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Harsh Generation
The year is 2012. Drugged-out goth kids dying at the speed of light. World downfall. Inconspicuous mannequin limbs endlessly unwrapping. Broken faces and homes. Abusers and abused. Saints and sinners, but mostly the latter. Getting knocked down. Old novels. Hundreds of pills and records. That place you never thought you'd visit. Fame and its rumination. The capital of beauty and youth. In a grey city inescapable by its denizens, a nameless boy keeps looking for something.
421 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 3, 2021
A lot of ideas from Stephen King, Bret Easton Ellis, and Palahniuk on this one, with a dash of Danielewski for good measure. The plot is practically nonexistent, like, yeah dude, we get it, you are depressed despite dating a million super-hot babes, now go see a therapist like a normal person.
I found the "hero" strangely likeable in his own dysfunctional way and wanted him to get a happy ending. Obviously, that last chapter let me down in that regard. It did make me want to re-read the whole thing, though.
Plus, at some point, a character name-drops Placebo, Mayhem, and Fields of the Nephilim in the span of a sentence. Five stars for that alone.
I found the "hero" strangely likeable in his own dysfunctional way and wanted him to get a happy ending. Obviously, that last chapter let me down in that regard. It did make me want to re-read the whole thing, though.
Plus, at some point, a character name-drops Placebo, Mayhem, and Fields of the Nephilim in the span of a sentence. Five stars for that alone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2021
Straight White Boy: The Manual
November 29, 2022
Well, this was... interesting.
Millennial apathy here being savagely depicted. (Are these people even millennials? Tweak the references a bit and it could be Gen-Z material.) I got the horrifying feeling people like this - worse than this - are probably all around us.
The length was a bit of a slog to get through. There are only so many ways you can showcase the debased nihilism of a wayward generation. However, it did make for spending considerable time in the mind of the protagonist, who has a ton of issues.
I enjoyed the recursive element to this story. A perfect circle where nothing is ever resolved. Probably the most violent coming-of-age book on my shelf.
Millennial apathy here being savagely depicted. (Are these people even millennials? Tweak the references a bit and it could be Gen-Z material.) I got the horrifying feeling people like this - worse than this - are probably all around us.
The length was a bit of a slog to get through. There are only so many ways you can showcase the debased nihilism of a wayward generation. However, it did make for spending considerable time in the mind of the protagonist, who has a ton of issues.
I enjoyed the recursive element to this story. A perfect circle where nothing is ever resolved. Probably the most violent coming-of-age book on my shelf.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews