Dwight B. Wilmerding is only twenty-eight, but he’s having a midlife crisis. He lives a dissolute existence in a tiny apartment with three (s...
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Mar 24, 2009
Michelle
rated it: 
Blah blah blah. "I can't make up my fucking mind." {Waaaah. Join the fucking club.} Blah blah blah. Experimental drug. Casual sex. Covered with hair. Blah blah blah. Fly to Ecuador to get laid but sort of find meaning/purpose instead but don't write about it very well or very effectively. Blah blah blah. Who gives a shit.
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Jul 26, 2008
oriana
rated it: 
once finished: Well it has become pretty clichéd to say, but yes, it took me about fifty pages of this relatively slim volume to get over my instinctual hatred of this successful young (my age when published) writer, and just get over myself and enjoy the book. Which, shit you guys, is really fucking good.
(Quick aside: Our Benjamin Kunkel is, as is more or less required for this demographic, clearly enamored with his own writerly talents. Consequently this book can be a bit much at More...
(Quick aside: Our Benjamin Kunkel is, as is more or less required for this demographic, clearly enamored with his own writerly talents. Consequently this book can be a bit much at More...
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(4 people liked it)
Jun 17, 2008
Michael
rated it:
The real indecision here comes in how long you waver before finally giving up on this book. The story meanders aimlessly in a pseudo-philosophical fog that is neither amusing (as advertised on the cover) or in any other way interesting. The premise--a chronically indecisive loser in his late 20's (allegedly representing a whole generation to which I happen to belong--needless to say, I don't agree with the categorization) is offered a miracle drug to relieve his indecision--could be interestin
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(7 people liked it)
Jun 07, 2011
Amanda
rated it: 
I can't decide. Maybe because we were interns together ten years ago and I basically liked him, even if the rest of the interns that semester thought he was smug. Everyone said he thought he was smarter than the rest of us. What they didn't know is that they were right. He was pretty open about it and honestly, I thought he was right. So I have these misgivings about Ben himself; I want to take him down a notch, just because I do. But that's not fair. So, he's smart. Who am I to begrudge him a w
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(3 people liked it)
Mar 28, 2008
Patrick
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 02, 2008
Casey
rated it: 
I am still trying to figure out my thoughts on this book. So now all it gets is three stars and a measly two sentences, but some glorious day when it all sinks in, it will get less or more stars and a bunch of rambling paragraphs that, if I'm very lucky, three people will read...
So now I've waited my allotted time and maybe it's been too long. Proof that it's worth just writing these things immediately...ah well...
The first half of this novel struck me as awful. It remind More...
So now I've waited my allotted time and maybe it's been too long. Proof that it's worth just writing these things immediately...ah well...
The first half of this novel struck me as awful. It remind More...
Mar 22, 2007
Cristina
rated it:
This book embodies the crap I've come to expect from precocious, over-educated hipsters. Granted, there were a few insightful sentences that I really liked. But christ, where do I even begin. The characters blow -- Kunkel thinks he's representing my generation, when really all these characters are just one-dimensional charicatures. The neuroses come off as annoying instead of endearing. A 3rd grader could have come up with a better plot. I've never wanted to throw a book off the subway pla
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Stacey
rated it:
The cover is the only redeeming quality about this book. It looks so cute!! When we chose it for book club I somehow managed to find and read aloud the ONLY two funny sentencess in the entire thing. Thinking that we had a winner, the reading commenced. Bad luck for us! The premise sounds fantastic - the book however is another story.
At the end, I faced my own Indecision - use this one to level a wobbly table leg or pass it on to someone I really, really dislike?!?
At the end, I faced my own Indecision - use this one to level a wobbly table leg or pass it on to someone I really, really dislike?!?
