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specificwonderland
depressing as fuck. but I liked it in spite of (because of?) it. really good. my favorite characters were Tralala and Georgette. Selby has a way with words, dialogue and descriptions that feels syrupy and paced. really warm and comfortable. in a horrible, awful, loathesome, disgusting way. easy to get into. seductive and repulsive all the same.
holy crap, Tim. thanks for picking this book. I loved it from start to finish. I highlighted half the thing.
it's very subtle in some ways--interpersonal relationships and very deliberate in others. it made me think of haiku's and do some research on form of haiku. this book felt like one giant haiku to me. the juxtaposition of two starkly contrasting images. etsuko and her husband, the hospital. etsuko and yakichi, rural living. miyo and saburo, simple animals. the city and the country. everything was a contrast to something.
I loved all the characters. I loved the dialogue and the descriptions. I loved the culture. I just loved it. etsuko is one twisted bitch and saburo was a masterfully written character. goddamn.
spoiler alert...
and. on top of all that. the ending surprised me. after the "gleaming tracks", I was sure etsuko was going to throw herself in front of the Osaka express train. but that would not have made sense for her. the ending was better Mishima's way.
it's very subtle in some ways--interpersonal relationships and very deliberate in others. it made me think of haiku's and do some research on form of haiku. this book felt like one giant haiku to me. the juxtaposition of two starkly contrasting images. etsuko and her husband, the hospital. etsuko and yakichi, rural living. miyo and saburo, simple animals. the city and the country. everything was a contrast to something.
I loved all the characters. I loved the dialogue and the descriptions. I loved the culture. I just loved it. etsuko is one twisted bitch and saburo was a masterfully written character. goddamn.
spoiler alert...
and. on top of all that. the ending surprised me. after the "gleaming tracks", I was sure etsuko was going to throw herself in front of the Osaka express train. but that would not have made sense for her. the ending was better Mishima's way.
rote, formulaic, tired. he's hilarious. wasn't a fan of his written work.
is there a word like anachronistic that means location? like anageostic? this book was that for me. clearly the writer was British but the location was america. weird to think of high street in Chicago. it distracted me.
This was a predecessor to Dexter, in many ways. I loved the idea and having never read Jeff Lindsey (Lindsay? Linsey?) I really enjoyed the story. storytelling was good and entertaining. darkly funny which I always appreciate (how Dougie thinks he's such a ladykiller...). The ending was okay but seemed to be in a battle with itself to one up itself. but wait! there's more! ha HA charade you are...!
Overall, I'd read more of this writer but it was hard to take this work as an original after the Dexter franchise came to fruition and I found the authors' Britishisms distracting in the context of an American set novel. solid three stars.
This was a predecessor to Dexter, in many ways. I loved the idea and having never read Jeff Lindsey (Lindsay? Linsey?) I really enjoyed the story. storytelling was good and entertaining. darkly funny which I always appreciate (how Dougie thinks he's such a ladykiller...). The ending was okay but seemed to be in a battle with itself to one up itself. but wait! there's more! ha HA charade you are...!
Overall, I'd read more of this writer but it was hard to take this work as an original after the Dexter franchise came to fruition and I found the authors' Britishisms distracting in the context of an American set novel. solid three stars.
