**** great comic novel

laughable premise, carelessly written; for blue-collar palahniuk, evian water effervesces...

**** good theory...not a dazzling stylist

**** witty and funny

* can't believe it was not written in 1775

*** good introduction, quite loosey-goosey...to remember: just buy ginjo

*** not as good as her latest, but some fun passages

** utterly humorless and totally unlikeable

**** basically a pastiche of Kafka and Beckett, but well done and written in a very clean style...she does everything except write a straightforward short story...maybe she is too intelligent and educated to be original? fun to read

odd, sing-songy

*** publishing history and obscenity trials of ulysses, well told

*** unique, vivid, norwegian—shades of javier marias

*** some interesting ideas; not great popular science writing, however

***** genius! amazing!

meh

***** masterpiece; perfect in every way

** fun to read after all these years

** rambling remarks on food by a brooklyn "foodois"

** "literary" thriller

*** nice introduction

** clever novel composed of aphorisms

This has the true Sebaldian stink. I got a whiff after 20 pages or so. It's not a novel as far as I'm concerned. "You are Franz Kafka discovering with amusement that the warm liquid you are vomiting is blood." No I'm not. And leave Kafka out of it. There may also be latent delusions of Pessoa. I knew Fernando Pessoa. Fernando Pessoa was a friend of mine. You're no Fernando Pessoa.

***** stunning stories, each unique

*** all you need

* interesting recipe for white chili (with chicken and white beans)

** not as good as his memoir; falters/fades after page 200

*** experimental stories: echoes of lipsyte, saunders, barthelme

**** very funny memoir