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A review by daphnesayshi
Isn't It Pretty to Think So? by Nick Miller
3.0
For some reason I had the mistaken impression that Isn't It Pretty To Think So was going to be a very different book from what I ended up reading.
I think it must have been some kind of free association – I got the book right about the same time I got Lang Leav's Love And Misadventure; Nick Miller was also a known Tumblr user. And because Love And Misadventure eventually turned out to be such a traumatic experience for me, I had very little hope for how Isn't It Pretty To Think So would turn out.
You see, I buy books often, and sometimes only get around to reading them after a long time has passed. I find that a rather effective method for me because I often am pleasantly surprised with what I read for the fact that I sometimes forget why it was that I wanted to buy a particular title in the first place.
This is perhaps what I will say about Nick Miller's debut. I didn't think I was going to, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes he reminds me a little of Bret Easton Ellis, especially with Jake's time at the Sunset House, but less... I don't know menacing? Less futile?
I also think a lot of why I liked it has to do with the fact that he did not try too hard to be innovative with form as some contemporary writers do (Tao Lin anyone?). It reads like a story, and it makes sense like a story, and we therefore enjoy it like we do with a story.
In fact when I read the thinly veiled insult thrown at Tao Lin's Shoplifting At American Apparel (the book was never mentioned but all signs point to it), I knew that it was going to be a book that I'll like.
However, at times, the narrative feels meandering and long winded – the book I think, will benefit from getting it trimmed down a bit.
Enjoyable, immersive read, readily identifiable and relevant to all of us weaned on social media – even if towards the end I found it difficult to maintain my suspension of disbelief.
I think it must have been some kind of free association – I got the book right about the same time I got Lang Leav's Love And Misadventure; Nick Miller was also a known Tumblr user. And because Love And Misadventure eventually turned out to be such a traumatic experience for me, I had very little hope for how Isn't It Pretty To Think So would turn out.
You see, I buy books often, and sometimes only get around to reading them after a long time has passed. I find that a rather effective method for me because I often am pleasantly surprised with what I read for the fact that I sometimes forget why it was that I wanted to buy a particular title in the first place.
This is perhaps what I will say about Nick Miller's debut. I didn't think I was going to, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes he reminds me a little of Bret Easton Ellis, especially with Jake's time at the Sunset House, but less... I don't know menacing? Less futile?
I also think a lot of why I liked it has to do with the fact that he did not try too hard to be innovative with form as some contemporary writers do (Tao Lin anyone?). It reads like a story, and it makes sense like a story, and we therefore enjoy it like we do with a story.
In fact when I read the thinly veiled insult thrown at Tao Lin's Shoplifting At American Apparel (the book was never mentioned but all signs point to it), I knew that it was going to be a book that I'll like.
However, at times, the narrative feels meandering and long winded – the book I think, will benefit from getting it trimmed down a bit.
Enjoyable, immersive read, readily identifiable and relevant to all of us weaned on social media – even if towards the end I found it difficult to maintain my suspension of disbelief.