Goodreads | The SOul Theif by Charles Baxter

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5		7%
4		26%
3		38%
2		21%
1		6%

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100+ Book Challenge: koralute's books of 2008	5	307	4 days ago, 10:55PM

Renee rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

04/17/08

Read in April, 2008

This book caught my eye for two reason. #1) Charles Baxter is the author of The Feast of Love, which I loved, loved, loved. #2)The book takes place in Buffalo, NY.in the 1970's.
I read a review stating the disappointing ending of the book, but frankly I felt hollowness throughout the whole book. I think there was hidden meaning in this book, I just missed it.
Anyhow, the Soul Thief is about a mildmannered graduate student, Nathaniel, who falls under the spell of a cerebral named Coolberg. Draw...more

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Kyle rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

04/08/08

Read in April, 2008

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", or a tragi...more

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Loyola University Chicago Libraries rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/17/08

bookshelves: bill

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008

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 a...more

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Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

06/11/08

Read in June, 2008

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 ...more

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Carl rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

05/05/08

Read in May, 2008

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 the book ...more

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Kristen rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

03/10/08

bookshelves: goodfiction

Read in March, 2008

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...more

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William rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/17/08

Read in February, 2008

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 a...more

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Hilary marked it as to-read (review of isbn 0375422528)

01/04/08

bookshelves: to-read

Here is an extraordinary new novel from one of our most admired and acclaimed writers, a creator of "stunning, never predictable, glimmering fiction, full of mischief and insight” (Los Angeles Times).
During Nathaniel Mason’s first few months as a graduate student in upstate New York, he is drawn into a tangle of relationships with people who seem to hover just beyond his grasp. There’s Theresa, alluring but elusive, and Jamie, who is fickle if not wholly unavailable. But Jerome Cool...more

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christa rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/28/08

Read in February, 2008

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 matter in a charles b...more

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Lawrence rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/29/08

Read in February, 2008

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...more

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Charlotte rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/15/08

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: pirates

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.

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Danika rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

09/29/08

Read in September, 2008

I really don't have a lot to say about this book, I just didn't like it. The characters were thoroughly unlikeable, and I don't think I really 'got it'. 1st book I've ready by this author and I wasn't terribly impressed.

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Brandi rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

10/28/08

Read in October, 2007

I LOVED the first third of this book, though it gave me bizarre nightmares, all the more reason to read it. Regretfully, the story dramatically shifts at about the halfway point, which requires an uncomfortable changing of gears. While finishing the book, I kept longing to remain with the characters at the start of the novel; this book is worth reading purely for the beginning.

After finishing the novel, I read the NY Times book review, and I couldn't agree more with the reviewer:

As th...more

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Kathy rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

08/13/08

Read in August, 2008

Baxter is a master storyteller. I found the prose and vocabulary every bit as eloquent in this novel as his writing in The Feast Of Love. There is even references to Wolverine football. But, this novel was just too obscure and bizarre for me to immerse myself in. Possibly it was because it was an audio book rather than the "real" thing. Realistically, perhaps it was just too deep for my brain to grasp. Whatever the reason, it was not as enjoyable a read for me as it has been for ot...more Baxter is a master storyteller. I found the prose and vocabulary every bit as eloquent in this novel as his writing in The Feast Of Love. There is even references to Wolverine football. But, this novel was just too obscure and bizarre for me to immerse myself in. Possibly it was because it was an audio book rather than the "real" thing. Realistically, perhaps it was just too deep for my brain to grasp. Whatever the reason, it was not as enjoyable a read for me as it has been for others.
Soul Thief is the story of a group of neo-intellectuals living in the early 70s. The characters were so real and so authentic. People too busy with their philosophical discussions to become entrenched in anything more than superficial human interactions.
Nathaniel hopes that "his quiet sincerity will provide some antidote to cleverness." Yet he finds himself "a hayseed among city slickers."
Jerome has a complete understanding of their situation, "Look at us. We're all pretending to be smart as if intelligence were the cure for our anquish."
Theresa is the character I most related to. "She admits her yearning to inhabit an intellectual realm she has not by rights acquired citizenship to. The daughter of manufacturers, she's afraid of being dumb."
It's a depressing and dark book, especially for Nathaniel.
He interrupts a burglary in progress at his apartment and the intruder observes, "You've got nothing to steal. This stuff is what you return to the store the day after Christmas. I'm wasting my valuable time. All you got are these paperback books everywhere. It got it better than you. A lonesome soul lives here."
The plot is filled with creative scenarios and unusual circumstances.
The descriptive prose is brilliant in places-
"The whole evening has turned into a dead battery. No matter what you hook it up to, nothing will go anywhere.
"You would need a crane to lift his mouth into a smile."

