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Mark Swartz

Autor(a) de Instant Karma

4+ Works 56 Membros 2 Reviews

Obras de Mark Swartz

Instant Karma (2002) 30 cópias
H2o (2006) 14 cópias
Get wired, you're hired (1998) 11 cópias
Summertime Jews (2018) 1 exemplar(es)

Associated Works

Last Drink Bird Head : A Flash Fiction Anthology for Charity (2009) — Contribuinte — 29 cópias

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Membros

Resenhas

Entertaining little book written in the form of a diary--one with copious footnotes and well-chosen illustrations--kept by a literate but off-kilter chap who plans to blow up a public library. The diary has many bits quoting and based upon books David, the diarist, has read, but often returns to the subjects of anarchism, Buddhism, and dada; it's a unique blend of these that convinces him that the crime is justified.

Something I particularly liked about Instant Karma was the low-key way in which David's personality and behaviour are hinted at, though not laid bare, and the clues to both given in occasional dribs and drabs.And given the tone, it's easy to forget that wearing a magnet atop one's head is not conventional behaviour and that great experience of following women through the street is not normal. Yet I don't think David is meant to be seen as altogether loopy; he's the insight to acknowledge at one point that his frequent quoting of books is a substitute for attentively reading them and at another that he should of course forsake his plan. There are as well tantalising references to narcolepsy, his father's remittances in notes and many many coins, and David's solitary Christmas that are all the better for not being explained.

A rather thoughtful book that repays a re-reading of it.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
bluepiano | 1 outra resenha | Dec 30, 2016 |
This is definitely a quirky read, but one worth adoration. I didn't find the ending to be really enjoyable, but the beginning and middle to still be worthwhile an entire read.

I found the descriptions of the narrator romanticizing reading, and specifically libraries, to be refreshing and the most enjoyable aspect of the novel. The writing was lyrical, and the character development full. It's thin on plot, but that's what I care about least in a novel. However, that prefence informs how I rated this book.

The novel is told in a series of journal entries about the narrator's visit to the Chicago Public Library, and what he observes about other patrons, employees, books, the systems and economics of libraries, and politics.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
rmostman | 1 outra resenha | Sep 29, 2012 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
4
Also by
1
Membros
56
Popularidade
#291,557
Avaliação
3.8
Resenhas
2
ISBNs
6

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