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Rebecca's Reviews > A Suitable Boy
A Suitable Boy (A Bridge of Leaves, #1)
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By the time I got to the end, I wanted to throw this book across the room, but by then I was exhausted. The book was too heavy to lift and heave properly, so I slapped the paperback covers with as much derision as I could manage.
This is the longest book I’ve ever read. It’s the world’s 17th longest novel. Longer than Infinite Jest. Longer than War and Peace.
You’d think they’d give me some sort of prize for reading all that. But what do I get instead? (view spoiler)
I was all set to give this book four stars. The boring parts—hundreds of pages of boring parts—would be forgiven because the good parts were so good. Ugh. But then I began turning those last pages with a sick, disgusted, wretched feeling. That cost the book two more stars. Now that I’m finished I have to keep telling myself it’s not real. It’s only a story. So then I should probably add a star back on because if it made me feel that emotional about it, that is effective. On some level. Not the best level, but I guess you can’t have everything.
This is the longest book I’ve ever read. It’s the world’s 17th longest novel. Longer than Infinite Jest. Longer than War and Peace.
You’d think they’d give me some sort of prize for reading all that. But what do I get instead? (view spoiler)
I was all set to give this book four stars. The boring parts—hundreds of pages of boring parts—would be forgiven because the good parts were so good. Ugh. But then I began turning those last pages with a sick, disgusted, wretched feeling. That cost the book two more stars. Now that I’m finished I have to keep telling myself it’s not real. It’s only a story. So then I should probably add a star back on because if it made me feel that emotional about it, that is effective. On some level. Not the best level, but I guess you can’t have everything.
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Reading Progress
June 5, 2015
–
Started Reading
June 5, 2015
– Shelved
June 18, 2015
–
36.7%
"A few problems with reading such a huge book: 1. 200 pages can go by without the best characters showing up. 2. It's too heavy to carry around. 3. It's easy to trip over, causing foot injuries."
page
541
July 17, 2015
– Shelved as:
read-in-2015
July 17, 2015
– Shelved as:
summer-30-2015
July 17, 2015
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
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Tom
(new)
Jul 18, 2015 08:01AM
You are braver than I am. I lOVE long reads but I'll stop at some point. I recently gave up on Bolano's 2666, critical acclaim or not. Then I remember that, for example, Moby Dick gets 5 stars and you have to wade through a whole lot of very boring cetology stuff to get through that classic. So, how do you know when to stop? Maybe, like you, I should only stop at the end and pick the Bolano back up.
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I was actually pretty invested in the main thread of the story, so I kept reading to find out what happened, even though the main characters might disappear for hundreds of pages at a time. I was frantically turning the last few pages to find out what happened. But the ending was a terrible payoff for all that reading! I almost wish I'd read the ending first, to know if it was all going to be worth it.
This review is such a wonderful gift! There is nothing so precious as the gift of time and now you've handed me a valuable little parcel of it as I cross this doorstop off my to read list! Thank you! P.S. Tom, 2666 doesn't improve. The Savage Detectives, to my mind, is as good as Bolano gets.
Uh-oh. I don't know if I want to be responsible for bearing that gift. Many people hail the book as a masterpiece, so who am I to deter you from reading it? (On a semi-related note, I am reading another super long book now: A Little Life. So far I recommend it.)
Hi! Glad to come across your review. I was wondering if am the only one whose feeling like that. What a pedestrian choice! It look me more than half the novel to even figure out who the protagonist was. The climax left me so disgusted and unsettled that I was really keen on hearing the people who call it a masterpiece. Anyway, thanks for putting this up.
I felt a similar way. I’d be interested in knowing what Seth’s motives were. Is he rejecting Western notions that love will conquer all? After laying bare the destructive nature of religion, is he saying that it is the guiding light after all?
The last 200 pages were a total disappointment. Me too I was all set on the 4 stars but finally settled for 3.
SO MUCH THIS. Glad I'm not alone.