I wanted to embrace this book because the writing is amazing, but the love didn't happen. I do plan to read more from this author, however.
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Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

04/18/08

Read in April, 2008

Baxter is such a mesmerizing writer -- a single sentence will force you back upon itself, a little world unto its self. He is clever, clever, clever, and his smarts are also very appealing. I was aware, as I was reading, that I was in Baxter's company -- again, not at all an unpleasant place to be -- but it's a different experience than that of being in thrall to the world views of three dimensional-feeling characters. The structure of the book is a hall of mirrors -- the characters are colla...more

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Edan rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

04/04/08

Read in March, 2004

I'm giving this book 3 stars because it was such a quick, pleasureable read, and because Charles Baxter sure knows how to craft a paragraph, and because I adore his novel The Feast of Love. I considered giving it only two stars, though, because the story was too high concept for me, the theme too on-the-nose, its characters sacrificed for idea, even gimmick. And as wonderful as Baxter is with prose, this occasionally felt overwritten, and sometimes the syntax confused me (and not in a hot, Tho...more

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Karima rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

09/11/08

Read in March, 2008

All-in-all, found this a bit disappointing. Look forward to ANYTHING written by Charles Baxter AND the setting for much of this novel is in Buffalo, NY (my home town.)The plot felt forced and not developed enough to render it believable, but I do so enjoy Baxter's full-bodied writing. Here's an example:
p. 25
...Nathaniel sees her grinning to herself privately, as if she liked him once upon a time, hours ago; but for him to return that smile through the car window,the minimal effort invested i...more

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Maggie rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

09/02/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

File this one under "showed promise."

Baxter's anticipated follow-up to the highly acclaimed The Feast of Love started off well enough, I suppose. Nathaniel Mason, narrating awkwardly in the 3rd person, is a graduate student in upstate New York and on his way to one of the smarmiest parties ever put to ink. It's there, amongst the hipsters and faux Marxists, where he first meets Jerome Coolberg,"The Soul Thief." Coolberg is purported to be some sort of genius, however Nath...more File this one under "showed promise."

Baxter's anticipated follow-up to the highly acclaimed The Feast of Love started off well enough, I suppose. Nathaniel Mason, narrating awkwardly in the 3rd person, is a graduate student in upstate New York and on his way to one of the smarmiest parties ever put to ink. It's there, amongst the hipsters and faux Marxists, where he first meets Jerome Coolberg,"The Soul Thief." Coolberg is purported to be some sort of genius, however Nathaniel is quick to note that nearly everything spewing from his mouth is stolen material.

Though he first seems harmless enough, it doesn't take Nathaniel long to realize something about Coolberg is a bit...off. Still, Nathaniel can't seem to help from forming an uneasy friendship with Coolberg, and that's when things take turn for the creepy. Nathaniel's apartment is burgled, his clothes go missing, and Coolberg somehow seems know very personal things about Nathaniel - things Nathaniel doesn't recall ever sharing with him. The issue is forced to its crisis when he catches word that Coolberg has taken to passing Nathaniel's history off as his own. His excuse? He's writing a book, and Nathaniel's a major source of inspiration. From here the story takes several twists, the biggest one being, of course, the ending. Which was awful.

As I stated earlier, this novel certainly had potential. Annoying opening party scene aside, the first act read like Hitchcock at his best - full of ominously mysterious characters with undefined motives. In fact, the book even begins with a reference to Psycho, a reference the reader will later recognize as a major clue. And even though I *loves* me some Hitchcock, I most certainly didn't love this novel.

Why? As the plot unfolded I was bothered by several things, but I could have looked past the pedantic dialogue and unlikeable characters had the ending delivered better. And when it comes down to it, it's the ending that ruined The Soul Thief for me. I'll be vague for the sake of anyone who may still want to give it a shot, but after all the allusions dropped throughout, I was geared up for the ending to be as classy and smart as a Hitchcock film, when instead it felt cheap and gimmicky. Baxter my man, you could have done so much better.

I have no doubt that Charles Baxter is a great writer, however I'm not sure one would be able to discern that on this strength of this novel alone. Hardcore Baxter fans will probably still want to check it out, but for everyone else...maybe don't bother. It wasn't the worst way to spend a few hours, but it was hardly the best.

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Anne rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

10/22/08

Read in October, 2008

Nathaniel Mason, the main character of Baxter's novel, seems to lack a cohesive identity. He cavorts with pseudo-intellectuals and falls in love with a lesbian, all while contemplating the import of Gertrude Stein. One night at a party, he meets Jerome Coolberg - a man who throws out quotations of dubious origin and philosophies on life that he does not quite seem to endorse. And he slowly begins to co-opt pieces of Mason's past. He suddenly knows personal information about Mason's family, which...more

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Entropybar rated it:

(review of isbn 0375422528)

02/29/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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The SOul Theif

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