aaaabbbbbb's Blog
July 7, 2018
Another Review of The Gods Wait
HELLO NIHAO, my literary firefighters.
I've found yet another person who I tricked into reading my manic baijiu story. Ms. Donovan was eerily friendly, positive, and timely; these are uncommon traits in both my real and created universe.
Anyway, the review follows:
The Gods Wait offers a novel of internet and interpersonal relationships and excels in a complex web of characters and lives that dovetail in unexpected ways. Of necessity, this approach involves building not one or two but many psychological and social profiles: an endeavor that may stymie those who anticipated a lighter read; but which will delight literary readers seeking more depth and reflective reading than most novels provide.
If the chapter titles don't give a clue of this complexity early on (the book opens with 'A Sawmill Discotheque'), descriptive phrasing surely reinforces this notion as characters move through different phases of their lives and interact with the world around them ("Pascal Adanoma sat down to go to sleep, where he thought about baseballs teleporting around a baseball diamond in layers of energy levels. It was dark in his room. He lived alone. He didn’t make his bed every morning, and sometimes he didn’t shower before lab. His biggest secret, however, was that his socks didn't match that day. He had many secrets.").
Introverts and foreigners, changing times and brutal realizations about life, and questions of anonymity and conspiracy in the chaotic world of daily life flow through character experiences in a mercurial manner that carries readers through different observations, social milieus, and personal perspectives.
It's almost as if readers are flies on the walls of each different character, observing these changes through a series of rapidly-changing scenes that might initially seem to be vignettes of different stories. All ultimately serve the purpose of contributing to a greater good and unifying theme, down the line.
The characters change their language, personas, and perspectives like actors shed costumes between scenes. This serves to illustrate both similarities and differences between their approaches and the kinds of social and interpersonal activities that link humanity.
Literary audiences should not expect a linear read from The Gods Wait; nor is it a hasty meal to be consumed quickly or without thought. Those who enjoy digesting bits and pieces of life and who allow plenty of time for reflection and re-reading will discover The Gods Wait to be a treasure trove capturing intimate and vivid jewels of life experience: something to be savored, lingered over, and only reluctantly set aside at the conclusion; perhaps to be revisited later as events close with a bang and provide a fitting crescendo to the diverse, thought-provoking, attention-grabbing scenarios.
Credit to D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
I've found yet another person who I tricked into reading my manic baijiu story. Ms. Donovan was eerily friendly, positive, and timely; these are uncommon traits in both my real and created universe.
Anyway, the review follows:
The Gods Wait offers a novel of internet and interpersonal relationships and excels in a complex web of characters and lives that dovetail in unexpected ways. Of necessity, this approach involves building not one or two but many psychological and social profiles: an endeavor that may stymie those who anticipated a lighter read; but which will delight literary readers seeking more depth and reflective reading than most novels provide.
If the chapter titles don't give a clue of this complexity early on (the book opens with 'A Sawmill Discotheque'), descriptive phrasing surely reinforces this notion as characters move through different phases of their lives and interact with the world around them ("Pascal Adanoma sat down to go to sleep, where he thought about baseballs teleporting around a baseball diamond in layers of energy levels. It was dark in his room. He lived alone. He didn’t make his bed every morning, and sometimes he didn’t shower before lab. His biggest secret, however, was that his socks didn't match that day. He had many secrets.").
Introverts and foreigners, changing times and brutal realizations about life, and questions of anonymity and conspiracy in the chaotic world of daily life flow through character experiences in a mercurial manner that carries readers through different observations, social milieus, and personal perspectives.
It's almost as if readers are flies on the walls of each different character, observing these changes through a series of rapidly-changing scenes that might initially seem to be vignettes of different stories. All ultimately serve the purpose of contributing to a greater good and unifying theme, down the line.
The characters change their language, personas, and perspectives like actors shed costumes between scenes. This serves to illustrate both similarities and differences between their approaches and the kinds of social and interpersonal activities that link humanity.
Literary audiences should not expect a linear read from The Gods Wait; nor is it a hasty meal to be consumed quickly or without thought. Those who enjoy digesting bits and pieces of life and who allow plenty of time for reflection and re-reading will discover The Gods Wait to be a treasure trove capturing intimate and vivid jewels of life experience: something to be savored, lingered over, and only reluctantly set aside at the conclusion; perhaps to be revisited later as events close with a bang and provide a fitting crescendo to the diverse, thought-provoking, attention-grabbing scenarios.
Credit to D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
December 21, 2017
Review of The Gods Wait
The Gods Wait
In The Gods Wait by John von Dorf, you’ll find pessimists fighting to be optimistic about romance, a waitress’s vivid inner world, an internet troll’s thoughts on philosophy, and many other slices from diverse, scattered lives.
A collection of well-drawn characters seek fulfillment and meaning through various mediums, including film, insults, and food. Each obsession demonstrates the individual’s need and desire for grander meaning than their obsession actually delivers. The only voices with new ideas are shut down by the intentional defamation or self-congratulatory ignorance of other would-be intellectuals. Each character is defined as much by their hates as they are by their interests.
