Lucy Ives

Goodreads giveaway book.
This is one of only two books in my life that I did not want to finish. I found the writing style verging on self-indulgent with confusing sentence structure and the repetition of imagery, phrases and the overuse of similes throughout the book. I managed to get through about 3/4 of the book and I decided I wasn't going to torture myself anymore...
I usually enjoy books with long narrations and more of a "poetry" structure - I was looking forward to this for that reason. I read that the author had previously published poetry and I think that I may have enjoyed reading those books instead. I did enjoy some of the imagery which is why I gave the book 2 stars. I do think this book needs some serious editing though.
… (mehr)

Troy Loudermilk is a huckster, but not really with any real end game. He pressures his friend Harry to come to a seminar school with him so Harry can write the poetry that Loudermilk passes off as his own. While at the school, Loudermilk entertains a bevvy of beautiful women, charms everyone with “his” poetry, and lives his best life. Harry, however, is miserable, socially awkward, and increasingly disgusted by is frenemy.

The cast of characters that fill out this novel are charmingly cliched. There is the alcoholic, sad teacher whose more successful and beautiful wife he is in the shadow of. Their precocious daughter is a true “artist” who spies on the goings-on of the school and probably knows more than anyone else. There is the student who knows something is not right about Loudermilk, and who is determined to figure it out and expose him. There is the creative fiction writer who can no longer write and is hoping that something at the seminar will kick-start her writing.

This was a very enjoyable read. I loved the author’s writing style and expression. It is full of satire and pokes fun at campus life, writing culture, and even itself.… (mehr)

ADVANCE GALLEY REVIEWS from Penguins First to Read
by Sandra Brower, Lincoln
Rated 3.5
This book took until page 80 for me to straighten out in my brain the writing style of Ms. Ives. Finally, I realized that I found the book oddly delightful in ways. Maybe, because as a fellow deep thinker, all over the place, go into my brain and see things happening in story form, like Stella's view of her own maddening stagnation when it came to one of her relationships (I mean, she uses a Star Wars reference for Pete's sake!!)

I just got the formation of her thoughts. Ms. Ives creates an impossible view of the inner workings of an inner NYC museum, that none of us might ever get a glimpse of seeing.

I did find it a little bit forced at the end. Through 304 pages of story it's only until towards the end we get even a hint of a resolution coming to the mysteryof Elysia.

I am a notetaker when it comes to reading as I review these books. There are a ton of art references in this book. If only for the fun of exploring a museum might you read Impossible Views of the World. If for pure reading, it might just be too Impossible to finish. Boy, did a re-learn a lot about Limner art! If nothing else.
Sorry, I gives this book a 2.5 rating.… (mehr)

Stella, a mid-level employee at a New York City art museum, has hit some turbulence in her personal life. When her coworker dies, it sparks a wonderfully distracting scavenger hunt to figure out the origin of a secret map.

I enjoyed Lucy Ives' prose, and the mystery reminds me of The Crying of Lot 49 in its twists. Ultimately, I was left wanting more. Was Paul's death all that it seemed? How does WANSEE, the Nestle-like corporation funding the museum, fit into the story? Perhaps I wanted for things to be tied together neatly at the end, and I'm feeling sore that this is not to be. I will be thinking about it long after slipping it back into the returns box at the library.… (mehr)