A review by clairebau
The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Oh, wow! Okay. I liked reading this book. I think it's a good book. I think it was appropriately inquisitive and weird, which are things I like in a novel. I think my favorite part was how unlikeable the characters are. I mean, Y sucks a lot, but Vic (narrator) sucks nearly as much. It was cool that she tried to make excuses for her actions, and they were flimsy and undeveloped. She felt real. As did Y, whose dialogue at times viscerally reminded me of a wannabe-genius ex-boyfriend who threw a fit when he found out my ACT score was higher than his. This book reminded me of the fact that there's nothing more grating than speaking with a man who thinks he's smart (and who thinks that all people, particularly women, are beneath him).

Unfortunately, I think this book spent too much time explaining its existence in the fictional universe it "exists" in; I understand the whole meta pseudo-memoir thing and I usually like it, but Vic went out of her way to explain her narrative choices too much. It felt overexplained and drew more attention to the fact that this was a work of fiction, which felt counterintuitive. Whatever; I'm being nitpicky. Mostly good book! I would've liked if it was longer.
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