false 16 141 121 true 6957886 read 1 true 6957911 currently-reading 19 true 6957889 to-read <![CDATA[Aaron added 'Life of Pi']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72672713 Life of Pi (Mass Market Paperback) by Yann Martel
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72753908 to: Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work (Hardcover) by Matthew B. Crawford
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'A Fraction of the Whole']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74454670 A Fraction of the Whole (Hardcover) by Steve Toltz
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73694631 to: The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead (Paperback) by Max Brooks
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72700353 to: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Paperback) by Dave Eggers
Quite enjoyed it. In part for Egger's manic writing style, elaborate diversions, breaking of the fourth wall, etc. In this way I think he perfectly captures that wild swinging of an internal monologue -- what it's like to have this consciousness that grasps for meaning and finality in everything, even though it may not be there. ]]> <![CDATA[Aaron is on page 406 of A Heartbreaking Work... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72700353 Aaron is on page 406 of 496 of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius ]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73265567 to: The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley (Mass Market Paperback) by Malcolm X
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73265560 to: No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks (Hardcover) by Ed Viesturs
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'Tooth and Claw: and Other Stories']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73265527 to: Tooth and Claw: and Other Stories (Paperback) by T.C. Boyle
]]> <![CDATA[Aaron added 'Timbuktu: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72670801 to: Timbuktu: A Novel (Paperback) by Paul Auster
Not really everything I had exepcted. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. My main complaint is really in the characters. Willy G Christmas wasn't nearly as engaging a character as Mr Bones, which may be the point. However, the first half of the book tends to drag because of this (its almost all focused on Christmas), and the book is split almost evenly between two distinct tones.

I did, however, truly enjoy Auster's themes of language, which I thought worked especially well through his canine narrator. There's quite a bit of Jacques Lacan here -- Mr. Bones' world is very much defined by his language, and his language is picked up secondhand from his experiences (making his life and his language a 1:1 correlation). Consider, also, the implications that he is a dog and cannot speak back, and it seems clear that Auster is reinforcing Lacan's belief that language is beyond our conscious control -- it comes from another consciousness (that maybe we all - human and canine - share). ]]>