semeyers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
1.0
This book....where do I even begin?
For the first 300-400 pages, I was INTO IT. I flew through the first 200 pages loving every minute and slowed down as I approached 400, but was still really enjoying the experience. B. Rosenberger is probably the most annoying, frustrating, narrator in history and being inside his head was hilarious. The novel trudges further and further into fantasy and ridiculousness as it goes on and the journey was fascinating to experience.....until page 400ish.
My copy was 709 pages and, let me tell you, once I hit page 400 or so I felt every page intensely. I was bargaining with myself to read 10 pages per day. I would fantasize about tossing the book out of my window and forgetting about it. I would start day dreaming about doing anything else while reading. There were still moments of hilarity and entertainment, but the ends did not justify it. It seems like Kaufman ran out of ideas and just began stream-of-consciousness spewing ideas onto the page. It was painful. It ruined the first 450 pages for me. I read the first 400 pages in just three weeks and it took me three months to read the last 250 pages.
There's definitely an excellent 400-500 page postmodern novel in these pages and I wish that is what we would have gotten.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Sexual content
Moderate: Antisemitism and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Transphobia
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