Reviews

Bad Eminence by James Greer

erossetti's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m the first to pick up an absurd ironic book about unlikeable women so no notes there. The book had me until the end, though given how much I enjoyed the first 80% I’m not sure if that speaks more to my thoughts on the book or where I’ve mentally been while finishing the book… we’ll never know!

georgiaautumn's review against another edition

4.0

I think James Greer is just too smart for me. But I respect it.

meepsharrison's review against another edition

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

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 against another edition

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.

fward14's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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 against another edition

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.

patternsintheivy's review against another edition

5.0

This is genius. 
I liked the pictures

polly_e's review against another edition

5.0

Absurd, funny and confusing. Featuring cocktail recipes, photographs of swans, and the meaning of life.