Several different characters share the limelight, and the narrative hops from one to another in a rapid succession of scenes. It actually takes a few chapters to even introduce the entire cast, and their stories weave in and out, often connecting via on online board where they meet, debate, and fight anonymously. Others meet face to face, sometimes through business, and often as lovers.
This is an extraordinarily well-written work of literary fiction. At times, the prose is advanced to a fault, as von Dorf does fall into the occasional trap of writing paragraph-long sentences. This style does work sometimes, as in Heiko the troll’s rambling descent into depression, but some of the ideas within a paragraph-long sentence would be much clearer separated out. While this is an obvious stylistic choice, there is also a lack of consistency with the style. Sometimes one sentence is a paragraph, and sometimes short paragraphs are combined together, with no seeming reason for the change.
Similarly, each character is compelling in their own right, but there isn’t always differentiation between each voice. Each character’s pessimism is a strong link between them, which is an intriguing thematic through-line, given the undercurrent of realism to each character’s outlook. However, the characters’ voices at times blend into one another. Each character is clearly a shade of the author, and most share similar dialects, which makes them less distinct than they could be.
For example, Cierra’s voice changes dramatically after her introduction at the diner. The next time we see Cierra, her entire vocabulary has changed, and she’s speaking like the professor, who provides a conduit for the heavily academic language von Dorf seems to favor. A story that uses language so well to articulate so many intensely personal thoughts, fears, and biases would benefit from a better range of character voices. The characters come from different backgrounds, but von Dorf doesn’t always acknowledge how that background would shape the rhythm and pattern of their thoughts.
Overall, The Gods Wait is a challenging but ultimately rewarding read. Despite some issues with characterization and voice, each character is still eminently interesting, and you’re compelled to keep turning the pages as their first connections begin to appear. It isn’t a quick read, by any means, but it isn’t meant to be, as the prose and plot both benefit from slow consideration. An engrossing, character-driven literary work, it’s a book for thinkers, fighters, and people who enjoy genuinely good prose.
-Mindy Hood, Self Publishing Review
In The Gods Wait by John von Dorf, you’ll find pessimists fighting to be optimistic about romance, a waitress’s vivid inner world, an internet troll’s thoughts on philosophy, and many other slices from diverse, scattered lives.
A collection of well-drawn characters seek fulfillment and meaning through various mediums, including film, insults, and food. Each obsession demonstrates the individual’s need and desire for grander meaning than their obsession actually delivers. The only voices with new ideas are shut down by the intentional defamation or self-congratulatory ignorance of other would-be intellectuals. Each character is defined as much by their hates as they are by their interests.
Several different characters share the limelight, and the narrative hops from one to another in a rapid succession of scenes. It actually takes a few chapters to even introduce the entire cast, and their stories weave in and out, often connecting via on online board where they meet, debate, and fight anonymously. Others meet face to face, sometimes through business, and often as lovers.
This is an extraordinarily well-written work of literary fiction. At times, the prose is advanced to a fault, as von Dorf does fall into the occasional trap of writing paragraph-long sentences. This style does work sometimes, as in Heiko the troll’s rambling descent into depression, but some of the ideas within a paragraph-long sentence would be much clearer separated out. While this is an obvious stylistic choice, there is also a lack of consistency with the style. Sometimes one sentence is a paragraph, and sometimes short paragraphs are combined together, with no seeming reason for the change.
Similarly, each character is compelling in their own right, but there isn’t always differentiation between each voice. Each character’s pessimism is a strong link between them, which is an intriguing thematic through-line, given the undercurrent of realism to each character’s outlook. However, the characters’ voices at times blend into one another. Each character is clearly a shade of the author, and most share similar dialects, which makes them less distinct than they could be.
For example, Cierra’s voice changes dramatically after her introduction at the diner. The next time we see Cierra, her entire vocabulary has changed, and she’s speaking like the professor, who provides a conduit for the heavily academic language von Dorf seems to favor. A story that uses language so well to articulate so many intensely personal thoughts, fears, and biases would benefit from a better range of character voices. The characters come from different backgrounds, but von Dorf doesn’t always acknowledge how that background would shape the rhythm and pattern of their thoughts.
Overall, The Gods Wait is a challenging but ultimately rewarding read. Despite some issues with characterization and voice, each character is still eminently interesting, and you’re compelled to keep turning the pages as their first connections begin to appear. It isn’t a quick read, by any means, but it isn’t meant to be, as the prose and plot both benefit from slow consideration. An engrossing, character-driven literary work, it’s a book for thinkers, fighters, and people who enjoy genuinely good prose.
-Mindy Hood, Self Publishing Review
December 3, 2017
oh man
I only listen to contrapuntal music, like my father before me and like my son will after me.
My son's gender and race, however, are up to him.
My son's gender and race, however, are up to him.
