10:04

Ben Lerner · ★★

While I can recognize and even appreciate this novel, intellectually, and while I see Lerner dazzling with formal tricks and interesting (to him) ideas, I honestly couldn't stand being in the company of the narrator, a privileged white guy quick to complain about everything going on around him and yet so distant from the world that his own solipsism, I guess, becomes part of the novel's point. I don't know. The narrator here, the voice of the novel not the protagonist (though him, too) was so deeply annoying to me. Maybe that's evidence of an effective project needling something in me that I must examine, or maybe it's the result of a spoiled brat who got told very early on he was the smartest boy and can't imagine a world where he isn't. Others, you, might have a very different take on this story. You might love it and I wouldn't begrudge you that. 2 1/2 stars from me - rounded down.