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ttodd86's review against another edition
4.0
A book that leaves the reader with much to think about long after you put it down.
There is a lot to think about here and I would guess many will consider starting on it a second time after they finish.
Because it jumps between characters and time periods, this is one book that I would suggest be read in book form and not on a Kindle (as I did) or other type of e-reader.
There is a lot to think about here and I would guess many will consider starting on it a second time after they finish.
Because it jumps between characters and time periods, this is one book that I would suggest be read in book form and not on a Kindle (as I did) or other type of e-reader.
hanlsha's review against another edition
1.0
DNF - really wanted to like this book and the plot was intriguing but I found it hard to get through and mostly very boring :(
aust1nz's review against another edition
3.0
I was prepared to really like Gods Without Men, a novel built of interconnected stories focusing on a somewhat mystical Southwestern US desert, but I'm left dissatisfied now that the final chapter has ended.
The novel follows an assorted group of yearners and wishers as their travels bring them to the desert landscape, marked by a set of three buttes, pushing out of the desert. Kunzru's characters are various and compelling, but all searching. We're introduced to a strung-out English rocker, a cult-like group of UFO seekers, 19th century missionaries and -- the novel's biggest narrative -- a frustrated New York couple who are struggling to raise their young autistic son.
As Kunzru rotates through the stories, he builds to a mystery at the heart of his story: his searchers believe they're close to finding God, or UFOs, or a view of the afterlife. In the end, each story, like the book itself, sort of fades away or trickles off, rather than concluding. Kunzru is committed to avoiding a cheesy revelation, but as a reader I'm not quite sure what to bring from the story, other than a tenuous conclusion that seekers rarely find the answers they're looking for in external sources.
The novel follows an assorted group of yearners and wishers as their travels bring them to the desert landscape, marked by a set of three buttes, pushing out of the desert. Kunzru's characters are various and compelling, but all searching. We're introduced to a strung-out English rocker, a cult-like group of UFO seekers, 19th century missionaries and -- the novel's biggest narrative -- a frustrated New York couple who are struggling to raise their young autistic son.
As Kunzru rotates through the stories, he builds to a mystery at the heart of his story: his searchers believe they're close to finding God, or UFOs, or a view of the afterlife. In the end, each story, like the book itself, sort of fades away or trickles off, rather than concluding. Kunzru is committed to avoiding a cheesy revelation, but as a reader I'm not quite sure what to bring from the story, other than a tenuous conclusion that seekers rarely find the answers they're looking for in external sources.
timna_wyckoff's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this set of intertwined stories (apparently this is my current favorite genre?) about the powerful effects (hallucinatory/spiritual?) of the desert outside of LA on various characters in several time periods.
drsldn's review against another edition
4.0
I have enjoyed everything Hari Kunzru has written, and at first I wasn't sure about this one (drugs bore me) but it got under my skin. Instead of having a person become many different things to many different people (like in the Impressionist) this time a place becomes different things to different people and a story of bohemian/hippy/alternative America is told.
mattleesharp's review against another edition
5.0
Admittedly, this book is not perfect. The ending is neither tidy nor messy in an interesting or thought-provoking way. The story was much less sci-fi/magical realism/mythical than I anticipated. But it was wonderful all the same. Each of the characters feels wholly their own person and rings true. Each of the stories tangle and separate in ways that are interesting and that don't detract from the separate narrative arcs. Jaz, Lisa, and Raj really ground the story and I was glad to get the two parents' perspectives so clearly articulated. The parallel between the extra-terrestrial themes and the notion of what it means to be 'alien' in America is spelled out in bold, but I don't mind when a book this ambitious tethers itself to a political idea.
amycrea's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those heady books that covers lots of Big Ideas and belief systems, but is so well grounded in its characters and storylines that I could hardly put it down. Kind of like pureeing spinach to hide it in a good pizza sauce.
susanbrooks's review against another edition
3.0
I can't say I really understood these intertwining stories of a cult who believe they communicate with aliens, an autistic boy and his family and some other characters we meet briefly. Other reviews of this book attribute a lot of qualities and meaning I just didn't encounter, though I did find it compelling.
jham0330's review against another edition
4.0
I would've given it a 5 if it would've actually told what happened. It just dances around the subject of aliens and this boy who goes missing in the second half of the book and ends up in other time periods but not why or how? It hints that he is no longer Raj, but an imposter, but we never hear if he is. Cool concept, great characters. Just see it all the way through, please!
alaiyo0685's review against another edition
4.0
I liked reading this book. The stories and the ways they were interconnected. I wanted to know more about almost every character. But I'm not sure how I feel about the book as a whole, because it sort of just...stopped. Nothing feels resolved. I want to know what happens to these people!