Mar 21, 2007
Emily
rated it:
At the beginning, Indecision seems like a slightly wacky take on a slightly "different" coming of age novel (there's a premise of a wonder pharmaceutical that cures indecision; Kunkel's narrator is not a teenager but a 20-something). The narrator prattles on for about 2/3 of the book and then the narrator does (spoiler alert) indeed take the pill and begins to make up his mind about things. Perhaps you could argue the narrator's rapid and barely motivated change of mind is Kunkel's s
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(2 people liked it)
Jul 08, 2007
Boy Chris
rated it:
Flimsy and vapid, Indecision dropped the ball at every given opportunity. Kunkel failed to produce a single character worthy of study, glossed over his oversimplified social and political dilemmas, and splattered all of it throughout a plot that was laughable at best. The worst part of it all is that he possesses no small talent for turning a phrase and came up with the basis for an interesting and thought provoking novel. Ultimately though, those few clever sound bites and intriguing ideas wer
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 23, 2009
Barky
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 23, 2010
Jessie
rated it:
This is a satire, but somehow I liked it much more than Buckley's "Boomsday." I think it is because Buckley was writing a satire of the DC spin machine, which I have little inside knowledge of, and Kunkel is writing satire about confused early adulthood, which I have tons of inside knowledge of. It isn't only hilarious, but I scarily identify with a lot of Dwight's philosophizing about the insanity of it all. In the end he somehow achieves clarity through a mixture of drugs and finding
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May 10, 2010
Khulser
rated it:
Heidegger as a hoot. You don't have to be a 20-something with soul-psoriasis, to appreciate the agonizing of this young Werther named Dwight Ansich. So self-conscious, this boy cannot even self-pleasure without short-circuiting his orgasm by hyper-reflexivity. Natch, it takes designer drugs, inventively catalyzed with romance and local natural pharmaceuticals to make his consciousness crystallize. My own rare novel-reading break to devour the account of Dwight's Oedipal humiliation at his father
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Aug 26, 2009
Matt
rated it:
This book is like one of those people who skate by in life thinking that they're more charming than they are, a belief the person holds so firmly that it can actually make others believe that he/she is charming. Or the mistaken belief itself is so mistaken and so firmly believed that the error is actually charming.
Except this book isn't charming. It makes a whole host of vapid assumptions about the world which it cheerfully expects you to assume as well. It pays very careful attention More...
Except this book isn't charming. It makes a whole host of vapid assumptions about the world which it cheerfully expects you to assume as well. It pays very careful attention More...
Dec 29, 2008
Bonnie
rated it:
The only reason this book got two stars is because Kunkel has a talent for two things: ideas and clever turns of phrase. but these two things does not a good novel make, unfortunately. I kept reading hoping it would get better, and it didn't. it just got more and more cliche.
I am so sick of reading about the east coast bourgeois, and anything about generation whine, both of which, as a west-coast millennial, I find not in the least bit relatable and entirely contemptible.
I am so sick of reading about the east coast bourgeois, and anything about generation whine, both of which, as a west-coast millennial, I find not in the least bit relatable and entirely contemptible.
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(2 people liked it)
May 20, 2010
Greg
rated it:
What is wrong with me?
Much like the character in this novel I couldn't make up my mind what to give this book. I waffled between two and three stars; but I didn't hate this book. I hated parts of the book, but I didn't hate the book. As far as vapid young writers go, one could do worse.
But don't I have it on good authority that this book sucks donkey balls?
Yeah. And it does. The narrator is a kind of whiny, self-absorbed elitist who can't make up his m More...
Much like the character in this novel I couldn't make up my mind what to give this book. I waffled between two and three stars; but I didn't hate this book. I hated parts of the book, but I didn't hate the book. As far as vapid young writers go, one could do worse.
But don't I have it on good authority that this book sucks donkey balls?
Yeah. And it does. The narrator is a kind of whiny, self-absorbed elitist who can't make up his m More...
36 comments
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(15 people liked it)
Mar 09, 2011
Joshua
rated it:
This book is awful. I stubbornly made my way to the bitter end just to give it a single star and ravage it in this short, capsule review. Ah, the taste of semi-satisfaction. I should have looked at some of the comments of previous readers via goodreads as it would have made me pass on this irritating, phony, cooler than thou exorcise in superficiality that Kunkel has crafted. The book is lighter than a feather and has absolutely no substance to it as it tells the story of an annoying 20 somethin
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 17, 2011
Lindsay
rated it:
This book just flew over my head. It's one of those books where the author uses more words than necessary to express what the character is thinking and saying. I consider it an 'intelligent' book, meaning it's complex. Now I understand why I usually stick to mystery novels, because the characters are usually pretty flakey and easy to follow. Not sure what that says about myself thought. Hmmm...
