The Ask by Sam Lipsyte

The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The beginning was really funny (and sad) but after about two thirds through I got tired of the characters not developing and their situation devolving. Lipsyte is very intelligent and witty, and kudos to you if you get all his jokes. I’m sure so many of his jokes went right over my head, but oh boy will you feel full of yourself when you get some of them. Ha! Ultimately, I thought Don, a minor character, was the most interesting, though I didn’t like the direction his story took. The plot is mostly just a vehicle for satire and who cares what happens to them anyway... not me.

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Hark by Sam Lipsyte

Hark by Sam Lipsyte
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The writing is good, and the subject of the book seemed like the exact sort of thing I’d love: an anti-modern-culture focus (mindfulness) guru turned unwilling cult leader. But the style was impossible for me to get past. I’m not a fan of absurdist ironic fiction such as that of Douglas Adams, but at least Adams’s writing has a light quality. This was absurdist and another reviewer used the word “caustic” and I can’t find a better word. The characters are real but the style makes them seem cartoonish at the same time. I don’t think I got anything from the book really.

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