MoFo Book Club: August 2022
Although I am still waiting for my book to arrive(!?!?!) I figured I would open the thread so we have a place to chat about this month's book, which is:
https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/b7b...fish-twist.jpg Not sure what is up with the shopping on my book, but it has been 10 days, and the book has still not arrived from a few states away. Good thing I only paid a few dollars for it... |
I finished it earlier this evening.
I'll hold off on thoughts until more people are done. |
Re: MoFo Book Club: August 2022
I've got the Kindle edition, but haven't started it yet! Sorry! Should do that soon!
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Currently around chapter 35. I should finish this tomorrow. |
Re: MoFo Book Club: August 2022
Not sure I will even end up getting the book at this point. I will email the shop I ordered it from. It allegedly shipped almost two weeks ago USPS, but they didn't provide tracking.
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Re: MoFo Book Club: August 2022
Feel free to discuss, everyone. I finally heard back from the vendor. They think they sent the book, but can't figure out if they actually did or not, so they issued me a refund yesterday. At this point, it's almost September, so I will just skip this month. Let me know how the book I chose was! ;)
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Originally Posted by Sedai (Post 2328488)
Feel free to discuss, everyone. I finally heard back from the vendor. They think they sent the book, but can't figure out if they actually did or not, so they issued me a refund yesterday. At this point, it's almost September, so I will just skip this month. Let me know how the book I chose was! ;)
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Overall this book was fine, though it definitely had that "I want to be Pulp Fiction!" thing that a lot of crime stuff in the late 90s/early 2000s had.
A fundamental issue that I had with the book was the way that the humor kept me at a distance from the characters. I didn't really like any of them, because they felt so much like characters (and there was a lot of people saying stuff that was overly exposition to make sure the reader got the joke, like the prostitute saying "I can use this pepper mill to cut cocaine with baby laxatives!"). I was really uncomfortable with the way that the story centered Serge and his physical abuse of his girlfriend. I think that the book tried to show her as someone who gives as well as she gets, or that she sort of likes the abuse, but I didn't buy it. She gets zero character development, and it all felt off to me. Jim was sympathetic to me off and on, but I was done with him after he (probably) assaulted his wife during sex. That kind of crossed a line for me and any sympathy I had for him as this nice guy who is unassertive kind of turned into contempt for the way that he was willing to put his family (wife and kids) in harms way. I did think that the way that all of the threads were brought together was satisfying. There were surprising intersections between the different supporting characters. Probably the best was the long saga of John. I think that liking this book would mostly come down to whether or not you gel with its humor. For me, it was a bit too heavy on cliched jokes like old ladies and hard candy, wacky homeless people, nonsensical bureaucracy, etc. Fine to listen to in the car, but not something I think I'll remember in a year. |
I kind of liked the time travel vibe in the beginning; the sounds and sights circa the 90s . . . a kind of nostalgia? In one scene, the greatest hits of Tom Jones (currently 82 and still touring) plays in the background. Then after a few more obscure allusions, I decided to peek when this was published . . . 20 years ago, so some of the allusions are definitely dated. The songs, was that product placement or borrowing the cinematic cheat by imposing a golden oldie on the audience to tell them exactly what emotion they are supposed to be feeling in a certain scene? Although the Top Gun song was fortuitous, since the latest installment is currently in theaters.
