justahappyreader's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
eliasjzurita's review against another edition
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
arenizu's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
pbobrit's review
4.0
To quote the blurb on the back of the book: An author called only "Writer" is said to be "weary unto death of making up stories", not to mention inventing characters or contemplating plot or setting or theme - and yet is determined to seduce the reader into turning pages and "getting somewhere".
This book is strangely brilliant, my first encounter with this author (and hopefully my last). This could be classed as meta-fiction or meta-literature because of the form it takes and the way it plays with structure but the genius of the book is that whilst it is this free wheeling experiment in writing it is also a complete page turner. I started it last night and only put it down because of tiredness, but got up this morning and finished it off. Definitely worth reading.
This book is strangely brilliant, my first encounter with this author (and hopefully my last). This could be classed as meta-fiction or meta-literature because of the form it takes and the way it plays with structure but the genius of the book is that whilst it is this free wheeling experiment in writing it is also a complete page turner. I started it last night and only put it down because of tiredness, but got up this morning and finished it off. Definitely worth reading.
jung's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
hm.
A quick read. There's not much to really say about a book that is not a book, per-se. A book recites how famous artists, philosophers, and scientists died. Like a list.
I guess it seems as if Markson was running into writer's block, and this was his solution. I'm not necessarily opposed to it, and think that the idea here, of trying to create a novel that is effectively not a novel, has merit. Similar to Literally Show Me a Healthy Person by Darcie Wilder or The Interogative Mood by Padgett Powell in this structural regard, but I felt both of the aforementioned make further use out of this staccato and fragmented style. Granted, both were written at least a decade or two later, which is perhaps why they feel more developed.
there is a cadence to the whole work that adds a pleasant tempo, but if there was explicit poeticism, it was lost on me. Something i read in a review after reading this was that this was a book with no aesthetic judgements. From the lens of minimalist literature, this passes with flying colors, and I appreciate Markson's book as such, but within a larger ecosystem, I don't feel like it holds up.
I think my biggest criticism here is that the book is very much a product of postmodernist writing, when it had already gone out of fashion by the early 2000's. It just feels like this type of writing is effectively retracing the tone and general ethos of authors like Barth or Calvino, without really doing much more groundbreaking work itself. Admittedly, the self-referential nature of this book is employed to draw connection with the author, which is a rather post-postmodern sentiment that I can appreciate, but it does not feel like Markson embraces this reader-author rapport as much as some of his contemporaries do. On that note, I also didn't quite vibe with the author referring to himself as just "author," where I feel like use of "I" would have been much more personal.
A quick read. There's not much to really say about a book that is not a book, per-se. A book recites how famous artists, philosophers, and scientists died. Like a list.
I guess it seems as if Markson was running into writer's block, and this was his solution. I'm not necessarily opposed to it, and think that the idea here, of trying to create a novel that is effectively not a novel, has merit. Similar to Literally Show Me a Healthy Person by Darcie Wilder or The Interogative Mood by Padgett Powell in this structural regard, but I felt both of the aforementioned make further use out of this staccato and fragmented style. Granted, both were written at least a decade or two later, which is perhaps why they feel more developed.
there is a cadence to the whole work that adds a pleasant tempo, but if there was explicit poeticism, it was lost on me. Something i read in a review after reading this was that this was a book with no aesthetic judgements. From the lens of minimalist literature, this passes with flying colors, and I appreciate Markson's book as such, but within a larger ecosystem, I don't feel like it holds up.
I think my biggest criticism here is that the book is very much a product of postmodernist writing, when it had already gone out of fashion by the early 2000's. It just feels like this type of writing is effectively retracing the tone and general ethos of authors like Barth or Calvino, without really doing much more groundbreaking work itself. Admittedly, the self-referential nature of this book is employed to draw connection with the author, which is a rather post-postmodern sentiment that I can appreciate, but it does not feel like Markson embraces this reader-author rapport as much as some of his contemporaries do. On that note, I also didn't quite vibe with the author referring to himself as just "author," where I feel like use of "I" would have been much more personal.
reasie's review
4.0
I grabbed this for its title and it was a quick read. It's not a novel. It's a series of factoids, mostly about famous artists and how they died or how someone at some point thought they were utter crap, inter spaced with interjections from Writer. (Like, "Art that is not propaganda is not art, said Diego Rivera. Writer's Arse.")
