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Mall
From the award-winning avatar of contemporary urban theater and author of such modern classics as "Talk Radio" and "subUrbia" comes this outrageous novel about five suburbanites whose lives intersect in one violent and life-altering night -- at the local mall.Mal, a thirtysomething speed freak, shoots his mother, torches his house, and heads to the loca...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
December 25th 2001
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 2000)
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I read so many books, it's unusual these days for me to find one I absolutely cannot put down. Add playwright/actor/author Eric Bogosian's book Mall to that short list.
Eric Bogosian? Does the name ring a bell? Think Captian Ross from Law & Order: Criminal Intent... Yeh, same guy!
I can't put my finger on exactly why this book grabbed me, but for the two days it took me to read it, I felt like I was on a wild ride. Bogosian sets up the action with intriguing characters: a rapid...more
Eric Bogosian? Does the name ring a bell? Think Captian Ross from Law & Order: Criminal Intent... Yeh, same guy!
I can't put my finger on exactly why this book grabbed me, but for the two days it took me to read it, I felt like I was on a wild ride. Bogosian sets up the action with intriguing characters: a rapid...more
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Found this book in the parking lot at Joaquin Miller Park. Needed a quick and (literally) light book to take on a backpack trip.
The book tells the stories of five people who experience a series of difficult events in and around a suburban mall. Characters overlap, but only one connects with all of the core characters. The book strives to make a lot of social commentary about the suburban way of life. However, the characters remain character types pushed through a story rather t...more
The book tells the stories of five people who experience a series of difficult events in and around a suburban mall. Characters overlap, but only one connects with all of the core characters. The book strives to make a lot of social commentary about the suburban way of life. However, the characters remain character types pushed through a story rather t...more
I enjoyed how the story is told from the perspectives of mutliple people, surrounding events taking place at the same time, in the same location, with virtually no cognizance of the other protagonists & players existence and actions, although they be interconnected and contiguous.
It's startling how one person's life can be "ruined" in an instant while another's seemingly bleek and despondent existence can experience an upswing in an eye's blink.
The unexpected m...more
It's startling how one person's life can be "ruined" in an instant while another's seemingly bleek and despondent existence can experience an upswing in an eye's blink.
The unexpected m...more
This book is full of dark humor and would be best read with a strong stomach,
There has been times reading this book where I have to put it down and said .
" oh my god "
which is rare for me to get that kind of reaction. It's definitely an interesting book. But it's also definitely not for everyone.
There has been times reading this book where I have to put it down and said .
" oh my god "
which is rare for me to get that kind of reaction. It's definitely an interesting book. But it's also definitely not for everyone.
Renee Beaucage
added it
Best thing about the book: THE SHORT CHAPTERS!!! I love short chapters. It makes reading a book so much easier! Anyway, about the actual story now. Loved it! The mix of different characters was fantastic and all the added elements such as murder, sex, drugs... Highly recommended!
Seriously....this book is crazy. If you don't have a weak stomach....and also like people getting shot up in a Mall....then read it.
Prplpckl
added it
Either too deep for me or too strange. All I can say is I tried.
Strange.
A disturbing trip through the mind of a psychopath and his victims. I enjoyed the crisp writing of Bogosian and the gritty reality of his suburban landscape. The most difficult part of the book for me was the cast of characters. I didn't find myself liking any of them. That may have been Bogosian's point, though.
Cliche-ridden, trite, angsty and predictable fiction involving your standard suburban dystopia genre. Blah, blah. Like so many other novelists, Bogosian has applied a choke-hold to this genre and kicked it in the groin repeatedly. ATTN, to all contemporary American fiction writers: PLEASE REFRAIN FROM WRITING ABOUT DISENCHANTED SUBURBANITES UNLESS YOU CAN DO IT WITH TASTE AND POIGNANCY. Thanks.
Somewhat engaging, and certainly sets the atmosphere (lays it on with a trowel, really), but you can see the ending coming down 5th Avenue (clue: er...the cover of the book), and it ain't the freshest trove of ideas in the world. Not his best work by any stretch, but do-able.
I have seen Bogosian acting on Law & Order Criminal Intent, never realizing he was also an author. His subject matter and characters are a little more graphic than I usually enjoy, but I could appreciate the skill in storyline construction.
Brilliant, amazing, dark, hilarious all those words that describe a book you need to read right now.
A detailed review of mine would not give it justice. Twelve stars.
A detailed review of mine would not give it justice. Twelve stars.
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Brief glimmers of insight and specs of good writing, clouded by a stilted story and vapid characters. Nothing new. Eric should stick to stand up and Law and Order.
Told in the 1st person, each chapter being a new person point of view. A world wind story took place in mall in the course of one day.
Really dark and horrifying and kind of hilarious. In that meth-head-loses-it-and-shoots-up-a-mall sort of way.
The summary on the back cover sounded great, but the book didn't really do it for me.
I shouldn't put books away at work, because I always find more I want to read.
Great book! Wonderful author! I wish there was more.
Amazing social commentary
Gimmicky and forgettable.
Sipovic
marked it as to-read
Robert Nagle
added it
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Eric Bogosian (born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist.
-Wikipedia
More about Eric Bogosian...
-Wikipedia
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