I think this is one of those times where if you mistake the subject of a story for its purpose, you might come away disliking it. Also, your patience with highly unreliable and stylistically experimental narrators may have a lot do with it as well. Spoilers for the first third or so of the book to follow, because what I have to say can’t be said without spoiling stuff (for what it’s worth, I had this bit spoiled for me as well and it didn’t […]
Parkour, bitch.
This is the most fun I’ve had while reading a book all year. I’ve loved and been affected by other books more deeply, but in terms of how gleeful a book has made me feel, this one wins hands down. Within the first three pages I was already giggling like a maniac. I’m currently twelve (almost thirteen, if I finish Brutal Youth tonight as I anticipate doing) reviews behind for this year, and it is eating my soul. And it’s this book’s fault, because I […]
Two former lovers of Molly Lane.
Honestly, if this book was written by any other author than Ian McEwan, it would have gotten two stars from me. But it was written by Ian McEwan, and there’s just something about the way he strings his words together that enchants me, regardless of how interesting I find whatever else is going on in his books at the time. Amsterdam is thankfully a concise book (with relatively large typeface and small pages), so no great investment of time on my part. The catalyst to the […]
The world’s bestselling fable.
I have a couple of friends who think this book is the worst thing they’ve ever read. Of course, these same friends are also notoriously high-minded about a lot of things, over which we frequenly butt heads, but mostly I think they are missing the point with this one. It’s not meant to be high literature. It’s not even meant to be all that well-written (in the classical sense of the phrase). Capital-L Literature is meant to elevate, and to a certain extent, it’s elitist. This, […]
You you you you you you you you you TOO MANY YOU’S.
This one comes down to personal taste. I don’t write very many reviews like this — where it’s clear the author was good with words and had a brain in his head, even some good things to say — but where I just can’t stand the way it’s presented. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I gather, was somewhat revelatory when it was first published, as it was among rare company in being a post-9/11 novel told from a non-white, non-American perspective. I don’t know very much about Mohsin […]
Devastating, but entirely necessary.
Initially, I only gave this four stars because it was just such a difficult reading experience. And I don’t mean difficult as in skill level. I mean it in terms of emotional effort. I usually reserve my five star rating for those books that end with me fist-pumping in the air and running screeching around the room while my pores ooze out excitement and love, and this is not the sort of book that inspires that kind of reaction. I think this says a lot about […]
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