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162nd out of 547 books
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The Interrogative Mood: A Novel?
Are you happy? Do we need galoshes? Are bluebirds perfect? Do you know the distinctions, empirical or theoretical, between moss and lichen? Is it clear to you why I am asking you all these questions? Should I go away? Leave you alone? Should I bother but myself with the interrogative mood?
The acclaimed writer Padgett Powell is fascinated by what it feels like to walk thro
...moreHardcover, 165 pages
Published
October 1st 2009
by Ecco Press
(first published 2009)
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This is by far one of the worst things I have ever read. I do want to put in a caveat, Powell actually says these were not intended to be a novel, that was added to sell the book. The problem still being as Hitchens tells us, you have to write a book to back up your title. So we are forced to evaluate it as a novel not a a piece of active critical theory (in which context with would still be crap just a different kind of crap).
Also, I am at the moment slightly drunk so I apologize in a...more
Also, I am at the moment slightly drunk so I apologize in a...more
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This is a book entirely of questions, which seems like it would get old quickly, but it didn't at all. It made me think about random things, laugh out loud, and remember things I haven't thought about in years. Like Katie said, there were so many questions that I was so excited to answer. "Yes, I have used the word extrapolate in a non mathematical way!" "Yes, I would be comfortable taking a bus in a country where I didn't know the language!" "Yes, I do remember...more
Catherine O'Sullivan
rated it
Deriding this book for being gimmick is a facile response. It's a novel (in the loosest sense of the word) written entirely in questions, calling it a gimmick is a little beside the point. Of course it's a "gimmick", in one sense: discussions of its form dominant the majority of the reviews about it. But what matters to me, and what I think is more interesting, is discussing whether the books conducts itself well, and whether or not the inescapable fact of its peculiar style overrides ...more
I found this book interesting and the possibility of the author sustaining a book by simply writing questions--absurd, nonsensical, imaginative, profound--intrigued me. And if I had stopped reading it after the first 50 pages or so, I might have given it a much higher rating. But in the end, it feels like the author is making fun of the reader, playing with the reader--it is in no shape or form a novel unless the unstated character, the author, is recording his thoughts in 2 minutes of time. T...more
Every once in a while, I decide to pick up something really outrageous and bizarre, and see how I would tolerate it. This is one such item.
Padgett Powell's The Interrogative Mood is a novel (?) about me. Yes, it is about me. I learned quite a lot about myself reading this novel. Now, how would that happen?
Well, what else do you expect in a book that is filled with sentences that are in the interrogative mood? Every sentence in this book is a question. The author does nothing ...more
Padgett Powell's The Interrogative Mood is a novel (?) about me. Yes, it is about me. I learned quite a lot about myself reading this novel. Now, how would that happen?
Well, what else do you expect in a book that is filled with sentences that are in the interrogative mood? Every sentence in this book is a question. The author does nothing ...more
Is it not a novel idea to write a book composed entirely of questions? Is it not--in some very broad sense--a bit plagiaristic (if this is even a word--but you still know what I mean, do you not?) for me to attempt to write a review of such a book by composing only interrogative sentences? (And will other readers of this book be similarly compelled to write reviews composed only of interrogative sentences?)
Would you be surprised to learn that I found such a book--despite its lack o...more
Would you be surprised to learn that I found such a book--despite its lack o...more
I won't pose a question about this book in imitation of its primary gimmick. Suffice it to say you'll be tempted to. I will, however, laude Powell's endeavor. Composed entirely of questions, this book eschews straight-forward narrative and reads more like a clever list from McSweeney's than a traditional novel. But, novel it is. There's a protagonist (albeit a highly ephemeral one) and conflict abounds. However, Powell's true accomplishment lies not in pursuit of answers but in the questions the...more
How many goodreaders does it take to screw in a light bulb? Who would you rather have next to you in a fight, Howard or Powell? Would goodreads be completely dead during the day if it weren't for alt-tab?
Will "LOL!!!!GOOD BUDDY" comments ever get old? What are the chances Brian will see "New Moon" this weekend? Why is it when you tell someone to hurry they all of a sudden move slower? How many books do you bring on a road trip? Do squirrels like cheese? Why a...more
Will "LOL!!!!GOOD BUDDY" comments ever get old? What are the chances Brian will see "New Moon" this weekend? Why is it when you tell someone to hurry they all of a sudden move slower? How many books do you bring on a road trip? Do squirrels like cheese? Why a...more
your neighborhood librarian
rated it
I'm going to call this mildly irritating, rather precious book a great book for teenagers. It's all questions. "Would you rather be bitten by an alligator or a large cat? How many diapers whould you say you have changed in your life?"
So, you know what? What species of human spends upwards of 50% of its time questioning things? What age group considers self-examination as necessary as texting?
Teenagers. In case the "texting" clue didn't tip you off. Only r...more
So, you know what? What species of human spends upwards of 50% of its time questioning things? What age group considers self-examination as necessary as texting?
