A Calling for Charlie Barnes

it's a testament to ferris' writing that such an unremarkable premise (the front to back life story of some guy) could still be so captivating. my biggest qualm is that the last quarter or so of this book is TOO good. so much so that it kind of overshadows the rest of the book and i worry i won't remember much that happened outside of it.

This book follows the life of endless dreamer Charlie Barnes, with the meat of the narrative taking place in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

This one took a bit to pick up, but once it did, I could have chugged my way all the way through to the end in a sitting if I had the opportunity. It's funny from the get-go, with a kooky cast of characters that only build in endearment (or, more often, it's opposite). If you were to summarize the plot, it would sound depressing as heck, but the narrator puts such a charming spin on events, all relayed through the lens of love and admiration.

But what's most captivating to me about this book is the meta-fiction aspect; the way it explores the art of crafting a narrative is fascinating to me. Particularly good ending. Worth a read!

joshua ferris's best yet. i loved this book and can't stop thinking about it in the days since.

Disappointing. [b:Then We Came to the End 97782 Then We Came to the End Joshua Ferris https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442800496l/97782.SY75.jpg 2926759] is one of the more memorable books I have ever read, but this one was just another Updike-ian story about a crappy white guy who cheated on all of his wives and chased one grand dream after another. Yes there were some meta touches and a surprising ending (that really wasn't much of a surprise). But altogether, I wish Joshua Ferris had written this as a journal for himself to process his relationship with his late father instead of inflicting him on the rest of the world.