I’m not sure if I disliked the main protagonist of The Flamethrowers so much because she was so naive and so…unformed as a person (purposeful or not) or, perhaps, because she reminded me so much of my younger self. To be honest, it wasn’t until the end of the book that I questioned whether or not I was meant to like any of the characters.Yes, they all had redeeming moments but on a whole I found their lives painful to read about. There’s only so much a person can take reading a book about character who not only are assholes but spend half of the book talking about what assholes they are (did you follow me there? Good, I didn’t either.) I kept hope alive by imagining the great coming of age moments that must come near the end. Some great revelation that would tie all the asshole-ness together but it never came. To be fair, I don’t need the lesson or the happy ending; in a lot of book, the plot is enough on it’s own to give a sense of satisfaction and understanding but this just had none of that. By the end it just seemed like…navel gazing by the characters (in really dense prose – harder to read, still.)I will say, I really admire Kushner’s ability to tie not only past and present together but stories across nations in a way that masterfully related social movements in a meaningful way. She was able to bring to life a malaise and an art that embodied the era and dictated the cultures to come.Maybe I’ll just leave it on that happy note… Meh. Meh cubed, actually. There are occasional flashes of very fine writing and brief episodes of compelling story-telling but these are afloat in a sea ennui. It didn't help that there were almost no characters I either liked or understood. This felt like it could have been ghost-written by Richard Ford. Those who have responded well to his work will most likely enjoy this novel more than I did.
What do You think about The Flamethrowers (2013)?
Great book! Has a great aspect on the class system and equality between genders.
—Nene
