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(Read in 2023) 3.5 stars. Laugh-out-loud funny in many places. The humor about politics (e.g., Albany corruption) and literary pretensions was great, but the jokes about prison sexual assault and other violence ... not so much. I listened to the audiobook, which was good, but the jabs and references come so fast (especially in the early chapters) that it's easy to miss some of them.

(Read in 2023) A fast and tense read. Poetic and sometimes dreamlike. I enjoyed the shifts between the characters' points of view and also the Siberian setting, especially the contrast between the claustrophobic train and the expanse through which they are passing.

(Read in 2023) Excellent novel, beautifully written. There's plenty of humor, but the book may leave you feeling a bit blue due to its focus on mortality, troubled marriages, infidelity, self-doubt, sadness, strained familial relationships, and other life disappointments. I was thankful that, in the end, the characters found some hope as well. Enjoyable audiobook narration by John Keating.

4.5 stars (read in 2023). I thought this was great - and better than A Visit From the Goon Squad. One thing that soured it for me a little toward the end was the time spent in "See Below" revisiting "The General," which was one of my least favorite parts of Goon Squad. But that's a pretty minor complaint considering how much I enjoyed the novel overall. Fascinating ideas and characters, and lots of moving/memorable chapters ("Bright Day" is a standout). Also, having just returned from a trip to NYC, I appreciated the setting a lot.

Very good. 4.5 stars. It's well-written, with an interesting setting and an engaging mystery. I enjoyed the parts dealing with twitter, podcasting, and film (that took me back to my Film As Narrative class in college). There's a lot going on in the book, but for me its overarching concern is harassment of and violence against women.

At first, I wasn't sure about the second person narration. Then I got used to it, and ultimately I decided that it worked well. In thinking about why it's written that way, I realize that it's technically addressed to a particular character, but it also occurred to me that it's implicating the reader - me - on some level. As a man reading this, I found that to be appropriate, considering the subject. Maybe it's the feminist lens through which I tend to view things, but thinking about it that way added an extra layer of meaning to the whole thing (including the title) for me.

Anyway, I read in the Submakk newsletter on Substack that the book has been optioned for a limited series, and I really hope the series gets made.

3.5 stars. I read this after seeing it recommended in Alissa Wilkinson's Syllabus for a new world. For the most part, I thought it was good. There were things I really liked, such as the protest scenes, and I enjoyed spending a while on the pages in order to appreciate all of the little details. But there were other things I wasn't too crazy about, especially the scene in which Hannah and Johnny end up hitting each other. I read through a lot of other reviews and finally found someone else who commented on this, calling it a strange moment of domestic violence. I agree.

Imaginative and thoughtful "hard" science fiction. Fingers crossed that Netflix will do a good job with the series. The setting in China was interesting. Some parts were excellent, while others were a little tiresome (e.g., some of the military/police conversations), but I enjoyed it quite a bit overall. The chapter with Newton, Von Neumann and the human-formation computer was a fascinating and humorous highlight for me.