As a graduate student in upstate New York, Nathaniel Mason is drawn into a tangle of relationships with people who seem to hover just beyond his gr...
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reviews
Jan 15, 2009
Sally
rated it: 
Ooooooh, I liked this.
First of all, let me say that I fell in love with the font. The little twisted question marks, barely reaching halfway up the back of a 'd' and nearly squished into the size of a semicolon. The capitol letters have the look and feel of a 1940s diner menu.
Baxter's descriptions are uncannily sparse in their ability to convince. It took more than 70 pages to really get into this story, well into the first section, but when I did, it was hard to t More...
First of all, let me say that I fell in love with the font. The little twisted question marks, barely reaching halfway up the back of a 'd' and nearly squished into the size of a semicolon. The capitol letters have the look and feel of a 1940s diner menu.
Baxter's descriptions are uncannily sparse in their ability to convince. It took more than 70 pages to really get into this story, well into the first section, but when I did, it was hard to t More...
6 comments
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(9 people liked it)
Feb 12, 2012
Renee
rated it: 
The first half of the novel follows the brief arc of Nathaniel Mason's graduate career in 1970s Buffalo, N.Y., which centers on his two girl friends and a man named Jerome Coolberg, a virtuoso of cast-off ideas. Coolberg, obsessed with Nathaniel, begins taking his shirts and notebooks, and claiming that episodes from Nathaniel's life happened to him.
In the novel's second half, decades after these events have occurred, Coolberg enters Nathaniel's life again for a final, dramatic confr More...
In the novel's second half, decades after these events have occurred, Coolberg enters Nathaniel's life again for a final, dramatic confr More...
2 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Feb 01, 2009
RandomAnthony
rated it:
The Soul Thief reads more like a short story or novella than a novel. There’s an unfinished quality that works well in the first person narrative; you could envision the narrator sitting in a coffee shop, focusing on the story, choosing his words carefully, but inevitably leaving our details and framing the narrative as he speaks.
Baxter’s novel on identity and psychological breakdown succeeds on the micro level. His description of Buffalo is beautiful (no, really, I’ve been to Bu More...
Baxter’s novel on identity and psychological breakdown succeeds on the micro level. His description of Buffalo is beautiful (no, really, I’ve been to Bu More...
5 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Apr 23, 2008
Empress
rated it: 
VERY disappointed! Whatever I appreciated about this book was completely obliterated by the bullshit ending. Seriously, I liked it most of the way through, but now I can't remember why. Since the entire storyline was preparing for, and resting on some revelatory ending, the fact that the ending fell flat on its overly-schematic, overly(& poorly)-conceptualized face completely sabotaged whatever parts of the novel I had liked in the first place.
I'm still in shock.
O.K. I know I'm be More...
I'm still in shock.
O.K. I know I'm be More...
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(4 people liked it)
Jun 11, 2008
Michael
rated it:
Quite disappointing. This whole novel (perhaps more a novella) essentially breaks down to a story of one man screwing with another man's life, ostensibly to teach a lesson about identity. Fine, OK, it's not a hopeless premise, but Baxter fails to follow through, providing the readers only with undeveloped characters working within a weak framework. Indeed, the framework, which shapes the fundamental point of the book (people keep calling the framework "metaphysical," though this is
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(3 people liked it)
Apr 08, 2008
Kyle
rated it:
If you like Charles Baxter, read this book, but I hardly think it will turn any newcomers on to him, or entertain fans that much either.
As slight as it is, this book seems to not only stumble over it's own plot, but it's own vague metaphysics which, in the end, seem to be suspect anyway.
I'm not sure whether this novel is vaguely allegorical or autobiographical, if it's a critique of pseudo-intellectualism, if it's a trite spin on the current fear of "identity theft" More...
As slight as it is, this book seems to not only stumble over it's own plot, but it's own vague metaphysics which, in the end, seem to be suspect anyway.
I'm not sure whether this novel is vaguely allegorical or autobiographical, if it's a critique of pseudo-intellectualism, if it's a trite spin on the current fear of "identity theft" More...