My nitpicking has to do with story construction. When the Davenports move to Tampa, the new next door neighbour Gladys only exists to set-up and introduce the assorted cast of home owners and renters on the street to the readers. I think it would have been stronger had stay-at-home-mom Martha learned about the neighborhood from direct observation and interaction, then filled Jim in a little more every night about the bizarre world around them. All the characters seem to be placed on a lazy Susan, and when one vignette peters out, the writer simply spins the story to a different locale and situation, rather than story development. He was still introducing new characters a third of the way through the book. And half-way through, I think he simply forgot about Sharon and the 4E’s (each old lady has a name that starts with the letter E) I was wondering where they went. I did like the cinema quotes although, if a character walks into a house and a certain movie (or TV show) is playing on television, isn’t that kind of gratuitous? You could work it out that each time the pizza man shows up, 2001: a space Odyssey is playing, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra blasts from the television the moment you crack open the box. There was a slight problem with the tonal shifts, the transitions from comedic romp to the grisly murder and back again, I don’t think he quite pulled those off—and some of the raunchier situations. Serge is also an altruistic psychopath, he never kills to satisfy his own murderous lusts but always defends Honest Jim’s interests. In the finale to his first crime comedy novel, the writer killed off Serge and Sharon, so in order to re-use these characters (in his fourth novel) timewise, this is a prequel. I’ve also spotted Dorsey’s latest novel Naked came the Florida Man in the new book section in the library so, at some time in the future, I may pick it up just to compare his writing chops and the learning curve in the two decades that separate those two books. This was silly stuff, I admit I laughed a few times. Triggerfish Twist—★★½ |
Originally Posted by thracian dawg (Post 2328622)
Serge is also an altruistic psychopath, he never kills to satisfy his own murderous lusts but always defends Honest Jim’s interests.
It seemed like his character was smart or stupid depending on what the author wanted him to do. Like, why would Serge ever think that Sharon would make it through a fancy dinner with Jim and Martha?
This was silly stuff, I admit I laughed a few times.
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Re: MoFo Book Club: August 2022
Although I was the captain of the fail boat when it came to actually obtaining and reading this book, I have read a couple of other Serge Storms books, so I understand some of the gripes here. Either you get on board with the over-the-top absurdist humor and violence, or it becomes annoying quickly. I do recall at one point finishing a Storms book, wanting to read another, and then putting that one down halfway through because it had just all gotten to be old all of a sudden.
@Austruck - I don't own a Kindle! |
Originally Posted by Sedai (Post 2328740)
@Austruck - I don't own a Kindle!
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Originally Posted by Sedai (Post 2328740)
I do recall at one point finishing a Storms book, wanting to read another, and then putting that one down halfway through because it had just all gotten to be old all of a sudden.
Yeah, yeah, I know, another thread I shouldn't ever show my face in again.... |
Originally Posted by Austruck (Post 2328744)
You can use the Kindle app on just about any type of device, even a desktop computer. Just sayin'! :) In a pinch, that might be helpful information elsewhere.
To which I retort "I read to get away from looking at screens all the time." Hence, me not wanting to read on my PC etc. That said, I think eventually, my worsening vision will force me into the Kindle program. ;) |
Originally Posted by Sedai (Post 2328793)
I have another friend who will see me reading a book and say "Dude! Check out my Kindle...why are you still reading paper books?"
To which I retort "I read to get away from looking at screens all the time." Hence, me not wanting to read on my PC etc. That said, I think eventually, my worsening vision will force me into the Kindle program. ;) Having said that, I still buy paper/print books at an alarming rate. :D I make a choice with each book I buy, whether I think it makes more sense for me to own/store it in print or in digital form. I bought this book for Kindle, thinking I wouldn't need to have a print copy on my bookshelf. |
Is it too soon to start the book nominations for September?
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Originally Posted by thracian dawg (Post 2329234)
Is it too soon to start the book nominations for September?
If someone who hasn't picked yet wants to go, by all means just throw something out there. |
https://i.postimg.cc/d1HmGHps/Go-between.jpg
The past is a foreign country:they do things differently there. |
Originally Posted by thracian dawg (Post 2329330)
https://i.postimg.cc/d1HmGHps/Go-between.jpg
The past is a foreign country:they do things differently there. Anyone else have something they want to put up for consideration? |
I'm finally reading this..In actual Tampa, which makes it even funnier. About halfway through and really enjoying the humor. I've had laugh-out-loud moments in every chapter.
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