Kelsey
I love to be reminded that even people with vastly different stories can undergo the same beautiful, tragic, and bittersweet human experiences. There were moments in this book where it felt like Casey was describing an emotional episode that I've lived through but have never been able to put into the correct words to explain to someone else. When writers are able to do that, I almost immediately fall in love.
But despite enjoying the prose and the story, I was a bit disappointed by the ending. It felt unfinished or rushed, at best. I wanted to hear more about his self-discovery, self-acceptance, and overall transformation. The whole purpose of the memoir was to walk himself to a point where he could figure out how he ended up where he was, right? But then he doesn't really tell us where he ENDED UP. He sort of just left the reader (or at least ME) feeling lost and confused like John Travolta in that Pulp Fiction gif.
It also doesn't help that the last few memoirs I've read were some of my favorite books of the last decade... So I went into this one with a relatively high bar. And while it didn't necessarily disappoint, it also didn't quite blow me away.
I love to be reminded that even people with vastly different stories can undergo the same beautiful, tragic, and bittersweet human experiences. There were moments in this book where it felt like Casey was describing an emotional episode that I've lived through but have never been able to put into the correct words to explain to someone else. When writers are able to do that, I almost immediately fall in love.
But despite enjoying the prose and the story, I was a bit disappointed by the ending. It felt unfinished or rushed, at best. I wanted to hear more about his self-discovery, self-acceptance, and overall transformation. The whole purpose of the memoir was to walk himself to a point where he could figure out how he ended up where he was, right? But then he doesn't really tell us where he ENDED UP. He sort of just left the reader (or at least ME) feeling lost and confused like John Travolta in that Pulp Fiction gif.
It also doesn't help that the last few memoirs I've read were some of my favorite books of the last decade... So I went into this one with a relatively high bar. And while it didn't necessarily disappoint, it also didn't quite blow me away.
Ok, well that was stunning. Yes, I cried a little.
Each character is so sympathetic and flawed in their own special way, and I couldn't decide who I loved and who I hated. All the feels were felt in turns.
I'm that annoying type of person who usually thinks any book that's ever called a “classic” is probably overrated... but gosh darn it if I haven't been proven wrong today.
Ok, well that was stunning. Yes, I cried a little.
Each character is so sympathetic and flawed in their own special way, and I couldn't decide who I loved and who I hated. All the feels were felt in turns.
I'm that annoying type of person who usually thinks any book that's ever called a “classic” is probably overrated... but gosh darn it if I haven't been proven wrong today.
This is one I may want to revisit later in life. It was really good, it just didn't strike the chords with me that it likely did with most other readers that have experienced grief in this way. I'm certainly not looking forward to the time when I'll want to revisit this book, but... it's good to know that I have it when the time comes.
This is one I may want to revisit later in life. It was really good, it just didn't strike the chords with me that it likely did with most other readers that have experienced grief in this way. I'm certainly not looking forward to the time when I'll want to revisit this book, but... it's good to know that I have it when the time comes.
It was impossible for me to tell if I loved or hated this book... and to me, that must mean it was love. At the start, it felt a bit like the author was trying too hard to accomplish a certain type of style (I want to say she was going for a Crime and Punishment sorta thing, but what do I know). After a while, though, she finally settled in and it seemed a bit more natural.
Once I got past that hump, the reading experience was actually quite nice if you can get past the ever-present themes of infidelity and sexual abuse. (Somewhat of an aside as it's not entirely this book's fault, but WHY DO WE NOT GET TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR BOOKS LIKE THIS?!)
Anyways.
A lot of this one hit way too close to home for me, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends. So why 4 starts? I appreciate a book that can do that... a book that's not for the faint of heart. It was powerful.
I just never want to see or hear about it ever again.
It was impossible for me to tell if I loved or hated this book... and to me, that must mean it was love. At the start, it felt a bit like the author was trying too hard to accomplish a certain type of style (I want to say she was going for a Crime and Punishment sorta thing, but what do I know). After a while, though, she finally settled in and it seemed a bit more natural.
