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bent's review
2.0
I didn't think I had read any of Wright's books before, but then I noticed that I read Farthing's Fortunes two years ago and apparently liked it - I gave it four stars. I can't really remember it now, the curse of reading a lot of books.
This book was Wright's first, and it's not a great one. It reminds me a little of Joseph Heller's Something Happened, but Heller's book is intense, extremely hard to get through, but ultimately more rewarding. You can relate to the protagonist in that book, even as you hate him. You don't feel hate for Wright's protagonist, Wes, but you don't feel much of anything else either. The character feels ill-defined, and he doesn't really stay true to his character. To be honest, the story is a bit of a mess, and none of the characters are that compelling. You don't see enough of Wes's married life to understand what's gone wrong, and since he's only 30, it's hard to accept that he's had as much experience with life as the book suggests he's had.
It was an easy enough read, however, and the problems with the book weren't so great that I gave up on it. So I give it two stars.
This book was Wright's first, and it's not a great one. It reminds me a little of Joseph Heller's Something Happened, but Heller's book is intense, extremely hard to get through, but ultimately more rewarding. You can relate to the protagonist in that book, even as you hate him. You don't feel hate for Wright's protagonist, Wes, but you don't feel much of anything else either. The character feels ill-defined, and he doesn't really stay true to his character. To be honest, the story is a bit of a mess, and none of the characters are that compelling. You don't see enough of Wes's married life to understand what's gone wrong, and since he's only 30, it's hard to accept that he's had as much experience with life as the book suggests he's had.
It was an easy enough read, however, and the problems with the book weren't so great that I gave up on it. So I give it two stars.
sagek's review
I had to read this for my English class and I must admit, I dislike it a lot.
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