Winner of the National Book Award
This is a damn fine novel. I really enjoyed it. It is a story of twins, domestic violence, sex, aspiring writers and terrible weather. Super clever and witty and fun to read. I have been meaning to read something of Willets for a while because both Augustin Burroughs and David Sedaris are fans.But, the thing that totally irked me about this book were the promotional quotes on the back. They talked about how funny the book was, talked about laughing out loud at it. While the book was witty and smart, and humourous in lots of ways, it wasn't laugh out loud funny like they claimed. Why do books need to do this? I hate when they throw in famous writers giving their props to the book and talk about how they responded. Don't tell me that you cried or laughed over a book before I have opened, because that gives expectations, and if they aren't met...that sucks...
Other than that, I really loved this book.
Grade: A-
Labels: book
posted by Chargenda at 8:27 AM
5 Comments:
I forgot to mention how awesome this title is.
I read a short stories book of hers because David Sedaris said it was the "Funniest book ever".... I didn't find anything funny about the book...
That's why you should judge a book by its cover.
i read this book. there was only ONE page upon which there was something laugh-out-loud funny and it was early, like on page 10.
I loved this book. While I didn't laugh out loud on every page, there were more than enought 'laugh out loud' instances to justify the claim... She also published a book of short stories around 10 years ago. "Jenny and the Jaws of Life" the stories are dark and twisted, some of them tragic... think Joyce Carrol Oates meets David Sedaris circa "Barrell Fever".
Maybe someone should set a standard on how much the average reader has to laugh out loud in order for an author/publisher to make this claim... just a thought
Post a Comment
<< Home