Reviews

All That Man Is by David Szalay

oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition

Unhappy men go about their lives with varying degrees of self awareness. Loosely connected stories of detatchment and disillusionment, and a certain amount of bleakness, but also humour. Szalay is really skilled at sketching a brief outline that somehow manages to be full of detail and feeling. Characters as well as setting shimmer. Plotwise, not a lot going on. He catches people in the little mundane, in between moments; all the same, the strength of his writing propels things forward.

j32em's review against another edition

challenging lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Was not invested in this so I cannot tell you what happened

nataliebeech's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad 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

niionatan01's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

myles79's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

tomstbr's review against another edition

5.0

Goddamn masterful.

iains33's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

canjackread's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

While this book was incredibly written, I found myself searching for reasons to care about many of the characters. Selfish, sex obsessed, disloyal men repeatedly disappointed me while reading. I feel that this book paints a portrait of masculinity that is pessimistic and wasteful. I would have liked to see some positive models of masculinity at least sprinkled through out. Despite this, I was taken aback with how easy to read and vividly illustrative this book was. Every character was written with such depth of feeling which made me feel like I was every age from 17 to 73. Great writing, awful characters. But I guess that’s the point. 

spacebee's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

spearingsam's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75