Teenagers. In case the "texting" clue didn't tip you off. Only r...more
Definitely a novel? Maybe a novel? Who knows? It's great though. It operates in a different space to most novels where -with differing degrees of hospitality, comfort, explanation and/or experimentation- readers are invited on board for the ride then have their inward gaze pointed towards various passing scenes put there for them by the author as the ridw rolls on. However this book -since it consists solely of questions- does something a bit different. The questions push back into the re...more
This may call for a new category in the book-prize world, being nothing but a steady barrage of questions which teach, entertain, uplift and/or enforce. In this category, contenders might include, say, Socrates and Bill Cosby and Savonarola, and indeed the catechism of the Roman Catholic church ("a set of formal questions put as a test"). Maybe it's just a trick, some data-mining/matching via Google to construct a voice. Not far from the old monkey at a typewriter, eventually writing ...more
There's plenty to say about the fact that this book is composed entirely of questions--how this mode possibly turns the focus of the narrative upon the reader, or how it reverses the hierarchy of reading so that the narrator (interviewer?) becomes the dynamic engager of text--but the real thrill of this book was nothing less than the constructions of the sentences themselves, the rich levels of rhythm and counterpoint that are found and rediscovered in a sentence mode that often seems to be used...more
Strictly, speaking, this isn’t a ‘proper’ book. As everybody by now knows. Or, rather it is to literature what Jackson Pollock is to art: inane, insane – in the main; and non germaine, but hey: I won’t complain.
167 pages of questions. Such as, ‘if you were fighting in a spice war, which spice would you fight for?’
First reaction: Spices? Spice? What the fuck? Do I not eat my chicken tikka massala (which has them all), without a murmur? Now I have to deconstruct it? What happens ...more
167 pages of questions. Such as, ‘if you were fighting in a spice war, which spice would you fight for?’
First reaction: Spices? Spice? What the fuck? Do I not eat my chicken tikka massala (which has them all), without a murmur? Now I have to deconstruct it? What happens ...more
Life is full of questions and answers and each child goes through their why? period before learning that asking about things all the times causes both annoyance and frustration because the answers are usually far from satisfactory.
Imagine reading a book that from start to finish a series of questions. It might sound difficult reading, and in parts it is, but perhaps not for the reasons you think. One of the problems is the urge to mentally answer as many questions as you can and the ot...more
Imagine reading a book that from start to finish a series of questions. It might sound difficult reading, and in parts it is, but perhaps not for the reasons you think. One of the problems is the urge to mentally answer as many questions as you can and the ot...more
This book is written entirely in questions. Yes, it does sound a little gimmicky, but I absolutely loved it. I can't really explain why I loved it so much, and I can't exactly figure out who to recommend it to, because I think a lot of people would hate it. The questions often made me smile or laugh, think of people or events I'd forgotten about, or just have a moment of genuine reflection.
Like the question, "Do you miss Tab and do you fully understand its disappearance?"...more
Like the question, "Do you miss Tab and do you fully understand its disappearance?"...more
A novel made entirely of questions, there's a strange kind of ego-flattery in reading this. The whole book is more or less about you, in that you must direct most of the questions back at your self. Along with a lot of interesting hypotheticals, there seems to be kind of a subtext of questioning the reader's skills. Could they rebuild the world from scratch? There's something interesting also about reading such a "Southern" experimental writer. At this point I kind of associate experim...more
Andrew Plasom-scott
added it
Is this really a novel? And does it matter if it is or if it is not? And who is to decide anyway? If I were to say that I finished this wondering if in fact I'd been reading my autobiography, would you be surprised? Would you care? Or is it in fact Padgett Powell's autobiography? These and the other questions raised by this book - why are they so compelling, so haunting? Is there anybody out there? Is there anybody in here? If I were to say that this book is worth reading because of the q...more
First, in answer to the question seemingly posed by the subtitle... no, this is definitely not a novel. It is so very much more than that, although I can definitely see where it might be seen as less by many readers, even as a joke by some, but I very nearly punched that fifth star in my rating. What this is, in my opinion, is a pretty amazing feat of writing, since it is a book, fairly short, but still a book, in which each sentence is a question. Rather than a novel, I'd be more inclined to ca...more
Thank you to my lovely sister Katie who gave me this book for Christmas. I remember hearing about it on NPR, thinking the premise was interesting (a book made entirely of questions), but wondering how it could carry out for a whole book. There's no narrative arc to be found and no real unifying theme that I could figure out, but it was fun and interesting nonetheless. Sometimes I would try to answer every question as I read it, but that became overwhelming after a while, so I started to focus...more
I wasn't sure what to expect from a book composed only of questions - a literary stunt gone horribly awry? 164 pages of randomness? - but it turns out that Powell has exerted precise control over the material here. Powell's narrator comes to life in a very specific way: his questions unfold in an intricate structure that abounds with internal echoes and correspondences obsessed with a few core themes, then leavened by a large does of the deeply weird, passionately observed, and totally unexpecte...more
Stream of questions from beginning to end. Some of my favorites:
"If there was a service whereby everything in your apartment or house could be made to disappear (called House Fire without Fire), without any mess or hassle or delay, and you would receive, in compensation, partial value of the material that disappeared, what partial value would be necessary for your to contract with this service?"
