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270th out of 276 books
—
350 voters
Girl Imagined by Chance
by
Lance Olsen,
Andi Olsen , Tara Reeser
Girl Imagined by Chance is a critifictional novel about a couple, who, in an unguarded moment, find themselves having created a make-believe daughter (and soon a make-believe life to accompany her) in order to appease their friends, family, and ultimately, the culture of reproduction. Structured around twelve photographs, a single roll of film, Girl explores the nature of...more
Paperback, 328 pages
Published
September 28th 2002
by Fiction Collective 2
(first published 2002)
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Aug 02, 2008
Joe S
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lazy people who can't do their own critical thinking
Shelves:
novels,
experimental
Meh.
Actually, that might be a bit strong.
The back-cover description pasted here on Goodreads was clearly written by the author himself and is, unfortunately, the most interesting bit of prose contained in the book. Seems fairly common amongst books of this chic new genre called "critifiction," which translates into English, roughly, as "masturbatory tripe." Read some Benjamin, and pronounce it BEYN-yah-meen, and then tell me how avant garde and under-appreciated you are, you hipster fucks.
The "p...more
Actually, that might be a bit strong.
The back-cover description pasted here on Goodreads was clearly written by the author himself and is, unfortunately, the most interesting bit of prose contained in the book. Seems fairly common amongst books of this chic new genre called "critifiction," which translates into English, roughly, as "masturbatory tripe." Read some Benjamin, and pronounce it BEYN-yah-meen, and then tell me how avant garde and under-appreciated you are, you hipster fucks.
The "p...more
This book was The Paper Street Book Club’s book for February under the category of Local Author, chosen by a member located in Idaho.
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The book takes a while to get into, mainly because of the use of 2nd person as the narrative style. This isn’t the first time I have read a book in this style and it probably won’t be the last but, it is by far my least favorite form of narrative and I don’t think it was actually the best choice for this particular story.
The beginning moves slowly as the au...more
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The book takes a while to get into, mainly because of the use of 2nd person as the narrative style. This isn’t the first time I have read a book in this style and it probably won’t be the last but, it is by far my least favorite form of narrative and I don’t think it was actually the best choice for this particular story.
The beginning moves slowly as the au...more
Lance Olsen is one of my favorite authors; his ability with language is uncanny. His experimental literature can compel a person to try writing -- he makes it seem like a fun, though arduous, activity. Fans of David Markson, the themes of William Gaddis' work, or perhaps the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein would like this particular book, as it recounts the upbringing of a girl who may or may not exist as an embodied person, but in any case does exist at least through means of stories and phot...more
Sometimes it's really exciting when a bookclub book isn't something you'd normally pick up for yourself... And sometimes you find yourself slogging through chapter after chapter of drek, wondering when you'll get to the end.
"Girl Imagined by Chance" is the story of an East Coast couple in the middle of an existential crisis. Wanting to escape their meaningless lives and crappy jobs, they move to the backwoods of Idaho. Even this doesn't quite do the trick, however- Andi, the wife, struggles to f...more
"Girl Imagined by Chance" is the story of an East Coast couple in the middle of an existential crisis. Wanting to escape their meaningless lives and crappy jobs, they move to the backwoods of Idaho. Even this doesn't quite do the trick, however- Andi, the wife, struggles to f...more
i liked the underlying background color--a couple living in beautiful idaho--better than the foregrounded plot--a couple pretending to their eastcoast friends and family that they're having a child. the theme of photography and imagery also less interesting than the description of massive sky and 21st century rural life... olsen's also a great describer of food prep and drink choices. re: the style, he seemed to have swallowed david markson whole. i have no complaints about it because i love mar...more
Lance Olsen's _Girl Imagined by Chance_ is a beautifully written and poetic experimental novel of a couple who, in an unguarded moment, tell a "white lie" to a family member that they are expecting a child. This lie leads them to change their entire lives and will cause readers to question the nature of reality. This book is beautifully set in Idaho and will be especially enjoyable for readers familiar with the Pacific Northwest/Western Rocky Mountains.
1 like · like · see review
One of my all-time favorite books. I'm too lazy to write a review.
Narrative style: BLEAH.
Plot: Applicable to my own life, thus far more interesting than I would have thought.
Plot: Applicable to my own life, thus far more interesting than I would have thought.
Ahhhh, better every time I read it. However, I didn't make clear to my students that while the Olsen's are real people, they do not have a real fake baby.
One of my favorite Olsen novels to date, next to "Burnt."
Mar 20, 2013
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Lance Olsen was born in 1956 and received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin (1978, honors), his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers Workshop (1980), and his M.A. (1982) and Ph.D. (1985) from the University of Virginia.
He is author of eleven novels, one hypertext, four critical studies, four short-story collections, a poetry chapbook, and a textbook about fiction writing, as well as editor of two...more
More about Lance Olsen...
He is author of eleven novels, one hypertext, four critical studies, four short-story collections, a poetry chapbook, and a textbook about fiction writing, as well as editor of two...more
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Aug 02, 2008 06:46pm
Mar 09, 2012 01:01pm