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67th out of 68 books
—
16 voters
The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets
An extraordinary debut novel that challenges the definition of family and explores the intricate ties that bind us together
Ida grew up with Jackson and James—where there was “I” there was a “J.” She can’t recall a time when she didn’t have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys’ room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as te...more
Ida grew up with Jackson and James—where there was “I” there was a “J.” She can’t recall a time when she didn’t have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys’ room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as te...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
September 11th 2012
by Other Press
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I picked this up at the bookstore, never having heard of it, because I absolutely fell in love with the title. If there were a star rating system for titles, this book would get at least five stars from me.
I did enjoy this book. The writing is lovely, an excellent representation of current narration style. The book takes place in Petaluma and San Francisco, and the familiarity of the setting is comfortable.
Where I found it lacking was in two aspects that seem to come up all to often in modern no...more
I did enjoy this book. The writing is lovely, an excellent representation of current narration style. The book takes place in Petaluma and San Francisco, and the familiarity of the setting is comfortable.
Where I found it lacking was in two aspects that seem to come up all to often in modern no...more
I love to read, and I have a fairly large vocabulary. I had to look up quite a few words as I was reading this, and it distracted me to the point of putting it aside in favor of reading the two other books I was in the middle of. I'm obviously not a perfect grammatician (since I apparently make up words and end sentences in prepositions) but I don't enjoy having my reading flow disrupted by lots of BIG words. Some of them were unnecessary and made me feel like Ms. Alcott had a Thesaurus on hand...more
i family saga by a not-so-likable protag, set in pentaluma califa. place is invoked well, time too i guess. i just have a prejudice against stories about sleep disorders, dreaming, nightmares , insomnia, sleep walking, and in this case, sleep painting.
a debut though that is well written, beautifully edited. but for fucked up families i liked better: Wichita and blau Drinking Closer to Home and crane We Only Know So Much and queen of dysfunction goldberg Bee Season and millet for califa angle Gho...more
a debut though that is well written, beautifully edited. but for fucked up families i liked better: Wichita and blau Drinking Closer to Home and crane We Only Know So Much and queen of dysfunction goldberg Bee Season and millet for califa angle Gho...more
Might be because I was listening it as audio book. I know I didn't concentrate much on the story. I had to re-play it a couple of time just to get the story right and I still missed a lot of things. Though it's not really audio book's fault, it was recorded by Blackstone audio that I always trust not to bungle the reading. I admit the reader's twang perhaps annoy me a bit though it might be said it's authentic American voice. No, the fault lies more on my side. I was disturbed more times than I...more
The beginning sets you up for an interesting read, lovers from the start who follow each other through thick and thin, but thats just it, there's more thin in this book than anything else plot wise and you sit there waiting for something to happen and eventually, nothing much of anything goes on.
Ida is a little annoying, fairly needy and not very conscious of others around her. Jackson and James, for most of the novel, tend to blend into each other and I was constantly trying to remember which...more
Ida is a little annoying, fairly needy and not very conscious of others around her. Jackson and James, for most of the novel, tend to blend into each other and I was constantly trying to remember which...more
Alcott writes with lovely language; and the plot isn't bad. This was a difficult book for me to read because my sister is bipolar and I'm not quite at the point where we've come to terms over it. Seeing a not-scary presentation of bipolar disorder is sort of shocking.
That aside, this is the single most meaningful section in the book, at least for me:
"A normal, safe upbringing was what our parents had (at least told themselves) wanted for us, but the place we were raised seemed, the more we look...more
That aside, this is the single most meaningful section in the book, at least for me:
"A normal, safe upbringing was what our parents had (at least told themselves) wanted for us, but the place we were raised seemed, the more we look...more
The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets is a debut novel for Kathleen Alcott - but you wouldn't know it from her writing. This is a complex story about three people: Ida, Jackson, and James. Jackson and James are brothers, and Ida the young girl who grew up with them. The three form a bond as close as family - cemented by mutual loss. They have each lost one parent.
