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meepsharrison's review
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
sana26's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chillcox15's review
5.0
If you write a negative review of a book and the first line in your review is about the narrator/main character being narcissistic or unpleasant, you deserve a swirlie.
James Greer's Bad Eminence is a quite engaging and wry story of the prickliest of translators delivering a story to Juno Temple of how they got enmeshed in a conspiracy by someone who totally isn't Michel Houellebecq who enlists her to translate his new novel before he writes it, with about 15 other wild things happening after that. It's right on the edge of falling down some alt-fiction rabbitholes (sending up famous people, shit happening just to happen, outre humor, bad psychologies) but Greer has a really great sense of his main character's narrative voice in a way that makes her feel like a separate creation from the author.
James Greer's Bad Eminence is a quite engaging and wry story of the prickliest of translators delivering a story to Juno Temple of how they got enmeshed in a conspiracy by someone who totally isn't Michel Houellebecq who enlists her to translate his new novel before he writes it, with about 15 other wild things happening after that. It's right on the edge of falling down some alt-fiction rabbitholes (sending up famous people, shit happening just to happen, outre humor, bad psychologies) but Greer has a really great sense of his main character's narrative voice in a way that makes her feel like a separate creation from the author.
fward14's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is off the rails and definitely not one to read if you’re looking for clarity or closure. If you like absurd, obscene and dark then it’s worth your time.
douglasreaddimg's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
aront's review
1.0
This is the second book that I read in my And Other Stories subscription, which was written by a US writer. They both were terrible. Both books suffered from the same flaw. They were terribly boring. The protagonists’ lives were not worthy of interest. It seems, US people are so narcissistic and full of themselves, they have nothing truly interesting to say, no real insights to share, about the world and humanity. Perhaps this is why mass shooting is an epidemic in the US. Mass shootings are just another form of narcissism.
It’s not surprising both books end with (spoiler alert) suicides. The authors obviously hate their protagonists as much as I did. it’s the logical next step.
Perhaps the author felt his readers (whom he insults quite often) would enjoy feeling “smart” because they “got” some obscure literary reference he manages to fit in, to every other sentence. Boring. If you enjoy obscure literary references, read masters like Eco or Borges.
Remind me not to bother reading contemporary literary fiction written by young US writers in the future.
It’s not surprising both books end with (spoiler alert) suicides. The authors obviously hate their protagonists as much as I did. it’s the logical next step.
Perhaps the author felt his readers (whom he insults quite often) would enjoy feeling “smart” because they “got” some obscure literary reference he manages to fit in, to every other sentence. Boring. If you enjoy obscure literary references, read masters like Eco or Borges.
Remind me not to bother reading contemporary literary fiction written by young US writers in the future.
polly_e's review
5.0
Absurd, funny and confusing. Featuring cocktail recipes, photographs of swans, and the meaning of life.
haileyldavidson's review
1.0
This felt like cracking open a man’s skull like an egg, just to fish out his most horrible manic pixie dream girl fantasy.
The writing style was interesting for about two seconds, until it started to feel like a combination textbook, picture book, and recipe book. A swirly drawing titled “An illustration of the meaning of life” is a full chapter in this book. This man’s ego was inflated to the point where he felt he could write that down in a published work and people would think he was a genius.
The writing style was interesting for about two seconds, until it started to feel like a combination textbook, picture book, and recipe book. A swirly drawing titled “An illustration of the meaning of life” is a full chapter in this book. This man’s ego was inflated to the point where he felt he could write that down in a published work and people would think he was a genius.