1* Novel Reviews

[Kitten]

I LOVED catch 22! Found it really hard to get into and a bit of a headf**k but once I was in it I was gripped!

[Del Lardo]

Originally Posted by Kitten

I LOVED catch 22! Found it really hard to get into and a bit of a headf**k but once I was in it I was gripped!

Worth knowing, I've tried three times but never got past page 10.

[semi-pro waster]

Originally Posted by Del Lardo

Worth knowing, I've tried three times but never got past page 10.

I'm also with the "not really worth it crowd", I've read it twice just to see if I missed something the first time and I don't think I did. As a novel it's overlong for the message and not massively interesting in the way it is told - I can't deny it's had a huge impact in terms of language and thought that have been derived from it so I'm glad I've read it to be able to better identify the source but aside from that I could quite happily never read it again.

Gravity’s Rainbow (1973)
Author: Thomas Pynchon

“When one contrasts Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five with this book, it’s like comparing an Olympic sprinter with an obese man running for the bus with a hot dog in one hand and a soda in the other.”

I've never read this book but somehow don't feel inclined to after reading this review although I like the simile.

On the Road (1957)
Author: Jack Kerouac

“This book gets my nomination for the most overrated book in American Literature. It is trite, saccharine and false. The themes and insights it contains are not even good enough to be third rate. Moreover, as a prose stylist, Kerouac was probably fourth rate. In short, I despise this piece of [garbage] and would advise all of its hipster doofus fans to lose the tie-dye clothes and throw away their bongs. Maybe then they will read something good for a change.”

While I might not be quite so harsh, it's not a very good book for my money and I understand that it is credited with influencing and speaking for a whole generation - if this is all they had to say then I'm not convinced I would have missed out were I unaware of their message.

[Jonny69]

Originally Posted by Pumpkinstew

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... <deep breath>.... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Everyone knows Turkish Delight is Frys!

[Random fact]

Fry's Turkish Delight factory used to be about two roads away from my late Grandad's house.

[/Random fact]

I've got On the Road at home and I've tried to read it many times. I just consistently drift away from it every time, it's that gripping.

[Pumpkinstew]

Originally Posted by Garp

Yes, and just who do you think it is that owns / makes Frys products?

I knew someone would miss the point of me missing the point of someone missing the point.

So to speak.