Zell

This book was weird and surreal and utterly entrancing. It drew me in and held me. I'm a fast reader, but this made me slow down to read every word and really take it in. I would have loved a little more character development but I understand why it played out the way it did.

This book was a really strong relating of a difficult childhood, and the way Walls told the stories was vivid and riveting. However, I felt that there was a lot of storytelling and less “memoir” type content, and I would have loved more present day insights or reflections of feelings.

Although these stories make me deeply melancholy in a way I can't quite describe, I feel like that's probably the point, and they do it so well. Carver's style of prose is so clear and precise, and can say so much with so few words.

This book perfectly blended anecdotal experience and research. I found it extremely enlightening and insightful into our culture, and grief as a concept. As someone who has not experienced this kind of loss, it feels like a good book to read to understand what other people are going through, and what I will likely experience one day.

Exactly the kind of gritty, convoluted, fantastical book I would expect from Gaiman. I loved this story, and found the characters so interesting and multifaceted. The climax and conclusion were exactly what I needed, and I found the whole thing riveting.