Not necessarily anyone's cup of tea, but I liked it thoroughly, probably helped by the writer's preoccupation with medieval subjects that appeal to me. (Yay for every mention of Van der Goes and Memling!)
The whole has an odd sense of humor and seems designed singularly to cheer up an author fighting writer's block.
Not necessarily anyone's cup of tea, but I liked it thoroughly, probably helped by the writer's preoccupation with medieval subjects that appeal to me. (Yay for every mention of Van der Goes and Memling!)
The whole has an odd sense of humor and seems designed singularly to cheer up an author fighting writer's block.
kathrichards's review
second time reading this, really vibed with it this time actually
jessrock's review
4.0
I am still really not sure what to say about this book. I don't think I have even begun to understand it, and I would like to read it several more times to see how much I can puzzle out. It is, as the title purports, Not A Novel (et cela n'est pas une pipe, aussi), being a book without characters or plot but which nonetheless compels the reader (easily!) to glide through its 190 pages. In lieu of characters or plot, the writer provides trivia, coincidences, and miscellany about writers, artists, and other intellectuals, which at first appear to be unrelated but later begin to settle into a pattern or whole. The repeated details of illnesses, hygiene and fame eventually point toward the writer's own obsessions with these topics, his own hypochondria and desire for immortality.
This book, like so many others, reminded me of how little I have read (and how little I have retained of what I have read): the times I could identify a quote or place a word or phrase into the larger puzzle of the book, I felt inordinately proud of myself. So much more of the book went right by me, isolated phrases that seemed unrelated but that I knew I Ought To Recognize. I am seriously considering purchasing the book, looking up every quote and reference in its pages, and explicating the text in its margins.
So. It is nearly impossible for me to explain what the book is, let alone to discuss its value or recommend it, but I highly enjoyed the experience of reading it just the same, and maybe you will too. If nothing else, much of the trivia is interesting, funny, and the sort of thing you want to stop and read out loud to whomever happens to be in the room at the same time as you.
This book, like so many others, reminded me of how little I have read (and how little I have retained of what I have read): the times I could identify a quote or place a word or phrase into the larger puzzle of the book, I felt inordinately proud of myself. So much more of the book went right by me, isolated phrases that seemed unrelated but that I knew I Ought To Recognize. I am seriously considering purchasing the book, looking up every quote and reference in its pages, and explicating the text in its margins.
So. It is nearly impossible for me to explain what the book is, let alone to discuss its value or recommend it, but I highly enjoyed the experience of reading it just the same, and maybe you will too. If nothing else, much of the trivia is interesting, funny, and the sort of thing you want to stop and read out loud to whomever happens to be in the room at the same time as you.
yoonie215's review
dark
funny
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
lucasmiller's review
5.0
My sister bought my a copy of Wittgenstein's Mistress on a trip to New York. It was a nice gesture. As with most books acquired in this manner, it set on my shelf for awhile. I came across of copy of This is Not a Novel at a used bookstore a few years later and bought it instinctively. Over the course of reading it I began to annotate entries. For quotations, just the source or author, for individuals country of origin, dates, and briefest career description. Long hours were spent reading a few pages, making tick marks where necessary and going back to fill in some information. I've gone through maybe two or two and half times and nothing ever feels finished. I eventually bought a second copy of This is Not a Novel. This was the copy that I read this go around, in two days no less.
Following Reader's Block, the tone of This is Not a Novel feels like crawling out of a ditch. the emphasis of the anecdotes switches from suicide to death disease and accident. While this remains gloomy as hell, it imbues the whole thing with a sense of inevitability and is allowed to be much funnier than Reader's Block. Writer is much more driven than Reader. There might be a few less narrative statements here as well, but the consonance of the entries, even when I didn't know the references is more propulsive and witty than I expected.
Following Reader's Block, the tone of This is Not a Novel feels like crawling out of a ditch. the emphasis of the anecdotes switches from suicide to death disease and accident. While this remains gloomy as hell, it imbues the whole thing with a sense of inevitability and is allowed to be much funnier than Reader's Block. Writer is much more driven than Reader. There might be a few less narrative statements here as well, but the consonance of the entries, even when I didn't know the references is more propulsive and witty than I expected.