The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done

by Sandra Newman

When Chrysalis Moffat and her brother, Eddie, inherit a mansion on the coast of California, Eddie hatches a plan to fleece credulous Californians of their cash by starting the fraudulent Tibetan School of Miracles. But something else is happening. Through Chrysalis's reunion with her brother, she begins to discover her adoptive father's secret past, causing her own identity to unravel. As Chrysalis lays down the facts of her life, she gambles her identity against the contradictions, half-truths, and fables of her past, leading her ultimately to question what it is we can truly know and whether it is fate or chance that dictates our lives.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels, Family, 21st Century

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this book, but i found that the middle was a little weak and the ending was too abrupt. that being said - it's definitely worth reading, especially because its such a quick book. i'm just pleased because i didn't figure out all the secrets before the ending - big pet peeve of mine. i'm always happy to find an original voice.

come to my blog!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun quick read. Stylistically quirky, and I'm a sucker for gimmicks and usually I'm disappointed in them, but the unorthodox manner in which the book was written turned out to be a really effective device. As opposed to what some people have written here it doesn't seem like the writer was being 'lazy' in making lists and outlines instead of just writing a straight forward narrative. The lists work well to fill in gaps of the story and give background in a way that fits the unreliability of the book. That the author was a student of W.G. Sebald's is very clear in the way she approaches the story.

[marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this, but I'm okay with things that are of questionable substance but have boundless amounts of style. I am even of the opinion that sometimes enough style and beautiful language can generate substance like spontaneous combustion, without the author even fully meaning to.

it's real cool and jonathan safran foer liked it: "[she] has an amazingly original way of thinking. ...is often hysterically funny, profoundly strange, and unbearably beautiful. Often all at once."

[Goddessathena · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed like sometimes her style of outlining instead of writing paragraphs was more lazy than creative. It felt like I could skip big chunks of it and it would have no effect on the story-I didn't like that.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the absolutely weirdest novels I've ever read, this novel started out irritating me, and by the halfway point, I was sucked in amd entertained. While filled with very dark humor and a sad undercurrent, ultimately it was an original and strange story filled with horrible characters and escapades who intersect in all kinds of ways. Reminded me vaguely of a more female-driven old school Tarantino film. 3 stars because the beginning almost had me give up on it. But worth finishing if you can get past the odd writing style.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

i could not tolerate this book. the dialogue irritated me - especially the brother's. the lists irritated me. none of the characters were developed in any way to make you care about them. and i dont think any of it was funny.

i had to stop reading it and return it to the library. i could not understand what i would be taking away from this book after forcing myself to read it so i just gave up!


usually when i have nothing nice to say i do not but i could not help this.

[Athena Deitrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed like sometimes her style of outlining instead of writing paragraphs was more lazy than creative. It felt like I could skip big chunks of it and it would have no effect on the story-I didn't like that

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

sandra newman is incredible at intersecting several unordinary characters' gigantic and complicated life histories in a nonlinear way. lots of lists and other experimental organizational tactics. the story is so idiosyncratic it verges on surreal. really interesting read.

[Andy Theyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for people that love words. If nothing else it's a book of almost infinite throwaway beautiful turns of phrase. The style is experimental; the way the prose is presented is almost never just straight paragraphs. I ended up finding that quite challenging over 400 pages, but I found myself persevering regardless. Ultimately it was really rewarding.

A couple of technical notes. It's very hard to read on Kindle - the formatting that the book often relies on just sometimes doesn't work. And a few reviews here call it a quick read. 400 pages of unusually formatted often dense poetic text? I didn't find it quick...

[Amie Whittemore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truth be told, I did not finish this book. I wanted to love it so much--I adore Newman's The Country of Ice Cream Star and her Twitter feed--but I just couldn't get into this one. It's doing some interesting formal work, but I found the formal experiments distracting from the plot's pulse. I simply gave up--and whether that's truly a flaw of the text or the flaws in this reader, I'm not sure.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars I liked the unfolding of Chrysalis's story. I didn't actually like her, though, nor any of the characters really - what's to like? Some clever writing. The mansion-turned-Tibetan-meditation-school plotline was amusing, and it was interesting learning about professional card players. Overall a depressing book and the "quirky" style didn't really work for me.

[Colette Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A total mindfuck, in a good way; different from just about everything else out there. Odd and hilarious and overwhelmingly tragic, and completely brave, unafraid of aliens or unlikable narrators or even the ultimate fiction-slayer, coincidence.

[Kyri Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep hoping for another Ice Cream Star but this series of disjointed paragraphs lost me; I'm sure there are readers for this book. Nontraditional narrative just pushes me out of the story, not the author's fault but my personal preference.

[Emily Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of this book stuck out to me at the library. Immediately, I was hooked by the unique writing style and flow. The further into the book I went, it felt increasingly melancholy, and the characters felt increasingly pretentious.

[Lauren Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

She's so fucking good.

[Tim Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thankyou @lloydshep for giving me this to read. It’s great!

[Dušan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing this book was:

1. The only good thing anyone has ever done.

[Eolaí · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to put into words why I love the books I do.

