Burroughs – DaneCobain.com

Title: Eeeee Eee Eeee

Author: Tao Lin

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 216

Rating: 5*/5

Tao Lin – Eeeee Eee Eeee

This book was a little bit like an acid trip. All sorts of crazy stuff is happening but, a bit like Alice in Wonderland, no matter how tenuous the links are between different parts of the narrative, it still has this sort of unshakeable force that permeates throughout it and keeps you reading. It doesn’t take long to finish it, and you could easily power through in a single sitting. It’s that sort of book.

Now, I would talk about the plot, but there isn’t one. Well, there is, but there also isn’t. Here’s where I refer you to the blurb: “Confused yet intelligent animal attempt to interact with confused yet intelligent humans, resulting in the death of Elijah Wood, Salman Rushdie and Wong Kar-Wai… and a vegan dinner at a sushi restaurant in Manhattan attended by a dolphin, a bear… and the President of the United States of America, who lectures on the arbitrary nature of consciousness, truth, and the universe before getting drunk and playing poker.”

It’s like Burroughs meets Dali in a dream and they write a book together. If you have any interest in experimental literature, you need to read it.

Tao Lin

Click here to buy Eeeee Eee Eeee.

Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite – Breathing Into Marble | Review

Title: Breathing Into Marble

Author: Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 188

Rating: 4*/5

Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite – Breathing Into Marble

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book is different to almost anything else you’re likely to find. It’s a beautifully told piece of literary fiction that features a twist on the “boy meets girl” tale by subverting it into a “boy meets mum” story about an adopted kid with some mental health issues.

Translated into English from Lithuanian, the language in which the original piece was a bestseller, it’s almost like a modern day revival of Hemingway and Graham Greene, or even Burroughs or Kerouac.

Just as it is, it’s a very good book. But it’s made more impressive by the way that it translates so easily – the story itself could take place almost anywhere, and that alone makes it relatable. That’s boosted by the beauty of the language and the little thoughts that Laura’s characters have. It’s full of little observations that leave you nodding your head and smiling, and it’s also entertaining.