Tom Carson (1) (1956–)

This ambitious and very funny novel is not remotely a linear narrative. Rather, as its title suggests, it moves with the spirit of James Joyce and presents a series of seemingly jumbled narratives riffing lightly on characters from the TV series GILLIGAN'S ISLAND. In a style that has been compared with that of Thomas Pynchon, Tom Carson's book is not a particularly easy read, but neither is it especially difficult. It does require, and it plays like a jazz band on, an awareness of popular culture and of politics in the post-war era. Carson's sense of humor and of wordplay is spectacular and while the novel really only uses GILLIGAN'S ISLAND as a springboard and touchstone, you will never look at that TV series in quite the same way after reading this. Darkly funny, intricate, and at times puzzling, GILLIGAN'S WAKE is a terrific novel--but, like the show that inspired it, it's not for everyone.… (altro)

It sucks. The first few chapters caught a hold of me dealing with some 20-something dead-enders hanging out in squalor still very much caught up in nostalgia for their high school party days and lamenting about a friend who had committed suicide even though none of them liked her. The novel primarily consists of long droll conversations about high school and events around the time of the suicide and not much else. There's the intro character who's run back to his small town because he killed a junkie in an alley due in part to a song he performed, at least according to him. It seemed in the early chapters that the novel was about to work up to something but it never did. When it started shifting POVs it lost me, so I started speed reading. This book is bland, the conversations were repetitive, and none of the characters were really that great at all in any respect. I cannot recommend this, it's just really boring.… (altro)

135/54-Η αλήθεια πως δυσκολεύτηκα να ακολουθήσω τη ροή. Ποτέ δε ξεμπέρδεψα τα πρόσωπα και να καταφέρω να ξεχωρίσω ποιος είναι ποιος . Η εντύπωση που μου έμεινε είναι πως η παρέα είναι ένα συνονθύλευμα προβληματικών ανθρώπων , αλκοολικών καταθλιπτικών και ναρκομανών. Απ' αυτούς κάποιοι δεν μπορούν να συνεχίσουν κι αυτοκτονούν, άλλοι βολεύονται κι άλλοι προσπαθούν να συνεχίσουν .… (altro)