery's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Midwestern sports setting—especially the bleakness of winter on a campus, the single-mindedness that kind of environment can create—is so accurate it’s hurtful. I loved this book because it gives you an utterly unique reading experience, but it is without a doubt the weirdest book I’ve ever read. Gave me strange dreams. Will not recommend it to everyone, but will fervently recommend it to certain people, if that makes sense. 

tbabyc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad

dillarhonda's review against another edition

In his debut novel, Stephen Florida, Gabe Habash hermetically seals the reader inside Florida's mind as he strives to win a wrestling championship in his last year of college. From the opening line, "My mother had two placentas and I was living off both of them," you can tell that this is no normal college senior. Florida behaves erratically, and although it might take you a third of the novel to notice, his mental health is spiraling out of control. Habash keeps his book in a relentless present tense that mirrors Florida's inability to focus on the past or the future and occasionally uses passive voice to emphasize his dissociation from his own life. The simmering tension and unique vulnerability of the character keep the reader on their toes through the final pages. Though the ending feels like a bit of a dodge, the lack of emotional release parallels Florida's contemplation of post-wrestling life. An excellent first novel, Habash manages to simultaneously maintain a placid surface while revealing glimpses of the horror just beneath.

tmpucylo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

3.0

lalalena's review against another edition

Habash is talented, but 50 pages in and I didn’t feel grabbed by this particular story. 

gjpeace's review against another edition

5.0

Rating: 4.5

Unlike pretty much anything else I’ve ever read, with a prose style that has the feel of objectivity but the impact of intimacy and a character that is simultaneously repellent and sympathetic. Everybody said this was one of the best books published last year, and everybody was right.