Jeff
This was great. For lack of any good comparisons, because this book is pretty genre-defying, her writing reminded me a bit of Philip K. Dick, in that the general ideas and plot execution are really interesting, and the social commentary is direct without being too heavy-handed; similarly to Dick, too, the dialogue is relatively stilted.
Still, it's a really interesting read.
This one wins most of its points for it's combination of memoir and noir style, and the rest of its points for brutal honesty. Ellroy gives us a really interesting look into his psyche (hint: paging Dr's Freud and Oedipus) while searching for answers regarding his mother's murder 35 years prior. He ends up finding some answers more interesting than whodunnit.
So far, this thing is darn good. Reminds me a bit of Jeannette Winterson, though slightly more plot-driven. I'm liking it even better than The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Sputnik Sweetheart.
Update: Ok, I finished it, and lent it to a friend alreay. I loved it. I'll likely read it again. Nice combination of sci-fi, fantasy, minimalist fiction and neuroscience (well, pop-neuroscience).
So far I am not loving the book. Perhaps I just don't enjoy this genre? Mostly the overwrought descriptions of the central characters inspire eyerolls more than interest...
—-
...finally finished this. It's not a terrible book, but it's not my cup of tea, and the main characters are pretty simple caricatures, which was disappointing, especially since I'd heard the female protagonist was really interesting. Goth-girl-hacker-with-a-troubled-past would be just fine if it were acknowledged on some level as tongue in cheek, but it ain't.
Liked it enough to read some of her other books, but didn't love it. Great concepts, love the winks toward The Golden Compass, but in the end not captivating for me.
Loved this one. An intimate look at a complex relationship thinly disguised (in a good way) as a road trip book. Definitely hits some of the familiar notes that my queer female friends have talked to me about...
Good and interesting...reminds me a bit of P.K. Dick–short on story, dialogue and character, long on interesting details and fantastic ideas.
This one is a disappointment. There are some cool ideas in here, and a few scary passages, but mostly it's cliche and kinda boring. Wooden characters, heavy-handed plot development. I had been looking forward to this for a while, but I won't be reading the other two books of the trilogy.
———
Finished it just to finish it. It reads like an unfinished movie script. Weak!
I'm sorta sorry I'm borrowing this one. I think I'd like to read it again at some point. Poignant without getting too sappy, and insightful for all of us, drinkers or not.
Stars for helping me find a path I could walk and be happy on. Reading it now, the focus on sex gets kinda boring, but I know that at the time it was so very important to stress that sex is fun and good for you.
A solid idea and some fun execution. It feels a little trope-y and slapdash, but in a fun way that can make reading a comic such an enjoyable experience.
This one gets four stars in part because so much of it resonated with me as a mostly-introvert. Cain starts out strongly, but I wondered a lot about the strength of her conceptual framework the more I read. I think it's a useful framework, recognizing how some folks are more introverted and some folks are more extroverted, but I wonder about the limits of the framework, and she doesn't talk much about the limits. I would have enjoyed a discussion of introvert/extrovert as parts of a spectrum more.
Still, if you tend toward introversion, this book provides a framework that comes as something of a relief.
I think the best and worst section is the one on being in a relationship with someone who is of the “opposite” types.
I'm going with four-stars, mostly for the brutal honesty of this book, and for everything I learned about compulsive hoarding. I would have liked to learn even more about hoarding from the book, actually; also, I would have liked for this to have been more explicitly both the author's story and her mother's story–more connections between their lives and neuroses. And, somehow, I wanted to hear (even) more about the “secret” part of the secret–more reflection on secrets and shame would have been welcome.
It was a difficult book to read for me, because, while I wasn't raised by a hoarder, there have been hoarders in my family, and a lot of this hit home–some of it makes me reframe some of my own neuroses as perhaps a bit more dangerous than I had thought. It's a good reality check.
I'm about halfway through right now, and it's a compelling read. I challenge anyone (especially men) to read this book without coming away with at least a taste of the complexity of Dworkin's ideas, given the complexity of some of the life stories she tells here. You'll no longer stand for oversimplifications of her ideas. She clearly doesn't “hate men” and isn't “anti-sex”. She's a feminist with a heartbreaking history.
——-
Finished it, and whew, it's a tough read. It gets more heartbreaking, and more angry, as it finishes up. I'll never read Dworkin in the same way again.
This is just a near-perfect novella, in my opinion. A fascinating take on how we face death, and how we ought to, wrapped up in a neat little sci-fi plot. Also: And ending that doesn't back away from the difficulties that death presents.
I can't believe nobody assigned this book in any of my philosophy classes. Lots to chew on regarding relationships between self and others, the nature of reality, the relationship between dreams and reality, and lots of meaty ethical stuff.
