Friday, November 19, 2010

Book Review - "A Fairy Tale of New York"

"A Fairy Tale of New York" by J. P. Donleavy
My grade: A-

In some sort of way, this book reminded me a lot of "The American Psycho", although I didn't like the latter at all. This novel, however, is quite amazing on several different levels. Firstly, I have to admit, its abstractedness left me quite lost at moments, and I think to fully understand it, one would have to read the novel a few times. Having said that, though, it at (many) times captured reality so poignantly that I found myself struck by its candidness and simplicity.

Hidden beneath layers of sarcasm and wit is both a story and commentary on New York in particular, and the U.S. and humankind more globally. It's fast-paced, unusually written (e.g., the author uses no question marks, although there certainly are questions asked), exceptional and smart. My one criticism of it is the unnecessary abundance of sex and sexual perversion, and the vulgarity that accompanies that.

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