With stark, beautiful language, Alcott puts this story out there, weaving between time successfully. I say she was successful because I wa...more
With stark, beautiful language, Alcott puts this story out there, weaving between time successfully. I say she was successful because I wa...more
I'd rate this 4.5 stars...
breathless action sequences, and/or memorable characters. Other books simply dazzle you with the power and beauty of their narrative, of the authors' ability to weave a story. While the ideal book combines all of these characteristics, sometimes a book is so strong in one category that it doesn't matter that it might fall a little short in others.
Such a book is Kathleen Alcott's debut novel, The Danger of Proximal Alphabets. I was absolutely blown away by Alcott's writi...more
breathless action sequences, and/or memorable characters. Other books simply dazzle you with the power and beauty of their narrative, of the authors' ability to weave a story. While the ideal book combines all of these characteristics, sometimes a book is so strong in one category that it doesn't matter that it might fall a little short in others.
Such a book is Kathleen Alcott's debut novel, The Danger of Proximal Alphabets. I was absolutely blown away by Alcott's writi...more
Here is why I didn't give more stars- I hated Ida or "I". I thought she was obnoxious. While the obsessive love between Jackson and Ida started out sweet, and Jackson is such an interestingly flawed character, I couldn't say Ida was worth loving. I was also bothered by the fact James takes the fall for Jackson and somehow all of that is just water under the bridge- really? Really? Not realistic.
I could love this novel, because the childhood was written of beautifully and the writer expressed th...more
I could love this novel, because the childhood was written of beautifully and the writer expressed th...more
This was an ok book, at times a bit more than that but then again it was all a bit artificial as well. The title is terrible, who, besides me, would pick up a book with such a title?
The story; Ida grows up with her dad, her two neighbour friends Jackson and James and their mum Julia. As a little girl she doesn't understand the concept of family and mistakenly thinks Jackson and James are her brothers. It is clear from the start that there has been more between Jackson and Ida, a relationship go...more
The story; Ida grows up with her dad, her two neighbour friends Jackson and James and their mum Julia. As a little girl she doesn't understand the concept of family and mistakenly thinks Jackson and James are her brothers. It is clear from the start that there has been more between Jackson and Ida, a relationship go...more
Disenchanted and creative, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets is a surreal and thought provoking debut.
Ida, Jackson and James. Together since before memory, they make a patchwork family whose lives flow and ebb like a body of water. Ida tells their story of childhood friendship, familial love and adult complications. Jackson suffers from somnambulism which becomes the catalyst for heartbreak.
This was a really unique book. I have never read a novel where a character, in this case Jackson, suffers...more
Ida, Jackson and James. Together since before memory, they make a patchwork family whose lives flow and ebb like a body of water. Ida tells their story of childhood friendship, familial love and adult complications. Jackson suffers from somnambulism which becomes the catalyst for heartbreak.
This was a really unique book. I have never read a novel where a character, in this case Jackson, suffers...more
Wow. Beautiful and spooky and beautiful and bleak and sad.
This, like so many books I read these days, was found on the curb; I knew when I saw it that I'd hear of it somewhere, but I'm unsure where. Good grief, I am so lucky to live somewhere where amazing books practically grow out of cracks in the sidewalk.
This is a pretty incredibly, and incredibly immersive, story of a girl and the two brothers she lives next door to and has loved and been loved by for her entire life. It's a story of disso...more
This, like so many books I read these days, was found on the curb; I knew when I saw it that I'd hear of it somewhere, but I'm unsure where. Good grief, I am so lucky to live somewhere where amazing books practically grow out of cracks in the sidewalk.
This is a pretty incredibly, and incredibly immersive, story of a girl and the two brothers she lives next door to and has loved and been loved by for her entire life. It's a story of disso...more
Ms. Alcott delivers some of the most beautiful fiction writing I've come across in some time. The mood and language of this book are instantly engrossing as she casts a love story threaded with pain and loss. The book is described as a love triangle between 2 brothers and a mutual friend but the love story that resonnated more with me was the story of the protagonist's love for her home town and a particular time in her childhood. To really deliver a love-between-people story, she needed to prov...more
Alcott's debut work is stunning on a sentence by sentence level. The insight she offers through prose is striking at times, and brilliant, with much more depth and maturity than you'd expect from a first-time novelist. My favorite parts of the story were Alcott's scenes regarding childhood, primarily the introduction of the sleepwalking brothers and Ida's perception of them. The premise of the book is strong and mostly well executed. I would recommend "The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets" to those...more
There were times when I enjoyed this book, and thought I'd be able to give it a higher rating, but by the time it was over, I was more than ready to put it down.
