Books Man Gone Down: A Novel
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Excellent writing, but...
I picked this book up while wandering through the store and was immediately struck by the poetic narrative. I love books that exemplify good writing, and the first few pages of "Man Gone Down" left me hungry for more. My husband asked, "What's it about?" to which I couldn't really answer, but insisted I loved the "voice" of the story.

Well, a couple hundred pages later the "voice" is getting tiresome amidst a plot consisting of wandering around the streets of New York moping, kicking around a friend's house moping, flashbacks consisting of a lot of mopingly not participating in scenes around him and instead drinking and, you guessed it, moping. I found myself heading to bed every night (I do my reading before bed) actually thinking, "Maybe tonight something will happen."

It doesn't. Nothing happens. Except a LOT of moping. Granted, it's beautiful, prosaic moping, but prose isn't a substitute for a story or character development that goes as deep as "moping and black and moping."

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Rating: - Put me to sleep
I started "Man Gone Down" with high hopes. The plot sounded interesting. The book started off good, but went downhill. Boring. There were moments here and there where things seemed like they would pick up, but didn't. As a whole, this book did not hold my interest.

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Rating: - read it twice, at least
This first novel beats anything written the same year. I couldn't put it down until I had read it twice. It's one of the most observant pieces in years. You look through the eyes of the narrator and see a world you can't see any other way. Go to a coffee shop, or go to work, or get drunk on a beach--and then read what happens along the way to the end. A sharply structured piece of work, it could teach other aspiring first novelists a few lessons in craftsmanship. MAN GONE DOWN should be on every budding writer's reading list.

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Rating: - Book Gone Down
I really hated this book. Yes, this guy is down on his luck, but he has so many good things going for him that he doesn't see. I got really tired of him shrugging, not answering questions directed at him., etc. I had to read it to the end just to see if anything happened, which nothing ever did. Awful.