A really interesting book full of great lines and fascinating stories we mostly just glimpse; the short chapters make it compulsively readable but thaA really interesting book full of great lines and fascinating stories we mostly just glimpse; the short chapters make it compulsively readable but that plus the non-linear narrative keeps deflating momentum and it feels like we keep cutting away every time the story is about to deepen. The searing exchange between Eliza and Henry Bogle at the end is more than worth the price of admission but mostly seems to hint at a better book this could have been. I’m still rating it 4 stars but I think it would have better told as a more sprawling historical epic to see the changes in the main characters over time, versus cutting back and forth....more
3.5 stars. I wanted to like it more than I did, and there’s a lot of richness in the location and character description, but ultimately it didn’t real3.5 stars. I wanted to like it more than I did, and there’s a lot of richness in the location and character description, but ultimately it didn’t really go anywhere. Might read more in the series, since it didn’t really stand alone....more
4.5 stars. I loved Harlem Shuffle last year and kept thinking about it after I finished, so I was excited to hear a sequel was coming out, though surp4.5 stars. I loved Harlem Shuffle last year and kept thinking about it after I finished, so I was excited to hear a sequel was coming out, though surprised because the first book did feel complete. I loved seeing the same characters again (especially Pepper, my favorite; someone make a movie and cast Idris Elba), and the way this book leaned into noir felt right given the time period and the crumbling corruption of 1970s New York (I just watched The French Connection so perfect timing). I took half a star off from the previous book because this one didn’t feel quite as polished (some repeated words and concepts that editing should have caught), but I loved that Whitehead was willing to push his characters further into darkness and leave them there....more
3.5 stars. Lots of interesting elements, and I even managed to get over the pretentious cringe of everyone in this book speaking in British English gr3.5 stars. Lots of interesting elements, and I even managed to get over the pretentious cringe of everyone in this book speaking in British English grammar like they’re in an Evelyn Waugh novel, but to be honest the pretentious part didn’t go far enough! I was surprised to find myself getting more into the second half once the real story got started, and actually I thought the group’s devolution into self destruction was really well written, but the ending didn’t feel like it did much of anything for the overall story.
And in the end, I just couldn’t get over the way plot elements and characters were presented as if the (by his own admission) very boring main character would just easily slide into this kind of life and intimacy with these people, and I didn’t think the book said much about either Richard or the people he meets. So much of the story merited further explanation and setup, and even the juicy parts weren’t very fun. Made me want to reread Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin, which I didn’t love 20 years ago but frankly did a better job of dark academia.
(What I really want is a 30th anniversary gossipy reader’s guide to the real people Tartt went to school with who are clearly thinly-veiled versions of themselves in this book.)
(And as a final note, people not from California please stop writing about it! Especially if you’re going to have someone from San Jose describe moving to LA as “going back there” when they’re two wildly different regions, and also get everything else wrong about it.)...more
Negative: it’s very long for satire, and the tone is uneven — ridiculous and simplistic a lot of the time, but then the author layers unexpected depthNegative: it’s very long for satire, and the tone is uneven — ridiculous and simplistic a lot of the time, but then the author layers unexpected depth onto the characters which does relieve the sarcastic tone but nuanced characters feel at odds with the overall aim of the book.
That said I laughed and cringed and recognized so many things in here, and I appreciate the messy difficult ending because no one actually has perfect answers to the issues raised here. ...more
Good material but feels a little aimless and preachy; I kept trying to figure out if I was supposed to find the main character somewhat obnoxious but Good material but feels a little aimless and preachy; I kept trying to figure out if I was supposed to find the main character somewhat obnoxious but the first person pov complicated things. Lots of good and important ideas but I would rather have read a real story about the characters that just unfolded versus being told things. I know that's a stylistic choice but for example having the MC's affair get wrapped up in a few retrospective paragraphs in the last chapter undercut the person's supposed importance. Overall I felt like I kept being told things that contradicted what had just been presented in the text, and while maybe that was the author's intention, really pulling off multiple narrators who are unreliable at themselves would have taken more work.
Like a lot of readers, I of course agreed with the MC's politics but it was either preaching to the choir or speaking to readers who need the education more than I do; not surprised to find that the author like his MC has a degree in public health! There were lots of poignant scenes with good details, and even some of the preachy parts were well written and hit hard, but overall I feel like too much packed into one debut novel and I'd be interested to see what the author does now he's got all this out of the way....more
A classic tragedy, as Carney tries to navigate going straight but keeps getting pulled back to his crooked roots, and an engrossing depiction of mid cA classic tragedy, as Carney tries to navigate going straight but keeps getting pulled back to his crooked roots, and an engrossing depiction of mid century Harlem. The language and characters pulled me in every time I opened it again, like getting lost in another world....more
Not quite what I expected—the narrator’s religious upbringing featured heavily—but there are some good sentences and good comedic bits. The narrator’sNot quite what I expected—the narrator’s religious upbringing featured heavily—but there are some good sentences and good comedic bits. The narrator’s life outside the church felt thinly portrayed, though I can tell it’s meant to be lightly written, so I couldn’t connect as much as I wanted. Might have liked it a lot more if I’d read it much younger....more
Thought I would like this more when I started than I did by the end; the prose is good and the voice is so thoughtful, but it’s weird to read someone Thought I would like this more when I started than I did by the end; the prose is good and the voice is so thoughtful, but it’s weird to read someone ruminating on climate change and the 2016 election when we’ve just had 15 months of the covid pandemic on top of the actual Trump administration, and also it didn’t feel like the book ever quite arrived anywhere. For similar “meditations during the end of society” feeling I’d rather go reread Douglas Coupland’s early novels, though I’m still interested in reading this author’s other books....more
3.5 Engaging and entertaining plot, with a good cast of interesting characters. Maybe a little too topical, and there are some minor errors that bugge3.5 Engaging and entertaining plot, with a good cast of interesting characters. Maybe a little too topical, and there are some minor errors that bugged me (teens listening to the wrong music for the year, a 5’5” athlete getting a volleyball scholarship), but the characterization is penetrating and I liked how genuinely Emira loved childcare and her bond with her charge. Obviously a thought-provoking read for a white person and an interesting comparison with Raven Leilani’s LUSTER (which I think was a better book but this had a lot of strengths too)....more
My first experience of Munro — stunning at first, then somewhat dreary and repetitive, and then an icy maturity as she broke new ground with the laterMy first experience of Munro — stunning at first, then somewhat dreary and repetitive, and then an icy maturity as she broke new ground with the later stories. On a prose level, this is a master class, but the subject material feels as exhausting as living through the mid 20th century myself, and her ungenerously precise view of people is a relief to step away from every so often. A writer to admire and learn from but not one I think I’ll be revisiting often....more
Compelling, with some very powerful moments and dynamics. The grad school milieu reminded me a lot of the high energy stasis of law school, and I was Compelling, with some very powerful moments and dynamics. The grad school milieu reminded me a lot of the high energy stasis of law school, and I was glad I’d been to a big Midwestern town in summer before because I really got the atmosphere. Despite its length, some of it feels like it could have had more depth, and the ending wasn’t as strong as I would have liked — I think I need to start reading books by older authors, because so many younger ones have great initial insights and powerhouse prose, but leave me wanting in the end because they don’t have it figured out yet either....more
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