S. Lyme H. (Lyme) reviewed on + 6 more book reviews
I am not the sort who normally starts reading a book and is unable to finish it. In fact, I can think of only two books I've attempted to read that have caused me to throw up my hands in frustration and give up.
Well, this is the third.
The quote on the cover calls it a 'surprisingly readable tour de force'. I've heard this book praised as a classic of the last 20 years or so. Yeah, sorry, I gotta beg to differ. I couldn't even make 100 pages in before giving up.
The story is composed primarily of huge chunks of descriptive text with run-on sentences filled with words that make me think that the author is trying to show off the extent of his vocabulary. Yet at the same time he includes 'like' in these sentences constantly in the way a teenager would talk, and the writing could seriously use some of those things known as 'commas' that are generally inserted into sentences to make them easier to read.
More confusing, the author uses frequent abbreviations/shorthand - stuff like 'km' for kilometers, and 'w/' instead of with - seriously?! In a novel? It feels like I'm reading someone's first draft instead of a completed, edited, and published novel.
The book itself starts off with an interesting opening scene - a guy applying to college who is a supposed genius tries to explain why he should be allowed to attend and only gobbledegook comes out of his mouth - was promising. But then you are shifted into so many other seemingly unconnected other stories that you are quickly disappointed. Supposedly, Wallace is a 'genius' when it comes to writing realistic dialogue. I've heard him praised as such many times. It would've been nice to actually see this, but the first hundred or so pages of this book contained maybe five of dialogue, hidden amongst walls of text.
OH, and don't even get me started on the ridiculous and utterly unnecessary addition of footnotes. Terry Pratchett makes them funny, this guy just makes them tedious.
Well, this is the third.
The quote on the cover calls it a 'surprisingly readable tour de force'. I've heard this book praised as a classic of the last 20 years or so. Yeah, sorry, I gotta beg to differ. I couldn't even make 100 pages in before giving up.
The story is composed primarily of huge chunks of descriptive text with run-on sentences filled with words that make me think that the author is trying to show off the extent of his vocabulary. Yet at the same time he includes 'like' in these sentences constantly in the way a teenager would talk, and the writing could seriously use some of those things known as 'commas' that are generally inserted into sentences to make them easier to read.
More confusing, the author uses frequent abbreviations/shorthand - stuff like 'km' for kilometers, and 'w/' instead of with - seriously?! In a novel? It feels like I'm reading someone's first draft instead of a completed, edited, and published novel.
The book itself starts off with an interesting opening scene - a guy applying to college who is a supposed genius tries to explain why he should be allowed to attend and only gobbledegook comes out of his mouth - was promising. But then you are shifted into so many other seemingly unconnected other stories that you are quickly disappointed. Supposedly, Wallace is a 'genius' when it comes to writing realistic dialogue. I've heard him praised as such many times. It would've been nice to actually see this, but the first hundred or so pages of this book contained maybe five of dialogue, hidden amongst walls of text.
OH, and don't even get me started on the ridiculous and utterly unnecessary addition of footnotes. Terry Pratchett makes them funny, this guy just makes them tedious.
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