Cocaine Pages discussion

I actually didn't get the time to finish the book just yet... :-s

I've only read about 30 pages. The writing style is a bit hard to get into at first, but I hear it changes throughout the book and the story holds a lot of promise. I'll try to finish it next month.

I finished the book a few days ago and I just watched the movie. They are both individually very good, but put together they make a perfect whole. And I feel like the more I think about them, the more I love them.

The book is a mastery of language and a display of virtuosity with genres. The six interwoven narratives allow Mitchell to inhabit a wide range of voices and the result is spectacular. Recommended if you have a lot of time on your hands.

What did you think of Mitchell's styling? And by that I mean his pacing and the cliff-hangers he has? Is it unique or have you seen it before?

I'm currently near the beginning of the book and I feel like I know the writer, even though I haven't read anything else of his before.

Let's just say that the cliff-hangers aren't the highlight of the book. Not every story ends in one and if they do, it's nothing earth shattering. The value of this book resides in the wide display of genres and writing styles. I, too, felt like I knew the author (especially in the first and fifth story) and on the surface all stories seem a bit trite, but every one of them has something that makes it special. There are small unexpected moments present in every chapter that are more important and powerful than the cliff-hangers.

As for the pacing, for me it was better in the first half of the book (which, aside from the first 30 pages, I read in only one day). Ultimately I guess it's just a matter of taste. If you like what you read, you read fast. And, despite the stories not being exceptionally unique, there was always something that kept me interested: a shocking event, humor, the writing style, the ugly traits of a character.