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 17, 2008
Loyola University Chicago Libraries
rated it:
The Soul Thief begins the way all good books set in college do: with a party. And if you liked The Feast of Love, you are probably prepared (read: greedily ready), to follow Nathaniel Mason for 209 pages of nothing more than early 1970s college life: drinking too much; spontaneous, aimless road trips; and the kind of sex-by-arrangement or even sex-by-proximity arrangement that can happen when you are exploring the world of newfound adulthood and your sexual boundaries simultaneously. As common
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May 05, 2008
Carl
rated it:
All right, this one's a toughie. The writing is definitely there, as you would expect from Baxter, though at times it drifts into sort of trivial name-dropping where richer details would be better (however, the characters here are academics, and show-offy academics to boot, so there is some contextual justification). Still, he has a knack for poetic passages and truly beautiful sentences and phrases, and he gives his characters distinctive views of the world.
What bothers me about t More...
What bothers me about t More...
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 10, 2008
Kristen
rated it:
More Charles Baxter. This is his newest work. It didn't disappoint. This book contains a lot of the same central themes prevalent in his other works--identity, discovery, loss, misguided love. At the heart of this book is a dysfunctional relationship between two grad school classmates. The book is very dark. I'm still not sure I "get it" even after I've finished it and spent a couple days processing it. I think it will be a book I re-read. But not now. You have to be in the ri
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 17, 2008
William
rated it:
The Soul Thief begins the way all good books set in college do: with a party. And if you liked The Feast of Love, you are probably prepared (read: greedily ready), to follow Nathaniel Mason for 209 pages of nothing more than early 1970s college life: drinking too much; spontaneous, aimless road trips; and the kind of sex-by-arrangement or even sex-by-proximity arrangement that can happen when you are exploring the world of newfound adulthood and your sexual boundaries simultaneously. As common
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 28, 2008
christa
rated it: 
whoa. this is like a mirror looking into a mirror looking into a mirror -- which is funny, because i forgot that there is a scene where this happens early in the book. i'm not sure what to think. the gist: nathanian mason becomes absorbed into a new group of friends, falls in love with two women and in the meantime is having his life story stripped away and claimed by the creepy jerome coolberg.
the end is a sort of punchline.
i'm not sure that plot will ever really matte More...
the end is a sort of punchline.
i'm not sure that plot will ever really matte More...
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 29, 2008
Lawrence
rated it:
On one level this is an unsettling meditation on identity in modern America (even though that is specifically rejected in the story itself). The story centers on the question of what if your identity is not your own? what if it's stolen by another? Who are you and what do you become, both as an individual and in relation to others? On another - and perhaps, no less unsettling - level, the book is about the act of creating a story. Baxter plays with that notion from the opening of the novel t
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 05, 2009
Charles Baxter's ability to play with his own identity consistently impresses reviewers. Author of the 2000 National Book Award finalist Feast of Love, he has proved adept as a novelist and short story writer, as well as an inventor of forms somewhere in between. The Soul Thief is one such example. It is almost short enough to be a novella, yet it spans 30 years. Its plot hinges on a short story kind of "twist," yet its characters are intriguing enough to have novels to themselves. Cri
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Nov 20, 2011
Derek
rated it:
Of course, the sentences and characterization and plot are all quite assured and lovely in The Soul Thief: it's Charles Baxter after all. But something about this effort struck me as a little unsatisfying, particularly the ending, which other reviewers have already taken to task more thoroughly (and vengefully) than I'm willing to do here.
There are just a lot of really strange authorial choices in The Soul Thief that I haven't yet made sense of, and am not sure that I agree with. For More...
There are just a lot of really strange authorial choices in The Soul Thief that I haven't yet made sense of, and am not sure that I agree with. For More...
Nov 15, 2011
Madelaine
rated it:
The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter
Pantheon Books, 2008
The term “soul thief” makes me think of beings who steal your “soul”, as if it were a solid entity, something that can be sucked out of someone, much like a Dementor from the Harry Potter series sucks the souls of wizards right from their mouths. Once I read the book, I realized it was very different from what I had been expecting, as Charles Baxter explores the idea of a “soul thief” in a much more dark, complex, and menta More...
