Reviews

Bubblegum by Adam Levin

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This book sounded so quirky and weird and like something that would be right up my alley. The book WAS quirky and weird. The protagonist was one Belt Magnet, a diagnosed psychotic who hears voices of inanimate objects like swing sets, playground surfaces and pillows. Belt lives in an alternative history America where the internet was never invented and instead sometime in the late 80s small "flash and blood robots" called Curios were sold. These small companions need to be near their bonded human for a majority of the day or they die of heartbreak.

So that's where we are at, right? sounds like it could be a cool story. The narrator is unreliable in that he hears things that may not really be there. He also goes off on long rambling thoughts about various things and lots of people he encounters in the world speak to him in monologs.

I wanted to like this book but it was a bit too much for me. Too long, too much rambling, too many weird asides, a bit too much misogyny.

I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

betsyfarts's review

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funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

jacksontibet's review

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5.0

Another towering work of extraordinary genius. The Instructions is the greatest novel in a generation and this follows in style, much more insulated and headier, but on par. Adam Levin is a national treasure.

samgray's review

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5.0

Wow this chunkster was so long but so worth the effort! Definitely not for the squeamish but worth it if you can stomach those ASPCA ads on television.
It was like watching a pretentious art movie that your friends make fun of but you secretly loved.
Being in someone else's head the way I was in Belt's made me question how I know what I know about the abstract concepts of life. The parallels between events and characters is going to leave me with so much to contemplate. I felt like I was in English class, picking apart a poem I loved but didn't 'get' the first time around. And the ending didn't disappoint me- I was getting really anxious in the last few hundred pages about how on earth things were going to wrap up.

(What was the deal with Levin inserting himself though lmao that was the only part I didn't really like and couldn't find a satisfying explanation for on my own)

jesperhauge's review against another edition

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1.0

I felt this was the longest book I've ever read. Was sold on a review touting a fresh take on a fictional contemporary world without internet, but found endless internal monologues of inane deliberation, and even longer descriptions of torturing animal like robots.

Almost lost the will to read.

reggiewoods's review

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challenging dark emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Bizarre, disturbing, and funny, “Bubblegum” takes place in an alternative present in which most people own “flesh and bone robots” as pets. They are so cute people literally can’t handle it. Belt Magnet is an author, presumably with some sort of psychosis, that communicates with inanimate objects. This is a spiritual successor to “Infinite Jest,” but WAY more accessible. Mainly, Levin portrays oddball characters in incredibly human and vulnerable moments, eliciting empathy, humor, and even horror from the reader. The dialogue will be a challenge for many, but anyone that has anxiety or considers themselves to be an over-thinker will rejoice in seeing how their brain works played out on the page. After having read two of his books, I consider Levin one of my favorite current authors and am very much looking forward to reading more of his work.

calmcelebration9888's review

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I wanted the story to move forward much faster. I felt like when we got to the part where his dad leaves on his birthday that we would move foreward but then there are pages and pages about murdering a swing set as a child and being put on meds and then questions about this and that with Lotta and a bunch of other questions and the story seemed to drag on like this sentence and I had to stop…