jonathanfs's review against another edition
2.0
I cannot begin to understand how much work the author put into this book, so I feel bad giving it such a low rating. I am not saying that this was a low quality book; I am saying that I only enjoyed it 2/5 as much as I would like to have. The depth of the author’s observational exploration was impressive, but they were not in areas I would have had him venture. Sure, he captured the vanity, shallowness, and selfishness of a college student better than I have ever seen anyone do so, but why? A tour de force of negative tangential rants.
ksmith_mn's review against another edition
4.0
Great book, well-developed characters, multiple story lines that converge and tie up in the end. Main character growth and vision (p.616) "...the people in your life are either enemies, obstacles, puzzles, or traps....if you see people as enemies or obstacles or traps, you will be at constant war with them and with yourself. Whereas if you choose to see people as puzzles, and if you see yourself as a puzzle, then you will be constantly delighted, because eventually, if you dig deep enough into anybody, if you really look under he hood of someone's life, you will find something familiar."
whizalen's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled with this book, I went a whole week at one point not reading it. And there's at least one story line that doesn't really wrap up well. Honestly, for a book as long as it is, there are a couple of story lines that conveniently wrap up together.
I had a desire to finish the book, but it really felt like it lacked a good editing. It was far too long to tell the story it eventually did
I had a desire to finish the book, but it really felt like it lacked a good editing. It was far too long to tell the story it eventually did
nicoleaffleck's review against another edition
4.0
This book is very, very good. Quite frustrating at times, but layered with enough sympathy and humanism and told with such grace to make even the more agonizing parts enjoyable.
bgg616's review
4.0
Is there something in the water compelling American writers to put out books that are 600 pages or longer? Recent examples include [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451554970s/17333223.jpg|24065147], [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446469353s/22822858.jpg|42375710], [b:City on Fire|24189224|City on Fire|Garth Risk Hallberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1422969880s/24189224.jpg|26690360], and [b:Christodora|27070074|Christodora|Tim Murphy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468236973s/27070074.jpg|47112536] (actually 496 pages). Some deserve to be that long and The Nix can be put in that category.
The novel crosses at least three decades investigating the Andreson-Anderson family, specifically Samuel and his mother Faye. While the story moves between decades, we spend enough time on each episode to get a deeper understanding of each character.
There are details in parts of the books that some will enjoy and others will want to race through. As a college professor I really identified with Samuel's back and forth with a student guilty of plagiarism, but the endless description of video gamers weren't for me. We expect to dislike Faye, the mother who abandoned her husband and son, but in the end she was the character I appreciated the most. Samuel, the struggling writer and inadequate professor, didn't earn a lot of sympathy from me.
Though a long novel covering a lot of time, it didn't feel sprawling. Some will love it and others may just say "meh".
The novel crosses at least three decades investigating the Andreson-Anderson family, specifically Samuel and his mother Faye. While the story moves between decades, we spend enough time on each episode to get a deeper understanding of each character.
There are details in parts of the books that some will enjoy and others will want to race through. As a college professor I really identified with Samuel's back and forth with a student guilty of plagiarism, but the endless description of video gamers weren't for me. We expect to dislike Faye, the mother who abandoned her husband and son, but in the end she was the character I appreciated the most. Samuel, the struggling writer and inadequate professor, didn't earn a lot of sympathy from me.
Though a long novel covering a lot of time, it didn't feel sprawling. Some will love it and others may just say "meh".
jenno's review against another edition
There's so much about this that I liked. But there's things that I didn't like too.
It's too long. And at the same time it wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for its length. Need to think about this one for a while.
It's too long. And at the same time it wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for its length. Need to think about this one for a while.
joshsur12's review against another edition
5.0
This was a wonderful book. It got me very interested in the character story lines but also in the 1968 setting and the Chicago convention demonstrations and hippies in 1968.
Great word usage too.
Great word usage too.
bamahnken's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC of The Nix at BookCon 2016. The Nix by Nathan Hill is like a playground for a reader. There are so many different writing styles interwoven into the story which in a book that clocks in slightly over 600 pages is definitely refreshing. Each chapter focuses on a particular character's point of view and through different writing styles they all have a very unique voice that develops them further than if it was just their story plainly written.
