Jonathan K (Max Outlier) > Recent Status Updates

Absolutely fabulous! It's easy to see how the author has received awards for poetry, his narrative akin to a song. He POV from third person narrator to first person that's immersive and mystical. So glad I discovered a new author who understands the essence of storytelling!

It's well paced yet predictable and due to the plot is overrun with themes you'd expect from the story line. While I'm a fan of Viola on screen the rating is 3.5 Brief review tomorrow

There's dabs A Time to Kill and Mockingbird as we near the finish which comes as little surprise. Hard not to say this has been predictable all the way through so will be curious if we get a curve ball at the end

Talk about loading a story with themes..abortion, racism, family history, lynching, legal procedures..yikes

Since the plot is focused on abortion and main characters/judge are black, I'd be curious to know whether right wing book critics blasted the authors. It's pretty clear Viola is pro-choice as well

It's enjoyable and reads like a screenplay which comes as no surprise since Viola is an award winning actor

I sense a dab of To Kill a Mockingbird but instead of murder it's a black doctor who have an abortion to a young teen. While engaging and paced well it's still a bit predictable

Quite a departure from the previous book but interesting nonetheless

Terrific!

Nearly every sentence is dialog which I personally find disappointing. In my humble opinion this is amateurish though it's potentially due to the person who translated it from German. Regardless I'm not sure it's worth the time.

This goes far beyond any rating system since there are no other books to compare it with nor authors with the intellect and wit to write it! A brief review tomorrow that pays homage to the Booker prize winning author!

For those who enjoy unique stories from back authors I dare you to find any that create fictional stories like this. Beatty is in a class of his own, his intellect that of a PhD, and humor akin to Richard Pryor!

Paul's intellect goes far beyond most, his grasp of racist cliché is unrivaled. This allows him to create a narrative that breaks new ground with laugh out loud cinicism. It's hard to put into words how amazing his creativity and wit shows up and it's little wonder he won the Booker ten years ago.

It's OK but not what I'd call ground breaking.

While early in the plot it's predictable and characters aren't particularly unique. Time will tell

Am fond of concise narrative approach and minimal use of dialog. And hoping what appears obvious may turn out otherwise

A literal spin on mail order bride, Gunnars friend Scoby finds him a wife from Japan and she's delivered by UPS, the driver playing justice of the peace and marries them. Once they kiss he stamps FRAGILE on her forehead! Hilarious!

Truly outstanding in all respects. As compared to The Sellout which tells the story of a farmer in Los Angeles surrounded by nutty characters, this shows Paul's prowess with plot and characters at a much higher level. Hard to put into words how brilliant his abilities.

As debut novels go, this is truly ground breaking and the fact Beatty won the 2016 Booker award comes as little surprise. Here he blends laugh out loud humor with racist ideologies in L.A. and uses the Rodney King murder to emphasize the point. Brilliant in all respects, Gunnar Kaufman, a young black poet of sorts tells the coming of age story with copious dabs of the 'n' word

Not only is this hilarious it raises the bar with society's racism. Laughs lead to the realization of today's splintered population. Food for thought

Not sure whether it's the fact that this was translated or something else but it's kind of flat where I'm concerned. A lifelong film buff I had high hopes. Will have to see if it improves

In all honesty, I find the redundant nature of the narrative disappointing much as I had with the English Experience which was a total dud where I'm concerned. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and cross this author off my list

One of the craziest stories I've ever read. Beatty has a talent for characters unlike any other and uses the n word repeatedly. Most of the characters are a contradiction in terms which adds to the romp in progress. A good examples are primarily black schools called Manishewitz or Anita Bryant junior high. Then you have a cross dressing gangster named Psycho Loco!

This is really a fun story..Fitzger is the newly appointed English chair at Payne University (which is the ultimate pun since they charge staff to use their own conference room and other mind boggling things). He's as incompetent as they come yet erudite; a contradiction in terms if there was one..very funny stuff

For those who feel awards are important, Paul Beatty won the Booker Prize in 2016. While this book is filled with the 'n' word since he's poking fun at today's society, his wit, education and savvy is more than obvious.

This is like MASH but instead of a movable army unit. Payne university stays put and run by incompetent people that despise one another.. Very funny concept

Just realized I had read The English Experience which is the third book in her trilogy and wasn't impressed. Hopefully this will be better!