Tournament of Books discussion

location to discuss Overthrow's (by Caleb Crain) inclusion in the short list and general thoughts on the book

Anyone read this yet? Just picked it up.

Am reading it right now, just got it yesterday. It’s awesome so far. Love the author’s intelligent, easy tone

I'm pages in and not liking it. This might end up being the "Call Me Zebra" of the 2020 TOB for me.

50 pages in. Jury is still out.

50 pages in and the dialogue seems a bit over-precious and the prose a little purple. I'll give it to page 100 before I relegate it to the DNF pile.

I couldn't get through this either. Too many POV switches to boring characters. A complete lack of world building, mediocre writing, and even more mediocre dialogue. After I rolled my eyes for the twentieth time, I just gave up.

It's a shame, because reading the blurb I was excited about this book. I'm really bummed it edged out far better books for the shortlist.

I am throwing in the towel at p. 100. Major purple prose (as mentioned above), I’m not invested in any of the characters, and Leif’s little speeches are intolerable.

What, you don't think they can save the world "by being beautiful together"?

Really glad I got this one from the library. I'd be mad at myself if I'd spent money on this.

Kyle wrote: "What, you don't think they can save the world "by being beautiful together"?"

Sounds like a line from the most nauseating marriage vows ever ;)

Did not like. I thought the premise was clever, and like he should have just given the idea to someone who could write a good book instead of this boring slogfest.

Kyle wrote: "What, you don't think they can save the world "by being beautiful together"?

Really glad I got this one from the library. I'd be mad at myself if I'd spent money on this."

HA! I haven't tried this one yet but I'm pretty sure that's the catch phrase of many a "digital nomad" instagram account.

Crain’s frequent use of the formal “one” (as in “Once the car was inside the flow...one felt impregnable”) in the narration is driving me crazy!

Thank goodness I’m not the only one who didn’t like this. I kept thinking I must be missing some vital piece of information to enjoy it. The comparison with Call Me Zebra is spot on.

Brannan wrote: "Thank goodness I’m not the only one who didn’t like this. I kept thinking I must be missing some vital piece of information to enjoy it. The comparison with Call Me Zebra is spot on."

Oh good, I loved 'Call Me Zebra' so there is more hope for me to like this one.

C wrote: "Brannan wrote: "Thank goodness I’m not the only one who didn’t like this. I kept thinking I must be missing some vital piece of information to enjoy it. The comparison with Call Me Zebra is spot on..."

I will be curious to know what you think C. Call Me Zebra was at least humorous in its absurdity. Overthrow takes itself very seriously and I found it dull.

Ruthiella wrote: "C wrote: "Brannan wrote: "Thank goodness I’m not the only one who didn’t like this. I kept thinking I must be missing some vital piece of information to enjoy it. The comparison with Call Me Zebra ..."

Uh oh, it sounds like I will love Call Me Zebra much more. haha. We shall see! Overthrow is the stacks!

I really had high hopes as the book picked up midway. But towards the end, I totally lost the little sympathy I had with the characters. I lost interest enough that I'm a little confused by the ending and can't be bothered to re-read it to understand it.

I didn't open this thread before finishing in case there were spoilers, but I agree with the general consensus here. I found this a chore to get through and I'm so glad it's over. I think characters we didn't really care about is key here. At one point I was thinking of the order for the least likable. They were all annoying for their own reasons. And it was too long. I was also confused by the end... I'm hoping Aaron can convince us of some of the redeeming qualities of this book. ;)

Did anyone know for sure which city it took place in? Boston? I believe they referenced a 90-minute drive to somewhere in Vermont, but it also sounds like a major city with a subway system... not sure what fits that. Following the clues throughout the book to figure out the setting was probably the most entertaining part of it for me.

Lauren wrote: "Did anyone know for sure which city it took place in? "

Wasn't it New York? That was my understanding.

Sorry Lauren, I have no guidance since I, too, am finding it a total slog.

I think in the beginning I was just a) intrigued by the ESP+Occupy premise, b) enjoying/over-identifying with the bookish bear Matthew and his frank approach to sex and his queerness, but mainly c) I had physically bought the book and reeeeeally wanted it to be good. D:

But good LORD, the language around the telepathy is infuriating. “We had been told all our lives that it was impossible to have it, but we did have it and we knew that we did and we decided to accept that we did. You know what I mean. I’m not going to say what it was.”

WHAT THE HELL, Mr. Crain. And the book is littered with passages like this in, I dunno, an attempt to legitimize the magic of it? To compare it with effervescent poetry? I don’t get it. Never mind that the sentence is a mess itself and could be cut by at least half.

Yeah, this one is a bomb. I’ve got 80% left and god I just don’t care... but the completionism in me is too strong.

Aaron wrote: "Sorry Lauren, I have no guidance since I, too, am finding it a total slog.

I think in the beginning I was just a) intrigued by the ESP+Occupy premise, b) enjoying/over-identifying with the bookis..."

LOL thanks for your honesty! I wonder if anyone will be rooting for this one? I look forward to the judge commentary...


Ruthiella wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Did anyone know for sure which city it took place in? "

Wasn't it New York? That was my understanding."

I assumed that at first, but the short drive to Vermont really confused me. Unless Albany is a big enough city to match the descriptions? I haven't been.

The city is unnamed, left intentionally vague. It most closely resembled NYC to me, especially with the Occupy Wall Street analogue.

I hadn't heard of the name Elspeth before reading this, but we were watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina last night and one of the witches was named Elspeth. I guess it's a real name! ;)

I just finished this one, and I generally agree with the prevailing views expressed here. It was a pretty boring book. The prose didn’t bother me quite as much as it bothered some of you, but there just wasn’t enough happening in the story. I will say I liked the second half better. Maybe the lawyer in me enjoyed the parts that involved the legal process? I also liked Matthew as a character and wanted him to end up in a good place. Overall, I liked this quite a bit more than Call Me Zebra but quite a bit less than ALL the other books on the shortlist.

I'm so mad at myself for both buying this and then reading it. some parts read like a middle schooler who just learned what a thesaurus was. At one point someone's face is described as "dolichocephalic." That doesn't help paint a mental image, that's just a pretentious way of saying long.

Not as bad as Zebra, but still terrible.

I decided to read the entire shortlist this year. I probably won't do that again, thanks to this book (and a couple of others to a lesser degree). The list certainly does contain diverse offerings - that's one of the reasons I love the ToB.