Pantheon Books, 2008
The term “soul thief” makes me think of beings who steal your “soul”, as if it were a solid entity, something that can be sucked out of someone, much like a Dementor from the Harry Potter series sucks the souls of wizards right from their mouths. Once I read the book, I realized it was very different from what I had been expecting, as Charles Baxter explores the idea of a “soul thief” in a much more dark, complex, and menta More...
Nov 15, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter is about a boy Nathaniel’s life. He meets a man names Coolberg, and without telling him about himself, Coolberg already knows his personal secrets. Throughout the book, Baxter foreshadows that Coolberg is taking Nathaniel’s experiences and writing about them. When Coolberg first tells Nathaniel about the story he is writing at the zoo, where he also says that in his story a girl will get seriously hurt. Coolberg is warning Nathaniel that something terrible wi
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Nov 15, 2011
Brandi
rated it:
“The Soul Thief” by Charles Baxter. Pantheon Books, New York, 2008.
“The Soul Thief” is a haunting tale of one man’s desperate search for an answer to the ultimate question of identity. Through Baxter’s language we are not only engaged in the story, but almost hypnotized by the symbolic imagery coupled with his eloquent diction. The reoccurring symbolic mirror best represents the protagonists struggle to find his true identity. Throughout the novel we encounter situations More...
“The Soul Thief” is a haunting tale of one man’s desperate search for an answer to the ultimate question of identity. Through Baxter’s language we are not only engaged in the story, but almost hypnotized by the symbolic imagery coupled with his eloquent diction. The reoccurring symbolic mirror best represents the protagonists struggle to find his true identity. Throughout the novel we encounter situations More...
Oct 13, 2011
Marjorie
rated it:
The experience of this book was exactly how I rated it. It was ok. It's a confusing book and my mind was muddled by the reflections of sad and empty individual, who turns out to be not as sad and empty as he starts out to be. I would have rated this higher if it wasn't for the ending, which in my opinion did not merit the time spent to reach its conclusion. I liked it well enough at the start, especially the (dark, dreary and exciting) description of a life spent far away from the sunny conf
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Oct 04, 2011
Laura
rated it:
Charles Baxter’s “The Soul Thief” leads the reader through an interesting journey. Baxter is in a class of his own, using his technique of description to create this novel he fully portrays how the character changes, and in accordance to who is telling the story. The unique structure of “The Soul Thief” is something that can either be hated or admired, but is crucial in leading the reader through the twists and turns of Baxter’s creation. Baxter’s portrayal of the characters brings them to lif
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Oct 04, 2011
There is a thin line between admiration and obsession. In Charles Baxter’s novel The Soul Thief, this line is blurred. In this novel there are both good and bad qualities. The theme of the story could have been more unique, while the diction of the story was very well used.
Charles Baxter’s The Soul Thief starts with a young grad student, Nathanial Mason, going to a party. At the party Nathanial meets Jerome Coolburg, who becomes the antagonist of the story. The beginning of the novel More...
Charles Baxter’s The Soul Thief starts with a young grad student, Nathanial Mason, going to a party. At the party Nathanial meets Jerome Coolburg, who becomes the antagonist of the story. The beginning of the novel More...
Aug 02, 2011
Suze
rated it: 
The Soul Thief is postmodern fiction that portrays the dark and disturbing twists of identity theft taken to the extreme. Author Charles Baxter has an impressive vocabulary and displays much of it in the narrative. While this may have been appropriate -- particularly in the beginning of the book, when the characters are '70s-era graduate students who perceive themselves -- or at least are trying to pass themselves off as -- intellectuals, it doesn't carry through to the book's middle section, wh
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Jul 18, 2011
Lili
rated it:
Finishing the audio version of this book reinforces my initial opinion that I have read similar works that were better done, namely The Muse Asylum by David Czuchlewski and the interlaced novellas of The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. If the summary and reviews of the plot of The Soul Thief intrigue you, I recommend that you read the Auster trilogy first. If you feel that Auster is overdone, overly literary or overly something, then try Czuchlewski (which I thought was awesome in its clevern
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Apr 06, 2011
David
rated it:
"He was insufferable, one of those boy geniuses, all nerve and brain."