"What is the largest zone of neglect in your life?"
...more
"If there was a service whereby everything in your apartment or house could be made to disappear (called House Fire without Fire), without any mess or hassle or delay, and you would receive, in compensation, partial value of the material that disappeared, what partial value would be necessary for your to contract with this service?"
"What is the largest zone of neglect in your life?"
...more
What would you say if I told you about a novel written entirely in questions? What if they were questions of endless invention about all matter of inventive things personal and social, about our mysterious universe? What if they were written with such wit and genuine curiosity that they never came across as a gimmick? What if they evoked real thought about our lives and how we live them? What if they were phrased in endlessly inventive ways that they never got old? Would you read it? Would you f...more
My buying and reading The Interrogative Mood: A Novel? was prompted by a sense of duty. The idea behind this book is so bizarre and everybody has been saying to well about it that I just felt that I had to read it. I was skeptical before starting it. I was still skeptical at page 50. And then, miracle. Something started to kick in. It is very rare that a novel actually talks to you. Because that’s what I felt, like if someone was having a discussion with me. At first pedantic but soon charming.
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Have you ever heard of a novel written entirely as a series of questions? Is it still a novel if it is just a series of questions? What is the definition of a novel, anyways? Do you think that 150-odd pages of question after question would be interesting? WOuld it surprise you to read the critical acclaim for this book? Would it surprise you to hear that I thought it was pretty good, although clearly it is extremely gimmicky and probably doesnt deserve some of the praise it has gotten? Wha...more
Depending on the cost/availability, this may be my next choice for the BBB. It strikes me as a very unique book that will quite likely have its readers scratching their heads. I'm hoping I'll be scratching my head in thought and not out of wonder for why I gave this book a shot. My anxiety about suggetsing it is that I'm hoping it being an extended string of questions won't become a tiresome gimmick that wears out after 40 pages, but from the way the author spoke and the bit he read on the air, ...more
I loved this book. I was prepared for the gimmick of the book, that it is comprised entirely of questions, to wear thin, and quickly at that. However, I was pleasantly surprised how much I was swept into the rhythm of the questions. The questions varied from mundane and silly (at times hilarious), to philosophical and poignant. This was a quick read, and such fun. It rekindled my passion for observing the small details that surround us, to look deeper within our routines for the amusing, at the ...more
This is simply a wonderful book, at first you start off a little skeptical, "hmm..would I enjoy a book full of questions?...what kind of absurd thing is this?...well...this is interesting"...and then you just go with it, the flow of the questions is wonderful, and the way some of them are phrased make you read them out loud. Powell has an interesting way of making this human race of dolts more informed, with stupid questions that strike up intelligent answers and intelligent questions ...more
Am I enjoying this book? Is a book filled with frequent pauses to rethink that which has gone before a good book? Have I ever before been so engaged by a book? Do I think this is a novel? "Are a plastic bag and a tornado equally predictable?" May I come to a conclusion at a later date or are my questions a pretentious effort to replicate a very interesting book? Shall we wait and see?
I enjoyed this book very very much. It was cleverly written, but not pretentiously so. Some q...more
I enjoyed this book very very much. It was cleverly written, but not pretentiously so. Some q...more
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First of all, this is not a novel. Once I managed to disconnect myself from that expectation (it took about 40 pages or so), I really started to enjoy it.
This book consists of nothing but questions, which seems like a fairly simple conceit (and conceit it is). Powell, however, takes the simple-sounding idea and puts together 160 pages of questions that seem unrelated, but which are formated in such a way as to make you stop, look around, and wonder where the hell this man came from...more
This book consists of nothing but questions, which seems like a fairly simple conceit (and conceit it is). Powell, however, takes the simple-sounding idea and puts together 160 pages of questions that seem unrelated, but which are formated in such a way as to make you stop, look around, and wonder where the hell this man came from...more
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Padgett Powell is the author of four novels, including Edisto, which was nominated for the National Book Award. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications, as well as in the anthologies Best American Short Stories and Best American Sports Writing. He lives in Gainesville, Florida, where he teaches writing at MFA@FLA, the writing program ...more
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“Life is a sandwich of activity between two periods of bed-wetting,”
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“If the observation were made to you that "Strangers become intimate, and as intimacy grows they lower their guards and less mind their manners until errors are made, which decreases intimacy until estrangement exceeds that which existed before the strangers ever met," would you be inclined to agree?”
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