Once I got past that hump, the reading experience was actually quite nice if you can get past the ever-present themes of infidelity and sexual abuse. (Somewhat of an aside as it's not entirely this book's fault, but WHY DO WE NOT GET TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR BOOKS LIKE THIS?!)
Anyways.
A lot of this one hit way too close to home for me, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends. So why 4 starts? I appreciate a book that can do that... a book that's not for the faint of heart. It was powerful.
I just never want to see or hear about it ever again.
Ugh. This was one of those books that should have been a more focused long-form article. I would've liked it WAY more. Not only did it meander (sometimes endlessly), but it was often self-promotional and just entirely off topic. Like, I didn't pick up this book to learn how to craft a compelling TikTok video or Instagram caption...
I understand that there is a connection between influencers' algorithm-driven content and the way we now speak offline, but do we really need ~100 pages about what exactly makes a good TikTok video? There were moments where it seemed like he hyper-fixated on one topic that had only a tenuous relationship to the overall purpose of the book, and, unfortunately, he dragged the reader along with him in this exploration of the corners of his influencer-content-creator-brain.
Somewhat of an aside, but... I'm curious about how he wrote this entire book about the evolution of language from ~2012-2025 and onward without once mentioning Covid? Obviously the focus was on social media, but didn't we all end up WAY more online in 2020? That seemed like a huge miss.
The only reason I finished the book at all was because there were a handful of fascinating nuggets of information buried in what I can only assume was editorial fluff. If they publish a second edition of this book, I wish they'd change the subtitle to something more apt, like: “How algorithms influence influencers and influencers influence language” (someone else can wordsmith it for me).
Ugh. This was one of those books that should have been a more focused long-form article. I would've liked it WAY more. Not only did it meander (sometimes endlessly), but it was often self-promotional and just entirely off topic. Like, I didn't pick up this book to learn how to craft a compelling TikTok video or Instagram caption...
I understand that there is a connection between influencers' algorithm-driven content and the way we now speak offline, but do we really need ~100 pages about what exactly makes a good TikTok video? There were moments where it seemed like he hyper-fixated on one topic that had only a tenuous relationship to the overall purpose of the book, and, unfortunately, he dragged the reader along with him in this exploration of the corners of his influencer-content-creator-brain.
Somewhat of an aside, but... I'm curious about how he wrote this entire book about the evolution of language from ~2012-2025 and onward without once mentioning Covid? Obviously the focus was on social media, but didn't we all end up WAY more online in 2020? That seemed like a huge miss.
The only reason I finished the book at all was because there were a handful of fascinating nuggets of information buried in what I can only assume was editorial fluff. If they publish a second edition of this book, I wish they'd change the subtitle to something more apt, like: “How algorithms influence influencers and influencers influence language” (someone else can wordsmith it for me).
As someone who adores delightfully detestable characters, I was absolutely tickled senseless by this book. It was a bit of a slog, I'll admit, but my god it was worth it.
How someone could ever endeavor to even attempt writing a synopsis of this book, I'll never know. (Obviously, they've done it... it just sucks.) I felt at once immersed in and repulsed by the Lamberts' lives. Then I realized upon reflection that the story essentially mirrors my very own existence. I did not ask to be put into this world; I'm often repulsed by my behavior; I occasionally redeem myself; I continue to correct when possible; I often fail; the cycle continues ad nauseam, the plot, at times, thickens and thins; and eventually I will simply cease to exist (though I would like to avoid Alfred's fate, if at all possible).
All that cryptic, useless philosophizing is simply to say: I think it was a book about how being a self-aware human is really fucking hard.
From the moment you become conscious, other humans start expecting things from you. Inevitably, those things will come into conflict with other influences: your own worldviews, the expectations of people outside of your nuclear family, the standards of your society and community. Over time, sometimes little by little and sometimes all at once, you make decisions about what to sacrifice. Do you give up something of yourself to meet the expectations of others? Do you disappoint others so that you can keep yourself intact?
Then after a while, you may wake up one day (like Enid) and realize you're desperately unhappy and you need to correct some of the decisions you've made. Maybe you've lost yourself trying to please everyone else. Or maybe (like Denise) you've lost yourself in yourself, and you finally see how your behavior is affecting others.
I don't know, that's just my take. It was a really fucking good book.
So, now what? Well. Despite the shameful accumulation of backlogged books gathering dust on the untouched piano in my bedroom, I will now proceed to order every other novel Jonathan Franzen has ever written.
As someone who adores delightfully detestable characters, I was absolutely tickled senseless by this book. It was a bit of a slog, I'll admit, but my god it was worth it.
How someone could ever endeavor to even attempt writing a synopsis of this book, I'll never know. (Obviously, they've done it... it just sucks.) I felt at once immersed in and repulsed by the Lamberts' lives. Then I realized upon reflection that the story essentially mirrors my very own existence. I did not ask to be put into this world; I'm often repulsed by my behavior; I occasionally redeem myself; I continue to correct when possible; I often fail; the cycle continues ad nauseam, the plot, at times, thickens and thins; and eventually I will simply cease to exist (though I would like to avoid Alfred's fate, if at all possible).
All that cryptic, useless philosophizing is simply to say: I think it was a book about how being a self-aware human is really fucking hard.
From the moment you become conscious, other humans start expecting things from you. Inevitably, those things will come into conflict with other influences: your own worldviews, the expectations of people outside of your nuclear family, the standards of your society and community. Over time, sometimes little by little and sometimes all at once, you make decisions about what to sacrifice. Do you give up something of yourself to meet the expectations of others? Do you disappoint others so that you can keep yourself intact?
Then after a while, you may wake up one day (like Enid) and realize you're desperately unhappy and you need to correct some of the decisions you've made. Maybe you've lost yourself trying to please everyone else. Or maybe (like Denise) you've lost yourself in yourself, and you finally see how your behavior is affecting others.
I don't know, that's just my take. It was a really fucking good book.
So, now what? Well. Despite the shameful accumulation of backlogged books gathering dust on the untouched piano in my bedroom, I will now proceed to order every other novel Jonathan Franzen has ever written.
There is a class of boring book that one could categorize as “sleepy”, i.e. despite its lack of compelling storyline, it maintains a certain redeeming charm or dreaminess.
This particular boring book, to me, was neither charming nor dreamy. And maybe I just didn't get it, but I think the more likely scenario is that Rooney isn't for me. (For instance, I thought Normal People the show was far superior to Normal People the book, which I think would make me a barbarian in many people's minds.)
My only real thematic takeaway is that men need women to get their shit together. Where would Ivan and Peter be without their girlfriends? More sad and likely dead (respectively), I'd imagine. Undeniably, the book is about grief. And while there were several lovely passages and elements about the experience (which was, for me, the book's saving grace), it was overall a miss in comparison to other books on the same topic.
Last thing: I'm about to read through some other reviews in an attempt to understand WHAT IN THE WORLD is going on with the choice of writing style for Peter's character, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that there's no explanation on this planet that will convince me that it was necessary. I absolutely hated it. No amount of artistic jibber jabber will make me hate it less.
There is a class of boring book that one could categorize as “sleepy”, i.e. despite its lack of compelling storyline, it maintains a certain redeeming charm or dreaminess.
This particular boring book, to me, was neither charming nor dreamy. And maybe I just didn't get it, but I think the more likely scenario is that Rooney isn't for me. (For instance, I thought Normal People the show was far superior to Normal People the book, which I think would make me a barbarian in many people's minds.)
My only real thematic takeaway is that men need women to get their shit together. Where would Ivan and Peter be without their girlfriends? More sad and likely dead (respectively), I'd imagine. Undeniably, the book is about grief. And while there were several lovely passages and elements about the experience (which was, for me, the book's saving grace), it was overall a miss in comparison to other books on the same topic.
Last thing: I'm about to read through some other reviews in an attempt to understand WHAT IN THE WORLD is going on with the choice of writing style for Peter's character, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that there's no explanation on this planet that will convince me that it was necessary. I absolutely hated it. No amount of artistic jibber jabber will make me hate it less.