Anyway, this is supposed to be a story about Dwight who apparently has trouble making decisions s More...
Anyway, this is supposed to be a story about Dwight who apparently has trouble making decisions s More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 15, 2009
Amy
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 05, 2009
The whiny, wisecracking narrator lifts this bildungsroman well above the clich_àd masses. Dwight's voice "blends astute and whimsical observation with cerebral gymnastics and tortuously modest, wistful introspection" (New York Times Book Review). Yes, some reviewers found Dwight annoying. But even they were ultimately won over by his childlike innocence, madcap adventures, and the debut author's skillful prose style. Sure, reviewers were unsure how to handle the novel's preachy, pseudop
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Dec 06, 2010
Johanna
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 23, 2012
Jody
rated it:
Well, at least I know my insomnia isn't caused by reading interesting books. By page 44, I was already thinking that the best decision was to abandon "Indecision". Problem is, I hate giving up on a book--or a horse, for that matter--but that's another subject which I'd seriously rather be talking about than this book. I also hate giving only one star. All in all, it was unsatisfying and predictable. I really could have cared less if the characters lived, died or were abducted by alien
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Yulia
rated it:
The most over-hyped book of the year. Every character spoke in one-liners. The plot was contrived, the characters rather pathetic, and the ending a cheap finish. A waste of time, sad to say.
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Aug 27, 2009
Juliana
rated it:
Now I may be biased because yesterday I saw the author at a reading at the UCLA Hammer museum and practically fell in love with his personality.
That aside, I expected he would read from Indecision but instead he read from his new play-in-work. The cool part was he asked members of the audience to play parts. Great play too, hopefully it will become actualized.
Okay, back to the book at hand.......
It's super sarcastic, witty, highly political and basically a qu More...
That aside, I expected he would read from Indecision but instead he read from his new play-in-work. The cool part was he asked members of the audience to play parts. Great play too, hopefully it will become actualized.
Okay, back to the book at hand.......
It's super sarcastic, witty, highly political and basically a qu More...
Apr 28, 2010
Navvy
rated it:
I sometimes felt the description was a little over the top, but I have to say you learn to love it. The beginning and middle are wonderful but the abundance of democratic socialist banter in the final chapters dull the spirit of the book somewhat. It's strength comes from Kunkel's ability to capture distinct emotional concepts relative to modern society, including chemical-altered realities and sexual tensions. The political philosophy complements the plot significantly to an extent, but like I
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Nov 27, 2011
Ed
rated it:
Please see my review of 'Martha Quest' for a taste of what I think, generally, of boyish quasi-rebellious coming-of-age novels. Okay, don't. They're just inconsistent...or I am. The same way the protagonists in these books 'grow up,' as readers we (I) also grow out of the need for these sorts of protagonists.
A colleague of Janie's lent 'us' (meaning 'me' since he knows Janie doesn't have time to read for pleasure) this book with the encouraging information that it is one of his fa More...
A colleague of Janie's lent 'us' (meaning 'me' since he knows Janie doesn't have time to read for pleasure) this book with the encouraging information that it is one of his fa More...
Jul 09, 2008
Craig
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 05, 2008
Briggs
rated it:
Extremely engaging and very, very funny. 4 1/2 stars. THIS should be called "The Average American Male" instead of the other crap book I recently read. Or at least, Dwight Wilmerding is more indicative of the aimless, self-effacing male 20-somethings I know. A few choice excerpts:
"...the nature of Sunday as that recurrent day whose tremendous potential seems much more enjoyable than any actual use of it could ever be."
"Yeah,' I said in order to seem like some More...
"...the nature of Sunday as that recurrent day whose tremendous potential seems much more enjoyable than any actual use of it could ever be."
"Yeah,' I said in order to seem like some More...
Dec 06, 2007
Destinee
rated it:
It's funny reading a book about the whiniest generation, particularly when you belong to it. I really liked this book because it reflected back at me a lot of my own worst qualities, which is why I read these kinds of books. To, you know, remind myself of what I'm constantly in danger of being like (or, to be honest, what I'm like a lot of the time).
In fairness, I read this book during the roughest part of the quarter--a time of year when I shouldn't even be reading novels because I More...
In fairness, I read this book during the roughest part of the quarter--a time of year when I shouldn't even be reading novels because I More...
