Scan barcode
creadsagain's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
heart_palpitations's review against another edition
It's really interesting but convoluted and a pain to follow. Kept starting then putting it down then being confused with where we were in the plot. Might revisit because I was a fan of the writing but maybe it's just a book you need to plan to start and finish in one sitting.
tittypete's review
1.0
What the fuck is this pretentious shit.
Big kick in the dick to whoever recommended this.
Whimsy. A handful underlineable sentences. With a heapin helpin of indulgent turdmastery.
Waiting for Godot meets the goon squad minus a reason to care.
Only finished it for my reading challenge.
Frick this book for the time being.
Big kick in the dick to whoever recommended this.
Whimsy. A handful underlineable sentences. With a heapin helpin of indulgent turdmastery.
Waiting for Godot meets the goon squad minus a reason to care.
Only finished it for my reading challenge.
Frick this book for the time being.
karp76's review against another edition
2.0
This is Calvino writing the Arabian Nights. Or wants to be. Or wants to be something else, something beautiful, inexplicable and wonderful. Except that it is not. It's none of those things. It is preoccupied with the device of its own internal art and the beauty of that supposed art, that it forgets its function. It is confusing. Confusing, not in complexity. Confusing in focus, in message, in tone and tone. At the end of the day, I don't really know what this is or what it is trying to say. The book loses itself within itself, within its labyrinth of stories folding into the next into the next into the next. There could be something said of its approach and its construction but by the end we have forgotten it or left it behind, trapped in the mess of the narrative.
kkourakis's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Its one long story with small stories (many of them without an ending) weaved throughout. It reminded me of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (but not as good) because the writing style was very unique. So, if you want a change from the norm, this book is for you.
britt_blank_'s review against another edition
3.0
It seems as if people either love this book, or they hate it, and I've yet to make up my mind. I found myself searching for hidden meanings and metaphors among these stories that so resembled nesting dolls, but ended up lost to the point I didn't even know what the story was about, anymore. Not sure if this was Ball's intention, but the reader needs something to grab on to, in regards to plot. A rope, to kind of lead the reader from beginning to end. The Way Through Doors was a unique read, no doubt, but maybe stepped a little too far off the path.
mrninjaviking's review against another edition
2.0
I visited an independent book store in the summer, and stumbled upon their web site a couple of days later. They had set up for employees to post their recommendations and was really taken by the write up for this book. Here is the description that caught my eye from Publishers Weekly via Amazon.Com:
I didn't read this too thoroughly, because I missed the bit about "... leaving the earlier story incomplete." This didn't bother me too much, but it was a light into the mind of this book. As was "... the narrative folds in upon itself again and again ..." These made for a frustrating read.
Now that's not to say the book was bad. Two big keys to the authors talent: he can write, meaning great prose, and he can tell a story. Quite fantastical at times, it was very pleasing to read. However, like the description states, at times things were left hanging and the scene would melt back into the previous characters. Not only did it leave me wanting to go back and find out what happened with the previous story lines, but it left me scratching me head on why the switch. One reviewer compared the stories to a Möbius strip. Good call.
One other thing that made this book a little unfriendly to me was how it was divided up. These days most books have many breaking points. This book, clocking in at around 230 pages (it didn't have page numbers), only had four sections. Because things melted into each other so thoroughly, it was hard to find a spot to put the book down, though this could be seen as a good thing, too. But with my reading time being chopped up into smaller chunks, it made reading the book tough at times.
Getting back to Ball's prose, I was delighted to read it. He has written some poetry, and I always worry that writers will bring too much into their fiction. Not here. He created a very pleasing text to read, was concise in his descriptions, didn't linger too long, and let things melt in the readers mind quite nicely. But like I already mentioned, he also melted a lot of the stories together which led to some confusion.
A fairly interesting book that I am still trying to figure out how I feel about it. Even after writing this "review".
When pamphleteer Selah Morse witnesses a taxi run down a young woman, he takes her to the hospital and, in telling the staff that he is her boyfriend and that her name is Mora Klein, is given custody of her. She is amnesiac, and his orders are to reconstruct her memories through story. The book then begins anew, and the narrative folds in upon itself again and again, launching in new directions and each time leaving the earlier story incomplete. Throughout, Morse searches out Mora Klein's identity, picking up other travelers along the way, among them a Coney Island mind reader; a doting husband who may or may not have made a deal with the devil; a love interest for Morse fascinated by the pamphleteer's opus; and a fiddle-playing dog.
I didn't read this too thoroughly, because I missed the bit about "... leaving the earlier story incomplete." This didn't bother me too much, but it was a light into the mind of this book. As was "... the narrative folds in upon itself again and again ..." These made for a frustrating read.
Now that's not to say the book was bad. Two big keys to the authors talent: he can write, meaning great prose, and he can tell a story. Quite fantastical at times, it was very pleasing to read. However, like the description states, at times things were left hanging and the scene would melt back into the previous characters. Not only did it leave me wanting to go back and find out what happened with the previous story lines, but it left me scratching me head on why the switch. One reviewer compared the stories to a Möbius strip. Good call.
One other thing that made this book a little unfriendly to me was how it was divided up. These days most books have many breaking points. This book, clocking in at around 230 pages (it didn't have page numbers), only had four sections. Because things melted into each other so thoroughly, it was hard to find a spot to put the book down, though this could be seen as a good thing, too. But with my reading time being chopped up into smaller chunks, it made reading the book tough at times.
Getting back to Ball's prose, I was delighted to read it. He has written some poetry, and I always worry that writers will bring too much into their fiction. Not here. He created a very pleasing text to read, was concise in his descriptions, didn't linger too long, and let things melt in the readers mind quite nicely. But like I already mentioned, he also melted a lot of the stories together which led to some confusion.
A fairly interesting book that I am still trying to figure out how I feel about it. Even after writing this "review".
mezilla's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book feels like what happens when you try to describe your dreams to someone.
It feels like the entire book is constantly in transition, which I suppose is really the way you move through doors, constantly transitioning from one place to another.
If you have any love for stories by Italo Calvino, I suggest picking up this book. It's got the same feeling of what a book would be like if it were actually a Möbius strip.
It feels like the entire book is constantly in transition, which I suppose is really the way you move through doors, constantly transitioning from one place to another.
If you have any love for stories by Italo Calvino, I suggest picking up this book. It's got the same feeling of what a book would be like if it were actually a Möbius strip.
megea's review against another edition
5.0
Like a dream or a great, freewheeling conversation, The Way Through Doors slips naturally from one story to another, and you are left in awe, going back to trace the thread.
eekoeblintz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
If you like a challenge, enjoy it when structure reflects narrative, and want to feel like you have a head injury (in the best possible way) please read this book.
Read if you…
Read if you…
- Like mentally challenging
- Are ok feeling a little lost
- Enjoy the meta experience of reading (how the plot relates to the narrative structure, relates to the text blocking, relates to how you feel while reading… etc.)
Skip if you…
- Like knowing where you are in a story (or space and time generally)
- Are frustrated when you have to think about the writing as you read (instead of just sitting back and enjoying a story)
- Dislike odd structures (e.g repeated text, line numbers in place of page or chapter numbers)
- Want to be able to answer the question “what’s your book about?” In a socially-appropriate and succinct manner
How I remember it: This book is written by a poet and it shows. The structure of the narrative and the blocking of the text (I’m usually an e-book reader but get this one in print) become the setting this story. The story begins with repeated lines that change slowly to advance the plot, which leaves you disoriented, like the protagonist. A frame story emerges and the protagonist adventures down and down through frame after frame until the frames break on the way to the surface — intermixing characters and plots.
Something I tell everyone I share this book with: There is repeated text in the beginning and you just need to push through it. Yes it’s uncomfortable and disorienting and annoying. You are supposed to feel all those feelings. :)