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if_you_give_a_mouse_a_prozac's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
boltonmi's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, there seemed to be a lot of promise. Sometimes it flowed well, but overall the writing style felt disjointed. None of the characters were particularly likable and it overall left me feeling unsatisfied.
telamcgrupp's review
3.0
You know, when I read this a few months back I didn't know what to think of it. I still don't know what to think of it. It's graphic. It's devastating. It's emotional. It's a story within a story that you don't really understand (and I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books most others can't understand lol), but you can't really put the book down either.
I have never read anything by him, but his prose was absolutely captivating. It felt real. It felt gritty. But it also felt unreliable and I was never sure who the character was really supposed to be besides a broken man who had been through some bad things and done some bad things at one point. Still scratching my head. Bonus points for excellent prose, though!
I have never read anything by him, but his prose was absolutely captivating. It felt real. It felt gritty. But it also felt unreliable and I was never sure who the character was really supposed to be besides a broken man who had been through some bad things and done some bad things at one point. Still scratching my head. Bonus points for excellent prose, though!
phoebewerling's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
could’ve been because i started reading this in the middle of college, but it took me so long to read. i felt like it was very very slow to the point where i had a lot of trouble getting into it, which takes a lot for me. i will say though that the writing is absolutely beautiful and i found much joy in indulging in Matt Bell’s diction.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
3.0
Scrapper is a interesting novel. I discovered it from an ad on Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast and it sounded interesting. A end of the world novel that takes place in a post apocalyptic city that is surrounded by the rest of the world going forward as normal. As a concept I thought was super interesting. Kelly the main character is a scrapper who goes on short trips into the abandoned future Detroit. He is salvaging metal and supplies from the the city left behind for dead.
Bell is clearly a talented writer who choose to employee as experimental prose form that reminded me of Cormac Macarthy's Blood Meridian. No grammar rules. Look not everyone can do this and I think the novel suffered for this. This was interesting concept but the story was a hard to follow at time and it greatly slowed down my reading experience.
I feel Bell might be a much better writer than me, but I felt sometimes the prose was just too experimental at the cost of the story. That might be on me. I spent alot of time slowing down and re-reading sections because the no grammar rules made for a confusing lack of narrative drive. That said Kelly is a interesting character and the setting is fascinating.
The concept of a isolated end of the world is a interesting one that I think Bell missed a chance to explore. None the less there are plenty of interesting story points. The novel is very bleak and haunting through out. This Detroit is one that could serve as a cautionary tale, but the novel is never preachy. It paints a vivid picture of a place no one would want to go. We get the sense that Kelly is doing something dangerous and the novel works quite well on that level.
That is one reason that the lack of grammar rules annoyed me. I started to become more interested in the process of the prose than the story. How is Bell conveying aspects of the story without quotations for example. When I was not doing that and just trying to flow with the story I would often get lost. I would have to re-read parts. Thus this was not easy or fun read for me. Also it is broken up with chapters about Guantanamo Bay, and Chernobyl that are both excellent but totally out of place. The Chernobyl one was more connected at least in theme.
So I think I liked the idea of the book more than the execution. I think there is plenty of awesome things going on here. I would say if the idea of the experimental prose doesn't turn you off then you are more likely to dig than me. I still think it is 3/5 stars more positive than negative and overall I glad I checked it out.
Bell is clearly a talented writer who choose to employee as experimental prose form that reminded me of Cormac Macarthy's Blood Meridian. No grammar rules. Look not everyone can do this and I think the novel suffered for this. This was interesting concept but the story was a hard to follow at time and it greatly slowed down my reading experience.
I feel Bell might be a much better writer than me, but I felt sometimes the prose was just too experimental at the cost of the story. That might be on me. I spent alot of time slowing down and re-reading sections because the no grammar rules made for a confusing lack of narrative drive. That said Kelly is a interesting character and the setting is fascinating.
The concept of a isolated end of the world is a interesting one that I think Bell missed a chance to explore. None the less there are plenty of interesting story points. The novel is very bleak and haunting through out. This Detroit is one that could serve as a cautionary tale, but the novel is never preachy. It paints a vivid picture of a place no one would want to go. We get the sense that Kelly is doing something dangerous and the novel works quite well on that level.
That is one reason that the lack of grammar rules annoyed me. I started to become more interested in the process of the prose than the story. How is Bell conveying aspects of the story without quotations for example. When I was not doing that and just trying to flow with the story I would often get lost. I would have to re-read parts. Thus this was not easy or fun read for me. Also it is broken up with chapters about Guantanamo Bay, and Chernobyl that are both excellent but totally out of place. The Chernobyl one was more connected at least in theme.
So I think I liked the idea of the book more than the execution. I think there is plenty of awesome things going on here. I would say if the idea of the experimental prose doesn't turn you off then you are more likely to dig than me. I still think it is 3/5 stars more positive than negative and overall I glad I checked it out.
hooptron's review
2.0
I am not sure how this ended up on my list. It was compelling enough for me to finish but I don't think it was good. Perhaps it is just not my style and others will like it.....
kfrench1008's review
3.0
I really liked the story of this book, but I felt the writing was too pretentious.
ptfishhh's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to try audiobook. Really enjoyed it. So well written and full of wise words.
howwoolatthemoon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
I'm shocked that there weren't warnings in reviews or in the book description of the child sexual assault implied and referred to HEAVILY in this book. I would certainly not have read the book, had I seen any mention of it in the description or the first several reviews I looked at. It wasn't perhaps as graphic as one could get, but it was certainly uncomfortable, and ethically and legally wrong. Ew. I'm not going to hide this behind a spoiler warning either. People deserve to know this before reading. I (and others) cannot go back in time and avoid the sexual assault, but we can certainly avoid it when we are reading for entertainment.
That took away from the book so much that I am unable to give it any higher rating. If I could remove those portions, I might have liked it. There was some lovely thoughtful prose, and the characters were generally interesting and multidimensional.
I also usually enjoy stories of survival in a sort of post-apocalyptic world. Though this didn't really have a lot of that, it was sold as that. I wanted more about an abandoned Detroit. I wanted more about why there was a collapse, and what people did to survive and cope.
There were several different characters, and several different POVs - first, second and third person. Mostly without names, except for Kelly, who seemed to be the main character. The sections that were definitely about him were told in the third person. Maybe some or all of the other sections were about him, too. It's unclear and I'm not going to re-read because see above. I may seek out other books by Bell, but I will definitely be closely checking for triggers before doing so. Perhaps he doesn't always do this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Vomit, Violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Stalking, Sexual assault, Murder, and Mental illness
greenblack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5