dude, where's my literature?

[thatotherperv]

so, I just finished reading McCarthy's The Road.

you know it's a bad sign when you finish a book and stare at it with horror for a prolonged amount of time afterward. not because the content of the book was horrifying (it was, effectively so) but because you can't imagine for all the fucking diamonds in blood-soaked africa how it managed to dodge any and all bad reviews. seriously. I googled till I could google no more. usually there's at least *someone* calling a spade a spade.

I'm going to post a full review later, because I seriously need to share my detailed opinion with *someone*, haha. I have righteous and snotty outrage that must be vented.

in the meantime, to make myself better I went searching for intelligent negative reviews on amazon.com, since the critics' noses were all covered with shit. and this one, oh this one, my people. made me snerk something large and unpleasant out my nose.

if you're extremely sensitive about bad things happening to fluffy creatures, the metaphorical language of the review is probably not for you ;)




"The Road" is a story about a bunny that gets thrown into a blender. There is no explanation for how this comes to pass, just a vivid and horrifyingly believable account of the subsequent event. The bunny is cute and innocent, with all of the good qualities we normally associate with bunnies, although it is never given a name. The terrified bunny tries valiantly to hop away from the blades, but ultimately, it is getting ground to bits. The book ends before the bunny is actually completely dead, but there is no hand waiting to turn off the switch. Maybe there will be a power failure.

Some people take away from this story an uplifting message of the goodness of the bunny contrasted with the evil of the menacing blades. Some are inspired by the bunny's determination to escape in spite of the hopelessness of the circumstance. I just see a bunny in a blender.

Comments

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

Oh that one.

I tried reading it after they had picked it as one of Oprah's books (which makes people go comepletely bonkers over it, no matter if they actually like that kind of book or not).

The thing that bothered me was the severe lack of quoation marks. I gave up after about 30 pages.

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

Not read the Road, but the lack of quotation marks? Gah. what the hell is that? laziness on the part of printing/publishing houses? David Gutterson (he of Snow Falling On Cedars fame) published Our Lady of the Forest a couple of years ago. Not a single quotation mark throughout the whole story. Not. One.

I finished it, confused as to who was speaking, which pov I was reading, and all that mess. It's like the authors are FORCING the readers to actively engage with their text, not in a communicative way, but in a "now what the hell is happening, now" kind of way. And I resent it.

/rant.

[1more-sickpuppy.livejournal.com]

Heh, did you know that's how you're supposed to do it here in Sweden (and probably other Scandinavian countries though I can't swear on it)? No quotation marks of any kind for dialogue, and a new speaker only gets a new line. It works better if you're used to it I suppose...

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

I think no-quotations dialogue is just a stylistic choice, it doesn't bother me. the indents made it clear when there was dialogue. I've seen it before. but he was woefully lacking in apostraphes and commas, for which he should be drawn and quartered.

but dude had bigger problems than punctuation.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

for me it wasn't the quotations so much as the apostraphes and commas. dude, buy some. I think no-quotation marks is just a stylistic choice, I've seen it before.

its flaws are SO much bigger than that.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

well, maybe they're telling the truth about this part: We come to the end of this book totally drained, enervated, devastated. the rest of the review is just someone who doesn't recognize bad writing :P

[vikingprincess]

that sounds completely sucktastic.

and, in regards to what someone said about Oprah's book list? Being on that list sort of makes me want to AVOID a book, not read it!

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

well, a friend reccd it. and bought it for me. I had reason to give it a try. blech.

[vikingprincess]

ouch. yeah, you were kinda obligated. :P

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

I think the problem with those kinda books and their reviewers is that they feel so clever after reading a book they haven't really understood, they feel the need to share their cleverness with the reat of the world.

Me? I want to have fun reading a book, which is why I like authors with a sense of humour. It more or less works the same way with films. I do NOT want to pay money to end up coming out of the cinema feeling bad. And I do NOT want to spend mney on a book so that I can feel superior to the rest of the world because I finished it.

I just wanna have fun

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

I think there's definitely a I-didn't-understand-that-completely-so-it-must-be-profound thing going on.

I don't mind reading things that are gory, or cynical. in fact sometimes I enjoy them, in a twisted kind of way (hey, I'm me! haha) but I don't reward dark for being dark without having merit.

and on the other hand, my dad is the same way. he refuses to see "depressing movies" because he says the world is depressing enough anyway, and he can just turn on the 5 o'clock news. I can respect that.

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

I don't mind gore, and I adore a certain amount of dark humor. Or even darkness itself. But I don't like reading something where the author is basicly sayiny "nanananana, I'm clerverer than you" and sticking his tongue out at me.

And I don't mind depressing movies as long as they're fiction. It's when we get to things like La Vita è Bella or Schindler's List that I start to draw the line.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

But I don't like reading something where the author is basicly sayiny "nanananana, I'm clerverer than you" and sticking his tongue out at me
word.

omg, la vita e bella is MY FAVORITE MOVIE EVER. hahaha. I was just thinking last night about the fact that it does a far better job of exploring hope and the father-son dynamic in time of tragedy than McCarthy did. but yeah, it's not for everyone.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

I think you've found your soulmate! How do you stalk an Amazon reviewer?

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

omg I know, right! I swear, I could have written that review myself! hahaha. I loved the sarcasm.

[1more-sickpuppy.livejournal.com]

Well that cracked me up, and also made me think of the horrible, hilarious 'The Book of Bunny Suicides', by Andy Riley.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

.....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA.

too bad amazon.com doesn't display the images inside. but just the concept...made of awesome.