One of the best pieces of experimental literary fiction I have ever read. ( )

I really enjoyed how the stories are structured: linked, but also individual, with each one leading into a different character's life. I did not care for the powerpoint presentation in the middle of the book, as it did not tell me any kind of story, and seemed like something that should have stayed in the author's notebook rather than the final manuscript. ( )

She plays with form and that is probably why she received the Pulitzer for this novel. The unique metaphor populated first part of the book kept me guessing how these individual stories connected. I loved the pop music background. Unfortunately I became frustrated. Then there is section with diagrams and outlining that becomes incomprehensible. (Maybe reading a live book rather than kindle might make a difference) I was struck by the reference to pauses in music. She referenced “Bernadette” by the Four Tops along with a Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie song. This is that unusual moment when there is a pause in the song. It can be quite effective when you are listening because your world halts for a moment. What this has to do with the novel I didn’t figure out.

( )

Here's what I wrote in 2011 about this read: "Really quite engaging. Full of characters full of human errors, vulnerabilities, and wills to survive and even occassionally thrive. Hugely recognized by critics; glad to read it. There's a theme about aging in here (in addition to the music theme), or am I only now picking up on these things (as the last chapter of Kornel Esti dealt with life's good fight and inevitable final conclusion)?" ( )

Are drugs still glamorous? Because I thought we'd pretty much worked through all that stuff. I'm not saying that drug use is passe, but I just thought we'd realised that it's fun for those involved and just boring for everybody else. You know? Sure, you're feeling better than you did all day - that's because you're an alcoholic - but you didn't just get twice as charming, you got half as self-aware.

And is rock and roll still glamorous? I mean, airports and waking up late and eating food you didn't cook yourself. I've done that, so it can't be glamorous.

Apart from the above, the main problem with this book is that there are just too many stories and too many characters. It's composed of twelve parts, each taken from the lives of characters who are connected in tenuous and less-tenuous ways. A woman and her employer, who is married to someone in the next story, who has a son in the next story, who went to school with the woman in the first story... But the trouble is that twelve such disparate stories introduces too many characters. I kept thinking, "Wait, I should know that guy," or, "Didn't he get married." Of course it all happens across about thirty years and doesn't follow much of a chronological order, so I probably should have known that guy, and he probably does, or did, get married later.

So how is that different to a short story collection? Well there is knowledge assumed about the characters that helps relate to the story. And you are supposed to care about some of the characters, but as you don't know who is going to crop up again and who isn't, how are you supposed to know who to care about? So you care a little bit about everybody, which gets exhausting, especially when they die.

The writing is solid, though, without being quite lively enough for the subject matter, and there were a couple of moments that drew me right in. So not a waste of time, just a bit much hard work for what it offered. ( )