Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Book review!

As terrible as it sounds, I just finished reading my first book this year. I've got to start finding more time to read.

Review time: "Only Revolutions" by Mark Z. Danielewski is a novel written in free-verse. The story is about two teenagers named Haley and Sam who are perpetually sixteen years old. The novel consists of two monologues, one by Haley and one by Sam, about their seriously deranged road trip across the United States. The book is a love story between Haley and Sam, a metaphor on the decline of the American Dream. The main theme comes across in the different ways that Haley and Sam view the same events. When they are confronted by The Creep, one of the two antagonists in the book, Haley sees Sam fighting him off while she cowers in the corner while Sam sees the exact opposite. This continues right up until the tragic end, even when it is physically impossible for the two characters to see opposite things happen. There is a lot of figurative language and wordplay in this book and whether or not you should read it largely depends on how much you enjoy figuring out just what the heck is going on. Personally, I enjoyed the poetic language, but I know it isn't for everyone. Overall, this is one of the best books I've read. It has strong themes, good pacing, good character development and a plot that still manages to come through despite the fact that you get conflicting information from both monologues.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

People should read this.