A quick, flashy read from the twilight of the 1980s, reminiscent of the neon-slashed styles of the day by Jay McInerney, Tama Janowitz, and William Gibson, full of hyperbole, violet prose, and populated with painfully quirky characters with unlikely Christian names. Essentially a paean to Los Angeles in the guise of a pseudo-young adult book, it also harbors base notes of the supernatural with a silly genie and a witch baby named Witch Baby. The plot, concerning a couple that transforms into a commune-like family, is almost inconsequential; like The Phantom Menace, Weetzie Bat is but the first chapter in a larger story arc. ( )

I see glowing recommendations for this book all over the internet, especially when talking about books with LGBT themes for teenagers. In fact, when I was a teenager myself, about fifteen or sixteen I believe, that was pretty much why I picked it up at the library.

Technically, I suppose it's a good book, but holy shit it messed me up bad. At the time, I was suffering extreme synesthaesia from books due to the effects of some medication I was on (I still experience synesthaesia, but not to such an extent) and reading Weetzie Bat was visually painful. I can't remember much of the story, ten years later, because trying to do so mostly reminds me of the flourescent pinks and yellows that crowded my head when I read it. I also remember something about drugs and sex and basically stuff that left me unable to sleep the night after I read the book - it was a quick read, after all, and I finished it in the space of an afternoon.

I know this is more about my response to the book than the book itself, but dang, it really messed me up bad. On the other hand, my experience of synesthaesia is linked to the way language is used in writing. It might not be a classic type, but sentence flow, imagery, word rhythm, it adds up to these color experiences, and with Weetzie Bat, not only was the result flourescent, but it shifted constantly among bright shades as the rhythm of the words changed. I imagine that that writing style would appeal to a lot of people, because it's different and maybe edgy, but I found it difficult to bear and maybe the drug usage in the story made it worse (I have a weird ptsd response to drug and some alcohol use in novels).

Anyway, I don't doubt that this is a book that a lot of people would love, but it messed me up big time, and I still can't think of it without remembering the feeling of blindingly bright colors in my head and the panic and terror that resulted. ( )

I had always meant to read some of Block’s books, and finally picked up this one. I was drawn in at first more than I expected to be, but she threw me when suddenly there’s a genie granting wishes, since up until then there’d been no hint of a magic element. I also found the occasional viewpoint shifts distracting. We’re almost always in Weetzie’s POV, but there’s at least one quick dip into Dirk’s head about one-third of the way in, and then a longer section from Dirk’s POV toward the end. I don’t think this counts as omniscent, because we’re not in everyone’s head and it’s not consistently done. I was also confused about Weetzie’s age, since she starts out in high school but then there’s no further mention of school and she’s living away from home and having a baby. Overall I liked it, and I think the slight un-reality of the whole book ultimately makes the surprising insertions of magic work well enough. I still feel slightly mislead by the straighter beginning, though, and wish she’d set the not-quite-reality context for the book more firmly right from the start. I suspect I’m supposed to have read it far less literally than I did. ( )

I'm coming late to the party with Weetzie Bat, having never heard of it until recently. All the more loss for me. Putting all the unnecessary critical posturing aside, this is a finely crafted first novel remeniscent of early Tom Robbins books, but with a magical innocence making the quirky charcaters come to life. A stunning piece of young adult fiction. ( )

Weetzie and her best friend Dirk are looking for love, acceptance, and a place of their own. When Weetzie gets the chance at three wishes from a genie, she asks for a little house and loves for she and Dirk to spend their lives with. Weetzie gets her Secret Agent Lover Man and Dirk get Duck. But when Weetzie wants a baby, things get more complicated. Eventually the family expands, and it looks like they may be headed for a happily ever after.
This thin volume tells a modern-day fairy tale with eccentric characters seeking love and happiness. ( )