[Melynda Harrison - TravelingMel]

One of the few books I didn’t finish. It’s probably good, but too depressing for me.

[Cara Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grief, family, and blackjack. Sandra Newman's first novel is like nothing I've read before. A bizarre journey of self-discovery with a fraudulent guru and drug-addled big brother leading the way.

[Becca Loo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of Dave Eggers. Waned near the end. Meh.

[cathryn anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I've ever read. I didn't like any of the weird and misfit characters. It took me a really long time to read it. I did not truly understand the point of the book. .

[Jo Floyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really struggled to finish this book, or get through the start - although I did quite enjoy the bulk of the middle section. Was a gift, otherwise I may have given up on the last 6th which I read as a bit of a skim read. Found just too long for the style used.

[Kayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A year or so ago, I picked this book up at a dollar sale solely because a review on the cover referred to the author as the "Vonnegut of our generation". The novel sat on my bookshelf until two nights ago when I hastily grabbed it on my way out the door because I needed something to while away the hours while working a night shift.

Stylistically, I'm not reminded of Vonnegut when I read this book, but no matter: this book is really good.

The book starts with our main character Chrysalis in the midst of a nervous breakdown in the aftermath of her mother's death. Her brother has inherited everything, including the family's mansion, but he doesn't kick her out. Instead, he hatches a money-making scheme to turn the mansion into a sham spiritual retreat centre, complete with a "guru" he brought back from Tibet.

The rest of the story reads like a jigsaw puzzle. The characters' lives, particularly their childhoods, are connected in mysterious ways, and each chapter provides another piece to fill in the puzzle. I've read some reviews of the book complaining that the author frequently drops spoilers throughout the story, but I think of them more as teasers; she'll tell you outright about some event that is about to happen or some information that will be revealed, and instead of spoiling the story, it gave me a reaction like "Wait, this thing is going to happen? Well, shit, how did this come about and what happens now?" I felt compelled to keep reading just to see how is this all going to fit together?

[d4 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would've liked this book a lot better if it had been shorter. I was pulled into the story briefly (and actually eager to continue reading), but I just lost interest after the first two hundred pages. I got tired of being told major plot points in an almost spoiler-like fashion well before the events were described. It would have benefited from a little more order in all the "chaos." I put quotations around the word because it seems more of an intentional style, which has its charm to begin with; however, the novelty wore off half-way through the book.

Side-note: I discovered the novel because the title caught my eye at the library. A quick skim through the pages caught my attention, as well as reading the first page, but what most compelled me to read it was a praising quotation by Jonathan Safran Foer on the cover. After reading the novel, I am a bit surprised by the endorsement by an author whose work is far superior. The experimental style of the novel and the quirky, dysfunctional characters have their appeal--perhaps making it noteworthy--, but the plot drags so horribly that makes the overall book forgettable.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me forever to get to because I could not bring myself to read it right after Dear Everybody. It just did not feel good or right.

In fact given time as a stand alone this book is outstanding. The story is something very different but very much the same as something like Invisible Monsters. Separation, family, starting, coming together... This book for me seemed very special. The psychosis of the characters made a very specific kind of sense. If someone were truly to go crazy this is what would happen. They wouldn't blow their head off, they wouldn't walk off a cliff. They really would simply hide under the bed.

[Roxanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually keep reading this book - I probably read 1/4 of it at best.

It was really nicely written. I was tempted to keep going because it was a treat to read something so beautifully crafted. However, it was really really depressing and most of the characters were really really really unlikeable and I had to quit. And it was depressing and the characters were unlikeable in a realistic way, and isn't that just enough to make you secretly cut? I returned it to the library so I could read some crappily written young adult dystopia and not have to feel so much. That is what real life is for. Ugh, I'm turning into my mother.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another nail in the "just because I liked one book, doesn't mean I'll enjoy ALL books by an author" coffin. I'm going to give Ms Newman the benefit of the doubt here, given it was her first novel, and not bump it down to 1-star. (and because I finished it obviously!)

She tried to do "different".
It didn't work.
At one point I thought, "Geez, her made up language was easier to follow than this."
I'm pretty sure it was written in English.
I can't tell you what it was about.
If you want to test the theory of "doing the same thing, expecting a different result" insanity, then by all means give'er.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandra Newman employs numbered and bulleted lists throughout her first novel, but The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done doesn't suffer because of it. Since the nature of the lists require each point to be succinct, the technique works as long as each brief detail covers a very important matter we'd rather not glean through exposition or inner monologue.

If any fault can be laid at Newman's feet, it would be there for the too-quick wrap up in the concluding pages, but she is hardly the first author to stumble at the finish line.

Look for Chrysalis's true origin.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely unlike anything I have ever read before. That's why I liked it, for its originality. Not a sane or sober character in the bunch. Not a light read b/c it takes some focus to keep the characters and their relationship to each other straight. Lots of loose ends flying around until the end. It's "out there," though, you've been warned. Very, very unique, ecclectic. Almost bizarre. But I liked it.