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froydis's review
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley.com and HMH New Harvest for early access to this title.
I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I found the characters to be fairly pretentious and unlikable for the most part. However, the author is a brilliant writer, and some of the philosophical discussions which permeate the book are very intriguing. I did enjoy the way the characters individual stories were woven together, and quite liked the way these various threads merged at the end. I also found myself laughing in quite a few places, both from the situations and from the writing style. However, its rare that I read a book where I can't find at least one character whom I like, and care about. I am somewhat familiar with the world these characters inhabit, having gone to a big name school for graduate in a theory-driven field. I recognized these characters, but really couldn't bring myself to care much about them and their situations. I may be worth the read for the writing style and humor alone, and because the structure is so interesting.
I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I found the characters to be fairly pretentious and unlikable for the most part. However, the author is a brilliant writer, and some of the philosophical discussions which permeate the book are very intriguing. I did enjoy the way the characters individual stories were woven together, and quite liked the way these various threads merged at the end. I also found myself laughing in quite a few places, both from the situations and from the writing style. However, its rare that I read a book where I can't find at least one character whom I like, and care about. I am somewhat familiar with the world these characters inhabit, having gone to a big name school for graduate in a theory-driven field. I recognized these characters, but really couldn't bring myself to care much about them and their situations. I may be worth the read for the writing style and humor alone, and because the structure is so interesting.
corey's review
5.0
A funny, well-written, meticulously plotted novel, and my introduction to the work of Dustin Long (I've yet to read Icelander, but I probably will soon). I've heard a lot of comparisons of this books to Pynchon and to Infinite Jest, but in a lot of ways it reminded me of The Broom of The System. The biting humor, the exploration of constructed meaning (culminating in some pretty nihilistic conclusions), the self-conscious-but-not-overly-pretentious style... And I mean all of that as an enormous compliment, as I'm quite a fan of The Broom of The System.
Maybe I'll write more about this book later, but Karen's review is already pretty great, and besides, I'm tempted to avoid blemishing this fine novel by talking about it too much.
Maybe I'll write more about this book later, but Karen's review is already pretty great, and besides, I'm tempted to avoid blemishing this fine novel by talking about it too much.
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