kurtwombat's reviews
880 reviews

This brilliant story blends absurdist and existential elements almost 100 years before Camus & Kafka strode the page. Not surprised this story came from Melville—his Moby Dick is one of my favorite books. Both the book and this story express an enveloping darkness. Both have lots of funny moments but they diminish as the light to nourish them is choked out. Both have a title character that seem to be blank canvases. They exist only for the reader or other characters to project elements of themselves upon that canvas. The main character of each is actually the narrator. In Moby Dick, he famously declares his name. Since the name is biblical, an archer standing in for a harpooner, in a book heavy with religious themes it may not be a real name. In Bartleby, the main character remains unnamed allowing him to stand in for many of his type. In both the story and the book, the business world chugs along uncaring of the fates of those involved.

Particularly in Bartleby, The Scrivener—Melville focuses upon the inability of those involved in business to deal with the human element. To quote THE SIMPSONS, “We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas.” The lawyer tries to help Bartleby, but his narration makes it clear he is only simulating what he thinks is a human interaction. His only real concern is, with false modesty, growing his law practice. Bartleby could be seen as the human part of ourself that withers away as less humane pursuits become our focus.

Bartleby is the blank canvas for all of our despair—and he pays for it.

Bardin the Superrealist: His Deeds, His Utterances, His Exploits and His Perambulations by Max

Go to review page

challenging dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Any book “about sports” is invariably about something else, something more. For Hanif Abdurraqib, basketball is merely the vessel that carries life—his life and the lives of many in America. I was fortunate enough to listen to the audiobook read by the author. His delivery and the structure of the book are immediate like a game in progress and the momentum like that game chasing the final buzzer. Much of this memoir feels more like poetry than essay—the beauty of the language seducing this reader into opening myself up for stories that each hung like an arched shot waiting to fall. Immediately I was embraced by the text, I’ve never liked a book so much so fast. As a sports fan, the basketball made Abdurraqib’s life more accessible. For non-sports fans, his life will make basketball more accessible. Family, community and basketball helped inure the author against all that growing up Black in America means. Abdurraqib beautifully transcribes his life into a vision of America that retains beauty despite darkness, love despite hate. I had concerns before listening, that the whole thing would just be a bummer but the passion, eloquence and insight involved here left me transfixed and elevated.

The Hobbit Companion by David Day

Go to review page

informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made by Josh Frank, Tim Heidecker

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.25

The very creation of this “graphic novel” is an act of madness. The concept of surrealist painter Salvador Dali writing a screenplay for a proposed madcap Marx Brothers movie in the 1930’s is mind blowing enough. Then comes the modern hubris to create a graphic novel from fragments of that screenplay—the audacity itself being a kind of nod to both Dali and the Marx Brothers. I have been a huge Marx Brothers fan pretty much since birth and a reasonably sized fan of Dali so I was both sides of anxious approaching this book (equal parts eager and concerned). I was eager to see these greats at play but concerned about how they could pull if off without insulting either or both.

Of course this “screenplay” met serious resistance from studios. Despite the author liking to tease otherwise, even if the producer shepherding the Marx Brothers career hadn’t suddenly died—there is no way this movie was being greenlit in 30’s Hollywood. There are two critical flaws in getting it accepted and they translate to the book as well. The first is context. While it seems a natural fit to put the madcap Marx Brothers in a surreal setting, the result is they just become part of the wallpaper. The work of the Marx Brothers, as well as Dali’s surrealist paintings, succeed partly because they are set against banal backgrounds. The Marx Brothers need the stuffed shirts and haughty dowagers, straight folks to bounce off of. Dali too is better served in a gallery—spotlighted insanity—than if his works were put up in the middle of a circus. The second flaw is saturation. While there is plenty of Dali to be had, the Marx Brothers are underutilized. Groucho & Chico are relegated to goofy sidekick rolls (like the talking animals or objects in a Disney musical) and Harpo doesn’t really appear until the last few pages. I assumed Harpo would be front and center because it was his meeting with Dali that inspired the who enterprise. I was confused and saddened by his absence.

That being said, I did mostly enjoy this. Like the Disney characters, Groucho & Chico did add needed spark. Their gags were a mixture of new stuff, referential stuff and stuff simply lifted from their movies. (There is a dictionary gag in this book lifted straight from the “Tootsi Frootsi Ice Cream“ bit in DAY AT THE RACES.) I will admit to a modest thrill seeing them in action, some of the bits deftly delivered—the artist capturing multiple Groucho eye rolls was a particular highlight. The art in general often bordered on the spectacular—a difficult task considering the singularity of Dali’s work. Artist Manuela Pertega, a native of Spain like Dali, caught the spirit of Dali while making a case for her own vision—particularly with her presentation of the Woman Surreal. As this book moves along, the plot calls for and Pertega delivers a growing visual insanity conveying the schism between reality and sur-reality.

I would like to recommend everyone read it in the hopes that they get curious enough to check out a Marx Brothers movie (DUCK SOUP, NIGHT AT THE OPERA, DAY AT THE RACES all classics) or look into the works of Salvador Dali but I acknowledge it likely has a select audience. One can always dream.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My first Listen With Audrey experience and it was a delight--the presentation includes audio, visual and written notes at the end and themed art work. The poem itself is an intoxicating classic. The quick rhythms that capture you like a whirlpool forever circling inescapable grief beg to be read again the moment you finish.

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning about Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt

Go to review page

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

2.75

Expected to like this better than I did. I like Patton Oswalt and love movies but this didn’t really gel for me. Ostensibly, this was supposed to be about his becoming a movie maniac for a couple years in such a manner as to negatively affect the rest of his life. He discusses not being in a good space when he went into the mania and being in a better space when coming out but never satisfactorily discusses why he went in or came out or the underlying causes. He whips from one movie to another, maybe the point, but that is irksome to a movie fan. His writing is unsettled through these parts—forced and uncomfortable—like he is still trying to come to grips with it. Where he is at his best, is describing the world of stand-up and some of his personal relationships. These portions are crisp and brisk and too few. The narrative jumps around giving the feel of a loose wheel making a wagon wobble. Really liked a structure he has using Van Gogh’s NIGHT CAFÉ painting to represent pivotal moments in his life but after a promising start that too falls into disarray. A clear concept becomes muddled with repeated applications. Feels portions that didn’t fit into other books were cobbled together to form this one. Mildly enjoyable but mildly disappointing.

More...

kurtwombat's reviews 880 reviews

kurtwombat's reviews
880 reviews