bumble bumble bumble

An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: This is the longest 300-page book I have ever read. I found it ridiculously pretentious in ways I can't even describe, and overly conceited. If Sam Pulsifer said "I could have said" or "I should have said" I was going to jump into the book and put him in jail myself just for being an idiot. This is an entire book based on the idea that the main character is, in his own words, a "bumbler," and certainly one of the most unsympathetic characters I've come across.

too much filler

The History of Now by Daniel Klein

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: As a story about life in a small town in western Massachusetts, this book isn't bad. Unfortunately, it tries to be a lot more than that. Many chapters begin with vaguely interesting historical vignettes about the ancestors of the family at the center Then we have the story of Hector as he moves from rural Colombia to Bogota to Miami to Connecticut and finally to Grandville. At first, I found his story the most compelling of all, even if it was all too predictable how he would eventually figure into the main story. Unfortunately, once Hector gets to Grandville, his voice disappears, making one wonder what the point was of giving us so much of his story to begin with. So I had to ask myself, why did Klein throw so much else into his story?

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.