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hsienhsien27's review against another edition
5.0
Here is one of the few novellas that I own and read. This novella is a lot shorter than Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human. I should probably reread and review that book because I keep talking it about every time I mention a novella. So anyway, here's one of those novellas. I probably might reread this because it was so short that it flew by, it was like a really engrossing short film that left me touched and confused at the same because it was like a short dream, a dream that went by in a flash. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, I loved it, but I'm not used to reading such a short book, so when I finished it I was like "Wait? That was it? I kind of want more." So this review probably won't be too long, because there isn't really much to talk about without revealing the whole plot.
How to Shake the Other Man is a book about lost love, death, and boxing. When I read the blurbs and synopsis for this book, I was excited to read it, because for some odd reason I love novels that talk about the limits of mortality, the shortness of life, but I was thrown off by the boxing. I was never interested in boxing but this novel is written in such a beautiful way that boxing became more like this powerful ritual that was being performed in this novel, like some sort of violent, extreme, meditative dance. Feeling pain to be enlightened and feel life? Or maybe I'm just a wacko?.
For a book that is so short, the characters are very real and very emotional. You can empathize with Oscar and Javi and smile and love Marcel. You can smell the coffee and feel the pain. Derek's writing is poetic and sweet, but not overdoing it. It's simple but at the same time it's lyrical like a love song about coffee and stuff. How to Shake the Other Man is a song about the loss of a brother and a lover, and coffee beans. And that's all I can say, I think. I loved it. I will read it again if I want to read something short or to watch a short movie on paper.
Rating: 5/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2014/01/book-review-how-to-shake-other-man-by.html
How to Shake the Other Man is a book about lost love, death, and boxing. When I read the blurbs and synopsis for this book, I was excited to read it, because for some odd reason I love novels that talk about the limits of mortality, the shortness of life, but I was thrown off by the boxing. I was never interested in boxing but this novel is written in such a beautiful way that boxing became more like this powerful ritual that was being performed in this novel, like some sort of violent, extreme, meditative dance. Feeling pain to be enlightened and feel life? Or maybe I'm just a wacko?.
For a book that is so short, the characters are very real and very emotional. You can empathize with Oscar and Javi and smile and love Marcel. You can smell the coffee and feel the pain. Derek's writing is poetic and sweet, but not overdoing it. It's simple but at the same time it's lyrical like a love song about coffee and stuff. How to Shake the Other Man is a song about the loss of a brother and a lover, and coffee beans. And that's all I can say, I think. I loved it. I will read it again if I want to read something short or to watch a short movie on paper.
Rating: 5/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2014/01/book-review-how-to-shake-other-man-by.html
vanaeveryoung's review
4.0
I won this book from the First Reads program.
What a beautiful novella. Atmospheric and reflective storytelling dealing with the fallout of rejection and grief.
I'll be keeping an eye out for this author in the future.
What a beautiful novella. Atmospheric and reflective storytelling dealing with the fallout of rejection and grief.
I'll be keeping an eye out for this author in the future.
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