Early Bret Easton Ellis spunk is all over this novel. However you choose to interpret that statement, it will be accurate and appropriate. In particulEarly Bret Easton Ellis spunk is all over this novel. However you choose to interpret that statement, it will be accurate and appropriate. In particular, the rich and the famous wallowing in their exuberant misery, in a perpetual daze of pharmaceuticals, stimulants, booze, and wanton, casual sex.
But Chandler Morrison is his own beast. At first, a seemingly acid hate letter to the Los Angeles lifestyle; American Narcissus is an acerbically hilarious, cataclysmic tale of dread and desolation as four interweaving characters burn toward ruin, incapable of distinguishing reality from their respective self-induced stupors.
All the while, a grinning menace and a spreading wildfire auger the inevitable.
I am genuinely mystified by how contentious this novel seems to have been since its publication. I’ve never looked at the reviews on GR and goodness gI am genuinely mystified by how contentious this novel seems to have been since its publication. I’ve never looked at the reviews on GR and goodness gracious was there some weird sociopolitical and author/character conflation balderdash infiltrating the discourse. I don't have a particular jötunn in the fight, but Loki must be behind it because it reeks of mischief.
My experience with Nevill's breakout was one of solitary revelry.
I am sometimes reluctant to elaborate on books that are more personally purposeful for various reasons, but I may have to work on a more long-form advocacy since I so frequently recommend The Ritual....more
I must admit, it's been some time since I felt compelled to compulsively read a book to completion. I finish nearly every book I begin, but it often tI must admit, it's been some time since I felt compelled to compulsively read a book to completion. I finish nearly every book I begin, but it often takes some mental stamina, and I've been finding it difficult to enjoy many books all the way through. It saddens me. But it provides opportunity for standouts like The Barracks Thief.
Its brevity, I think, is a factor, and it seems stories with which I can spend one pleasant night are often my favorites. Train Dreams, Notes from Underground, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Metamorphosis, The Mist are all favorites that I finished in one or two sittings. I think the novella is the perfect length. It can take enough time to get you invested without succumbing to plodding detail, or numbing exposition. I still love short stories and gargantuan epics or sprawling tangential novels. I just think I've determined my Goldilocks zone for fiction.
The other factor is, of course, that it's written by Tobias Wolff. There is a Catcher in the Rye aimlessness of youth quality to the story, but follows a few young men who enlist in the Army during the Vietnam war and find bonding, tragedy, and betrayal at Fort Bragg. These boys are preparing for a (perhaps brief) future of violence while letters and calls from home inform them that their pasts are missing, or gone....more
