Picture perfect - Click clicks!
Perfect! Kristopher Young has written a superb novel! The words click, the sections click, the book just clicks! From Jesse Reno cover to cover. Similar in style to much of what I read, but unlike anything I've ever read before.
Love it! Young's protagonist is a horrible, wonderful, crazy mess, but with good intentions. Control eludes this poor creature. Whatever control he gains over his rapid life, it's quickly disrupted by external things, internal things, things in between. Torn.
Young gives Click such a great energy, pace. First page a starter's pistol. The story never lets up, barely takes time to blink or breathe. Love everything about this book.
Best thing about Click? If forced to choose, couple things...
1) Young can write. Click is easily one of the best books I've read recently, and I read a lot. I'll proudly stack Click on top of books by some of my favorite authors. Not because these books have everything in common necessarily - except in tone perhaps. But because Young is a wonderfully talented and unique author - as is Chuck Palahniuk, as is A.M. Homes, as is William Gibson, as is Carlton Mellick III, etc. All for very different reasons. Great author = great book.
2) Click is violent, yes. But Young doesn't glorify/deify this violence. His protagonist spends most of the book trying to avoid or prevent this violence. It's forced upon him. It's a product of where he lives, the people around him, his 'gift'. Young doesn't celebrate this violence, but explores it, taps and pokes at it with a stick until it springs. Why? It's here, makes sense that it would be there.
3) Section to wonderful section, you're never quite sure if Young's anti-hero is awake, asleep, somewhere in between. Living? Dreaming? Hallucinating? You almost want drugs to be involved, but they aren't, which just makes the book more alive, aware, awake.
OK. That's my pitch. No snake oil in this bottle. No cure, but whatever it is, it's real. Read this book. Tell your friends - they'll thank you!
Not only is Click amazing, but the creative machine behind it - Another Sky Press - is positively revolutionary! Check out their site.
Support this book, this author, this press!
Please visit anothersky.org & jessereno.com.
Thank you for your time!
Chris Roberts
bar-code-art.com
Another Sky Press Forums » Our Releases
Click review - amazon.com (6-14-06)
(3 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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localroger
MemberWhat Chris said!
I've been trying to put into words how I felt about Click since I read it, and you did a wonderful job of saying it for me.Posted 2 years ago # -
"Section to wonderful section, you're never quite sure if Young's anti-hero is awake, asleep, somewhere in between. Living? Dreaming? Hallucinating? You almost want drugs to be involved, but they aren't, which just makes the book more alive, aware, awake."
Thank you. I loved everything about your review (it's always good to hear such kind words from someone I've never met) but the above quote in particular struck me just right. I fought hard to maintain that... balance of instability, and there were times when I had no idea how readers would engage with it. There are chapters which can be read as any of the above: awake/asleep/between/hallucinating/etc - and that decision is intentionally left up to the reader. As a result I always find it interesting to hear different readers' interpretations of both the book as a whole and of specific chapters - some readers are downright positive that he's crazy; others are positive he's not. And both are correct in their own way - reader interpretation is just as important as author intention (especially if part of the intent is to provide multiple interpretations).
So, again, thank you. It's all about what you said - never being sure. Not knowing. Just like him.Posted 2 years ago #
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