Warp | 
panWhat. The hell. Was that???
Basically, this entire thing is made of small-talk. I read it like you watch a train wreck: with sick fascination (literary viscera flying all around). The whole time, I kept waiting for the plot to happen.
It didn‘t.
(Also, I was constantly being surprised the MC‘s POV is in the 3rd and not in the 1st person—seemed like a 1st person book to me; maybe then it at least wouldn‘t be so jarring.)
1.0/5
panA quick read. I didn‘t love this book or the characters. But it was an interesting picture of a young man with an active imagination and no will to work.
pickIf you're writing a thesis called "Angst & Ennui in the Age of Crystal Pepsi" or "Slacker Alienation in 90s Gamer Culture," have I got a book for you! This is Grossman's debut, published in '96, a GenX Polaroid snapshot. Nothing happens (there is an entire chapter dedicated to a character playing "Echo the Dolphin" on Sega Genesis!) but I liked this navel gazing literary attempt by a writer who would later discover his voice in genre.
bailedTwo thumbs down. This was marked Sci-Fi / Fantasy in NetGalley. I should have read the description more closely before requesting, because it's about an idiotic young man fantasizing when he should be job hunting. Within a few pages, I was saying to myself "it's only 162 pages, what's so bad that I can't get through it?" Not a good sign. Bailed at 17%.
Another review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1712136773
This week's #TBRTuesday. I'm finally enjoying Mad Enchantment! Also excited for the other three.
pickIn his lost "zeroth" novel, Grossman plays around with themes he more fully explores in the Magicians trilogy - collegiate malaise, questionable friendships, and a world much brighter in your head. Hollis floats around Boston at the whim of his friends, but the real adventure is in his mind.
