Tag: Writing Style

Tao Lin – Shoplifting from American Apparel | Review

Title: Shoplifting from American Apparel
Author: Tao Lin

Type: Fiction/Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 112

Rating: 4/5

 

 

I happened to see online that this book has a bunch of negative reviews, but I’m not surprised by that. Tao Lin is somewhat controversial in that he’s a bit of a Marmite author – you either love him or you hate him. As for me, I’m a fan of what I’ve read, and I really enjoy his quirky writing style.

This one’s interesting because it’s almost like his equivalent of On the Road. It’s definitely heavily influenced by the author’s own life, and that’s fine by me.

 

Tao Lin

Tao Lin

 

Click here to buy Shoplifting from American Apparel.


Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book | Review

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 3.5/5

 

Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

 

I have this problem with Gaiman where sometimes I love his stuff and sometimes I’m ambivalent. This one got off to a good start, but by the halfway mark I’d kind of lost interest. It reminded me of Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett, and I’d rather have re-read that.

It’s not a bad book though, and it could well be my fault as a reader that I didn’t stick with it. I did love the initial setup, but it didn’t manage to keep my attention throughout the rest of the book. But then I’m probably not the target audience for it, and I was coming to this after really liking Fortunately, the Milk and so perhaps I read two Gaimans too close together.

What I do like is the overall vibe of the story. Gaiman’s writing style is unique and so you can tell you’re reading one of his books, and the story itself feels almost classical in that sort of timeless sense that can make it hard to tell when something was actually written. It has a lot going for it, but it wasn’t really for me. I’m still giving it a 3.5/5 though, and I’ll round it up to 4/5 for Goodreads and Amazon. It’s a’ight. It’s not his best and it’s not his worst.

What I will say is that I loved Chris Riddell’s illustrations and the way that they related back to the actual story. Riddell worked on Fortunately, the Milk as well, and I think he almost steals the show. And despite my lukewarm feelings towards this, I will be reading more of Gaiman’s stuff when I get my hands on it.

 

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

 

Click here to buy The Graveyard Book.