The Nix addresses everything from intense political climate, online gaming addiction, child (sexual) abuse and it's long term effects, to the effect parents have on our lives long term. It is done in such a way that makes it a fun, great read. Though it is a hefty book I never felt like it was a chore to read, there was never an unbearable point that I found hard to get through. The Nix by Nathan Hill was a very smooth, enjoyable ride. 5/5stars
The Nix addresses everything from intense political climate, online gaming addiction, child (sexual) abuse and it's long term effects, to the effect parents have on our lives long term. It is done in such a way that makes it a fun, great read. Though it is a hefty book I never felt like it was a chore to read, there was never an unbearable point that I found hard to get through. The Nix by Nathan Hill was a very smooth, enjoyable ride. 5/5stars
cterp's review against another edition
5.0
Kept me interested through the ending. 1 or 2 kind of slow parts, but otherwise are really interesting story with some fun twists and turns.
amphytrite's review against another edition
5.0
I don't really write reviews on Goodreads, but I'm going to give it a shot here. I'm using the word "review" quite loosely, so whatever. Deal with it.
Some books really stick with me over time. They're big, hearty beasts most of the time, with many characters and interwoven stories. So when I first encountered The Nix at PLA in April, I thought yes. Calgon/Nathan Hill take me away.
And then the advance copy sat on my office shelf for eight months while I kept telling myself--and others--that I really needed to read that book.
I finally forced myself to pick it up, and now I'm so ashamed that it took me this long to crack open The Nix. While it took eight months to start reading, it took me eight days to finish (a feat for a 600+ page book), and the story clung to the corners of my mind whenever I wasn't actively reading.
I don't know what I can add to Goodreads that hasn't already been said about The Nix plotwise, but I'm astonished by its creativity, its depth and breadth, its intelligence and humour, and its emotion. When I arrived at the midway point, the Choose Your Own Adventure section, I was thrilled by the comic relief, devastated by the emotional wear and tear, and thrilled that another 300+ pages still awaited me. With good books there's always the anxiety of THE END, and I feel incredibly lucky that The Nix's end was so much further away. The characters are so great, so whole and human (Guy Periwinkle's a piece of work but he still makes sense), that I felt they were real. I think my next pet might be named after Bishop. And Hill deserves extra points for pulling together every loose thread he drew out at the opening book, and finding a way to make everything sensible.
So now, The Nix will join the bookshelf next to other favourites like The Art of Fielding, Middlesex, The Sisters Brothers (haha surprise!), Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Sport of Kings (another great one from 2016), and other exceptional works. I and my bookshelf will wait for as long as it takes for Nathan Hill to put out another novel, and I promise it won't take me nearly as long to read.
Some books really stick with me over time. They're big, hearty beasts most of the time, with many characters and interwoven stories. So when I first encountered The Nix at PLA in April, I thought yes. Calgon/Nathan Hill take me away.
And then the advance copy sat on my office shelf for eight months while I kept telling myself--and others--that I really needed to read that book.
I finally forced myself to pick it up, and now I'm so ashamed that it took me this long to crack open The Nix. While it took eight months to start reading, it took me eight days to finish (a feat for a 600+ page book), and the story clung to the corners of my mind whenever I wasn't actively reading.
I don't know what I can add to Goodreads that hasn't already been said about The Nix plotwise, but I'm astonished by its creativity, its depth and breadth, its intelligence and humour, and its emotion. When I arrived at the midway point, the Choose Your Own Adventure section, I was thrilled by the comic relief, devastated by the emotional wear and tear, and thrilled that another 300+ pages still awaited me. With good books there's always the anxiety of THE END, and I feel incredibly lucky that The Nix's end was so much further away. The characters are so great, so whole and human (Guy Periwinkle's a piece of work but he still makes sense), that I felt they were real. I think my next pet might be named after Bishop. And Hill deserves extra points for pulling together every loose thread he drew out at the opening book, and finding a way to make everything sensible.
So now, The Nix will join the bookshelf next to other favourites like The Art of Fielding, Middlesex, The Sisters Brothers (haha surprise!), Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Sport of Kings (another great one from 2016), and other exceptional works. I and my bookshelf will wait for as long as it takes for Nathan Hill to put out another novel, and I promise it won't take me nearly as long to read.