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Monday, April 21, 2014

Casebook: A Novel by Mona Simpson

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)
about book:

From the acclaimed and award-winning author: a beguiling new novel about an eavesdropping boy working to discover the obscure mysteries of his unraveling family. He uncovers instead what he least wants to know: the workings of his parents’ private lives. And even then he can’t stop snooping.

Miles Adler-Rich, helped by his friend Hector, spies and listens in on his separating parents. Both boys are in thrall to Miles’s unsuspecting mother, Irene, who is “pretty for a mathematician.” They rifle through her dresser drawers and strip-mine her computer diary, finding that all leads pull them straight into her bedroom, and into questions about a stranger from Washington, D.C., who weaves in and out of their lives. Their amateur detective work starts innocently but soon takes them to the far reaches of adult privacy as they acquire knowledge that will affect the family’s well-being, prosperity, and sanity. Once burdened with this powerful information, the boys struggle to deal with the existence of evil, and proceed to concoct hilarious modes of revenge on their villains and eventually, haltingly, learn to offer animal comfort to those harmed and to create an imaginative path to their own salvation.

my thoughts:

I hate to admit this, but Casebook was a DNF for me.  I just could not get through this book - it didn't work for me.   I found the the story to feel rather disjointed, which made reading it rather tiring.  It was overly detailed (this could be due to the fact that it did read like stream of consciousness at times), had annoying footnotes (which were distracting), and too many characters to keep track of.  Plus, the protagonist Miles nicknamed people, which threw me off when those people were mentioned by their actual names.  I just didn't connect with the story at all and found myself feeling disappointed with what I was reading.  I had really thought I would enjoy Casebook (especially, after reading Ti's review of it), but in the end I just didn't. 

Of course, just because I didn't like the book, doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a go.  According to loads of reviewers - it is an AMAZING read.  Check out there reviews!  Here's the TLC Book Tour schedule for: Casebook
Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

7 comments:

Ti said...

Gah!! I'm sorry it didn't work for you. It was like taking small sips of something good. It was a slow build but in the end, it paid off for me. I loved Miles though so if you didn't, I can see how it would be a slog for you. Miles reminded me a lot of my son so maybe that had something to do with my love for it.

Bellezza said...

Well, you know how I feel...if you didn't finish it, chances are I won't even start it.

Nadia said...

Ti, this book just wasn't for me. I can see why you enjoyed it, but it just didn't engage me in the same way at all. Oh well.

Bellezza, definitely pass on this one.

Lisa said...

Those nicknames bugged me, too, and I didn't get the point of the footnotes. They could easily have been left out.

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

Darn, sorry to see this one didn't work for you but thanks for being a part of the tour.

Anonymous said...

I finished this one, but only because it was a TLC Book Tour book. I was very "eh" on it.

Nadia said...

Lisa, exactly! So glad I wasn't the only one who felt that way :)

Heather, thanks for having me on the tour!

Rebecca, me too!