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Love And The Mess We're In (2012)

by Stephen Marche(Favorite Author)

3.72 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1554471079 (ISBN13: 9781554471072)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Gaspereau Press

review 1: I picked this up after I saw a presentation about print type that discussed the use of unusual form of narrative in Marche's book, and I must admit I was blown away.The plot is simple and rather ordinary, a couple meet in a foreign city to engage in an adulterous relationship while the woman's husband is committed to a hospital for mentally challenged. You would suppose at reading that plot synopsis that this book would offer nothing new - but it is the physical structure of the book's print that changes one's perception of the novel. In fact, the book challenges ideas of how we physically read. Being forced to turn and twist and unfold and refold and read across pages...it's exhilarating! The actual story did very little for me, but it was the experience of reading the bo... moreok that make this a five star read. I actually want to re-read it just to see what new ways of reading it can force me to discover.
review 2: First of all, as an artifact, this book is an absolutely beautiful thing. As usual, Gaspereau Press has outdone itself. The design, the paper, the type, everything about this book is aesthetically pleasing. The story is also a beautiful thing, but beautiful in its untidiness and its honesty. The prose is enchanting, the structure is unusual but well-suited to the material, and the typographical play adds to the reading experience in unexpected ways. This is a love story for those who have outgrown the idea of love with fairytale happy endings, and accept that love is messy. Stephen Marche has created a small masterpiece. less

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