It's appropriate to start this review with a line that not only starts off Charles Baxter's The Soul Thief, a story about what it means to take on the identity of another in every possible way, but occurs again at one point towards the end. The Soul Thief a story about obsession, at its core, and how we human beings live out our lives as copycats - in that everything we learn is by copying what someone el More...
It's appropriate to start this review with a line that not only starts off Charles Baxter's The Soul Thief, a story about what it means to take on the identity of another in every possible way, but occurs again at one point towards the end. The Soul Thief a story about obsession, at its core, and how we human beings live out our lives as copycats - in that everything we learn is by copying what someone el More...
Mar 08, 2011
Doug
rated it:
To say the novel “The Soul Thief” by Charles Baxter is a psychological thriller is like saying Robert Frost wrote poems: Both statements are true but fail to illustrate the impact of the authors’ work. Charles Baxter uses a unique style of involving the reader in his writing—a style that bleeds throughout “The Soul Thief”. The novel takes its readers on a rollercoaster ride through the mind of Nathaniel, a college student who struggles with love, lust, and more importantly, a seemingly-obsessiv
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Feb 15, 2008
Charlotte
rated it:
I hate these stars. I am a shameless overrater. Not of this book, necessarily, but of everything. Why do we have to rate everything in our lives, from restaurants to books and movies with this silly system?
I was captivated by this novel, for sure. It was good, but I need to talk about the ending with some smart people. I guess I was a little underwhelmed by it? The voice really carried the story and then...I don't think I can say anything else without giving too much information.
I was captivated by this novel, for sure. It was good, but I need to talk about the ending with some smart people. I guess I was a little underwhelmed by it? The voice really carried the story and then...I don't think I can say anything else without giving too much information.
Oct 01, 2009
Hilary
rated it:
I didn't really like this book. The ending was supposed to be revelatory and creepy, but either it was really obvious to me or I just didn't get it. It says something that I liked the later part of the book (when the author supposedly has had his soul stolen, or etc.) more than the former part. Even in the introduction, I'm not sure which character is being discussed. Ugh. I wonder if it's worth trying to read The Feast of Love, which everyone seems to agree is better than this.
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Mar 01, 2010
Anna
rated it:
Baxter is one of those writers who revels in using complex philosophical concepts out of context so the reader constantly feels out of the loop. But in this case, that's kind of the point. Nathaniel, the main character/narrator, doesn't entirely buy into the intellectual culture in which he finds himself, but he plays along. He's not particularly likeable; he's mostly ho-hum and largely forgettable -- but very human. Everybody knows a Nathaniel: good father, solid husband, inoffensive polit
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May 10, 2010
E. Ilana
rated it:
Seriously, I'm having a hard time believing this book. That it was written by a homo-sapiens in the 21st century. It's the most ridiculous, stupid, and preposterous load of garbage I've read that passes for literature. I mean, who published this? And who was dumb enough like me to read through the whole thing?
First things first: "Coolberg the SOUL THIEF?" Did any thought at all go into coming up with that name? And into the soul thief part itself? I can only wonder what soul-wr More...
First things first: "Coolberg the SOUL THIEF?" Did any thought at all go into coming up with that name? And into the soul thief part itself? I can only wonder what soul-wr More...
Feb 14, 2009
Paul (formerly known as Current)
rated it:
I find this to be a failed novel. Although some of the language is quite interesting, I never felt engaged by the characters, and the epiphanic ending fell flat and unconvincing.
I find that the idea that we all steal things from each others lives very interesting. And the concept of a person beginning to fully take over another's life has a gothic and frightening horror to it. Identity theft is something we currently worry about on the internet and from a financial standpoint. But More...
I find that the idea that we all steal things from each others lives very interesting. And the concept of a person beginning to fully take over another's life has a gothic and frightening horror to it. Identity theft is something we currently worry about on the internet and from a financial standpoint. But More...
Jan 11, 2012
Darlene
rated it:
This story gave new meaning to the word obsession. The story pulled me in from the very beginning and I wanted to keep reading just to assure myself that Nathaniel, the protagonist in the story, would finally lose his naivete and figure out that the people he had attracted to his life were nothing more than 'emotional vampires'. This story reminded me somewhat of The Talented Mr. Ripley in its creepy obsessiveness. The only thing I disliked about it was the ending. To be honest, I'm still think
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