The only part of the story that was remotely interesting occurred during the third quarter of the book, when things actually started happening in San Francisco. But for most of the book, I felt like I was reading about the day to day activities of characters that I really could care less about.
Also, there were a few snarky comments about...more
The only part of the story that was remotely interesting occurred during the third quarter of the book, when things actually started happening in San Francisco. But for most of the book, I felt like I was reading about the day to day activities of characters that I really could care less about.
Also, there were a few snarky comments about...more
I hate it when people level the "MFA" or "workshoppy" accusation at a book... I mean I know what they're talking about, but it seems like that's one of those pejorative terms they toss around to make whatever point about literary fiction they need. That said, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets did feel vaguely... I don't know, creative-writing-y. Which is to say it seemed more like an artful parable than a storyline with a plot. And that's fine, actually. It was well written and explored some goo...more
Dreamlike and wise, held close in the wedge between childhood and first love, it explores the childish aspects of first love and the wisdom wrung from it's wreckage. It took me about thirty pages to let myself swim in this book —the language is probably not to everyone's taste, it lilts, it lingers, it describes everyday objects with compassion for their interior lives. It is a novel that floats and weaves its way around a handful of intimate people. There is surprising narrative momentum, as we...more
I was reading back issues of L Magazine the other day and got to the 'Top Hot Young Artists of Brooklyn To See Now' or w/e and one of the people on the list was someone whose studio I subletted to get an enormous amount of work done one summer, and I smiled to see her success. She was up north for half a year when I rented her studio. I thought her sculptures were awful, and actually tucked them away during my remainder in the room, till the end, but I smiled anyhow and thought, 'An omen!'
I read...more
I read...more
I was taught that if I couldn't say something nice then not to say anything at all. I'm kidding. I was never taught that- but have heard it so I can just ignore it.
This book was something that I had heard of and took what I heard and the summary and painted this picture of what to expect.
I thought I would immediately relate to it having grown up with a couple boys that I was really close to. I thought it would be a childhood tale of what it means to be friends or lovers or whatever.
It was kin...more
Ida and Jackson have always known each other, always loved each other. This we learn immediately. We follow their intertwined childhoods and joint maturations, and finally their forays into adulthood.
This author has a dreamy, lovely voice, and she tells a good tale. I wish the childhood stories, however, had been a little less anecdotal and a bit more character building... I truly believe that, for the "problem" that comes later, it would have been a more powerful story had I been just a bit mo...more
This author has a dreamy, lovely voice, and she tells a good tale. I wish the childhood stories, however, had been a little less anecdotal and a bit more character building... I truly believe that, for the "problem" that comes later, it would have been a more powerful story had I been just a bit mo...more
The writing is quite good but the story not so much.
