mznomer's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was beautifully written and very unusual. Each individual chapter was like a long prose-poem and could easily be read just by itself. The whole book also worked as a whole, with arcing issues and themes intertwined in every story. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, necessarily. It's not a particularly easy read - the plot (if there is one) is confused and it's very difficult to keep track of the characters - are they different people with the same name? Or are they the same people every time they show up? Doe it really matter? Couldn't they just be anyone? I do think it's a lovely and meditative book though. I really enjoyed reading it.
pharmdad2007's review
3.0
This collection of tangentially related stories contains some very funny moments, Lemony Snicket-funny moments, and were overall quite entertaining.
skrau's review
3.0
I had no idea what was going on in most of this book, and sometimes that made it terrible and sometimes it was fun to just go with it. There were too many characters to keep apart, but I actually remember most of them in great detail. The writing was ridiculously annoying sometimes, but every once in a while there was a perfect, if slightly crazy, phrase or paragraph or several pages that resonated with me.
Of course the one time a guy actually asks me, "What are you reading? What's it about?" while I sat outside on a lunch break, it's this book, which is impossible to describe especially in once sentence, so he walked away probably regretting it but it's okay because he wasn't that cute anyways. And I'm sure Daniel Handler could have made that story into a whole chapter that was barely about the actual anecdote.
I couldn't really recommend this book, I found it hard to get through in some parts, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I think.
Of course the one time a guy actually asks me, "What are you reading? What's it about?" while I sat outside on a lunch break, it's this book, which is impossible to describe especially in once sentence, so he walked away probably regretting it but it's okay because he wasn't that cute anyways. And I'm sure Daniel Handler could have made that story into a whole chapter that was barely about the actual anecdote.
I couldn't really recommend this book, I found it hard to get through in some parts, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I think.
corbad's review
3.0
Unless you’re reading this alongside a corkboard and have post-its and red thread handy, it can only be treated as a collection of theme and motif joined short stories - which is far from unreadable but also a distance from fulfilling. Still, if the entire project exists just as a platform for “Soundly” to stand on, it is more than worth it; that chapter or story, as a standalone, is some of the best literature I’ve ever read.
madamwobbles's review
2.0
I expected I wouldn't like this from the book jacket but it looked so interesting that I picked it up. I was right. I loved reading The Series Of Unfortunate Events and he is a funny, witty author but I couldn't take how disjointed these stories were. I do like short stories, but the confusion over characters knowing each other and no real plot to any of the stories (the plots were more thrown in haphazardly and let loose) added up to a disappointing experience. That being said, Daniel Handler is a good narrator and I wish people would stop being so bitter about not liking a book and give a real review instead of a list of whiny complaints. You don't need to personally attack an author. Christ.
misslynette's review
2.0
Hmmm... Well, the variety of stories was nice, but it was almost TOO random for me... Really well-written parts, yet I wasn't that into it at all. Part of it is that I haven't quite felt loss in the way that all the stories capture. Either way it was an interesting read.
libkatem's review
1.0
While I ordinarily like Hadler's style (or rather, Lemony Snicket's style), for some reason, it was hard to get a handle on this book. It actually felt like he was telling the same love story over and over again. There were maybe 20 characters who all overlapped, and I would quickly lose track of them and how they related to each other.
I don't know - maybe you will have better luck, dear reader.
I don't know - maybe you will have better luck, dear reader.
guineea's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bc288's review
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.0