bookshelves: currently-reading
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i'd actually give this closer to 3.5 stars. like some other reviews i've read, this starts off sooo strong. max is this wonderful, young, spontaneous, imaginative, creative, emotional creature that kind of awakens the child in you when you open up the book.
the reason this is not a 4 or 5 star book is simply that the book felt... rushed... maybe is the right word. there's not much development of the monsters at all in the book -- which i firmly believe to be intentional, as this story IS about max, not delving into a history of the monsters or their island... but carol is really more scary than lovable in many of the moments, and one starts to wonder how max keeps loving carol and not moving towards full-on terror... maybe that's an exaggeration. but i guess more time hearing max's voice process through the extreme dual natures of carol would have maybe helped me stay engaged in the story. instead, i pulled away quite a few times... and i wanted to just lose myself in the book.
that aside, eggers is a great writer of internal emotions and relationships. there's a lot of sadness in here, but not enough to call this book a downer. definitely worth the read... if anything, just to see how eggers takes a short child's book and makes it his own. ]]>
i love margaret atwood. particularly because she'll throw you into her world without explanation or backstory. you figure it out as you go. no hand outs. its intelligent writing and when you crack the story code, you're that much more invested in its outcome.
i loved this book as much as i loved oryx and crake. i've worked in books a long time, and when oryx and crake came out, it seemed like i loved it a lot more than other readers. i'm hoping that readers have now caught up to it, and also embrace year of the flood.
what at first seems like an alien and highly contrived world starts to point back to a time when consumerism, technology and vanity jumped out of control: in other worlds, now. this is a logical extension of the decisions we're making today. there are other possibilities, but i bet atwood's onto something here. she manages to not point an entirely bleak or cynical interpretation, at that. the characters are adapted to their world, and accept its terms much as we do today. it is what it is. but to readers entering this world, its pretty jarring and awful.
i highly recommend reading oryx and crake before opening this one up, but do open it up. ]]>
by Josh Bazell
i'd probably give it an r... ]]>
how can i describe this? imagine a porno (rated r stuff, not hardcore), jack kerouac's on the road, and maybe something a little glengarry glenross. shake it up and out comes 'death of bunny munro.'
cave's distinctive storytelling, which usually includes elements of greed and lust, told in kind of a modern-day fable. boy meets girl, boy cheats unrepentantly on girl, girl dies, boy loses his grasp on reality. hilarity and drama ensue.
his storytelling is always gritty and maybe not for everyone, but if you don't mind a little dirt in your reading, this one is a highly satisfying and quick read. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: to-read
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"...a long ways to go..."
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chabon is a great writer. i could just end a review here. part of my attraction to his writing is perhaps the fact that he's so damned nostalgic. kind of a golden days of the past, while still somehow conveying a nostalgia for the current day. my dad is the same way. he is a great storyteller, mostly because what he tells is so damned genuine.
this is a collection of essays culled from various periodicals. there is a clear thematic line -- manliness, i suppose, but i actually think its maybe "vulnerability." in no way does chabon display any sort of macho bravado, and, even when he does, his self-deprecating wit keeps it all in check. its funny. and touching. and through it, i connect him and his life.
i didn't connect with his characters in "...yiddish policemans union," but i'm ok with that. i still loved the way the words rolled around on the page. and here i am connecting with the author with "manhood for amateurs," and, well, i'm not a man.
this could be a great gift for any man, but i would hardly say this is just a man's read. ]]>
Erin
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