It's about a girl and two brothers who become a kind of family. From the time they're infants, Ida and Jackson are fascinated with each other. This continues even when James comes along. As they grow up, Ida loses her mother and gravitates to the brothers' home where she spends most nights. When she and Jackson get older, the inevitable happens and James is left to listen to them having sex. The story goes on until they grow up, but Ida's fixat...more
It's about a girl and two brothers who become a kind of family. From the time they're infants, Ida and Jackson are fascinated with each other. This continues even when James comes along. As they grow up, Ida loses her mother and gravitates to the brothers' home where she spends most nights. When she and Jackson get older, the inevitable happens and James is left to listen to them having sex. The story goes on until they grow up, but Ida's fixat...more
The pure strength of this book is in how effective you find it evokes the end of a relationship and how you deal with saying goodbye to someone you love. For me I was sold in the second chapter that I would be able to relate, but this is certainly going to be a personal matter. The book is focused on this aspect to an almost exclusive degree; question of family and a more general sense of how we treat those we love plays into it, but the vast majority of the story revolves around the central rel...more
The most striking thing about this book for me is that it absolutely nailed the experience of obsession, in a way that many authors have tried and few have succeeded. She nailed it. The story flowed pretty effortlessly back and forth, never unclear or frustrating to follow. I felt that the three main characters, Ida, Jackson, and James, were compelling and mostly likable while being imperfect enough to be realistic. The supporting characters too, were given life without taking up too much of the...more
A long lovely sad poem about a love story, but more about a family - one part born, part made, part destroyed. Quietly shows a great deal of passive destruction that ripple out from one man's departure into the next generation, leading to another departure, and deeper pain. Yet not a melodramatic book, and not a book that overexplains or even redeems - and this willingness to let the ugly be ugly is comforting and beautiful in a dark honest way.
(Side note: it was odd to read a book in which sle...more
(Side note: it was odd to read a book in which sle...more
I'm confused about my feelings for this book. I read the whole thing, and at no time did I want to stop reading. However, I really did not like Ida & Jackson at ALL - they wavered between precious, hipster, and pretentious. If anyone ever answered my "so how long have you been together" with "somewhere between addition and subtraction" I would have the serious urge to punch them right in the face. Also, there were two major plot flaws, which I won't reveal here but made the whole book seem l...more
I found the author, er, narrator, to be boring and self-absorbed, and the love of her life, who is supposedly so fascinating and important to warrant a book, to be very one-dimensional. The only character who didn't make me want to roll my eyes at every page was the brother James, and I wonder why he wasn't the one she became obsessed with (I mean, it is all totally autobiographical, right?). Still, I must have been in the mood for an overwritten self-indulgent style-above-substance page-turner,...more
When I was really tiny – before school started and the concept of friends was clear – my mother used to babysit a neighbor my age, the son of a family friend. His name was Jason and because I was three, I thought that a “Jason” was a type of relation that everyone had. Kind of like a cousin, but more into Ninja Turtles.
That’s what I thought of while starting this book: Ida and Jackson were bonding before they had teeth, with no concept that their relationship could be defined as something as un...more
That’s what I thought of while starting this book: Ida and Jackson were bonding before they had teeth, with no concept that their relationship could be defined as something as un...more
from BEA12
Read 8/3/12 - 8/14/12
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to readers who like their fictitious families shaken, not stirred
Pgs: 242
Publisher: Other Press
Release Date: Sept 2012
"Family" is a complicated concept. By definition, we are told a family is a group of people who live together; people of common ancestry; people united by certain convictions; a unit of crime syndicate operating under one geographical area (I'm throwing this one in for fun!)
It's no wonder, then, that the characters we...more
Read 8/3/12 - 8/14/12
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to readers who like their fictitious families shaken, not stirred
Pgs: 242
Publisher: Other Press
Release Date: Sept 2012
"Family" is a complicated concept. By definition, we are told a family is a group of people who live together; people of common ancestry; people united by certain convictions; a unit of crime syndicate operating under one geographical area (I'm throwing this one in for fun!)
It's no wonder, then, that the characters we...more
This is a novel about Ida, and brothers Jackson, and James, who grew up as neighbors, but have been so close throughout their lives that they have been practically siblings. The novel follows the evolution of their relationship through some difficult challenges. Unfortunately, I found myself having a hard time "getting into" the story. There wasn't anything that really turned me off (and indeed, I did finish the book), but there wasn't much that really drew me in. I can't even put my finger on i...more
Ida lost her mom at a young age and lives with her father. She befriends Jackson and James, who live on her street and they become her quasi-family. Ida and Jackson have a hard time understanding that they are different people. To further complicate this Jackson calls her “I.” As they mature, Ida and Jackson have a tumultuous relationship that eventually leads to them living together as adults, but when they break up for good (this isn’t a spoiler. promise!), Ida’s entire world shifts and she ha...more
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May 10, 2013 11:39pm
May 11, 2013 09:31am