I really liked it. It was almost more of a series of vignettes than a novel, but it flowed nicely and was in chronological order.Justin is very likable as a main character, even though he is a jerk sometimes. And, ultimately the book is full of funny descriptions and back-hand comments like: "At fourteen, I had the physique of a sperm: an enormous oval head trailing a skinny, tapering body".I enjoyed Kirn's depictions of the dysfunctional (but still functioning) family: "That was what Mike called our family: you people. It made me feel like an intruder in his life." and "there was no way to get around the feeling that everyone's in the middle of his own life and at the edge of everybody else's." for example.As a child of the 80s (although Justin is a bit older than me), I liked some of the fun 80s references. I thought the ADD/Ritalin stuff might be over the top (but relevant after having just read Delivered from Distraction and having lots of ADD conversations here). I wasn't that interested in the Mormonism, but found his tongue-in-cheek commentary (especially about Opal as a semi-prostitute for God) to be funny. I think my favorite quote was Justin's warning that "When people try to quit things, other things take their places."Overall it was funny, there were some poignant moments, and even though the plot was rambling it kept me entertained and interested.
I saw the movie adaptation years ago - or rather I watched 30 minutes before pulling out the DVD in frustration at the self-conscious quirkiness of it and the black hole of acting that is Keanu Reeves - so imagine my surprise when that weird, plotless mess of a movie actually was adapted from a book. I had to read it, assuming the book was better. Well, it wasn't. Not plotwise anyway. It is not about a thumbsucking addiction. It is a series of events in the life of a teenager in a rather eccentric (effed up) family that eventually converts to Mormonism for some reason. The only part I remember clearly is the only non-comedic, non-ironic bit; where the boy and his father go hiking in Glacier National Park (I think it was Glacier) and get lost. Then, after that chapter, it's on to something else with no mention of what came before. It's almost like a collection of short stories, some of them satisfying, some not, but adding up to less than the sum of its parts.
What do You think about Thumbsucker (1999)?
This book was an odd experience for me. He's an excellent writer, and there were some great 80s details. But the book I was reading was not the book Kirn was writing. This became clear toward the end of the book, and led to a certain deflation of my enjoyment. After the first two chapters I saw a beautiful hand-made clock with perfectly interlocking gears and springs. But after Justin's heroic save of his father in the woods, the strange veering into Mormonism, it was like a cuckoo sprang out of the clock and disrupted the subtle elegance of it. Still, he's a great writer. And i don't think I've ever written out the word "cuckoo" before.
—Cameron
I normally detest clever teenagers, probably because I've never known one in real life (not even when I was a teenager - present company included), but I found Kirn's teenage "wisdom" to be palatable, especially since much of it was not wisdom at all but misguided confidence. There is plenty misguidedness in this novel, which is why it's so fun (I had to hold back a lot of public snickering). People who read novels for plots won't like this book. It's a bit fragmented; a bit like three novellas, loosely lining up. But the language is as crisp and sweet as an autumn apple (I promise, there are no such hokey lines in the book) and the teenage cleverness is counter-balanced with enough obliviousness to make it pleasant for picky pricks like me.
—Brent Legault
An entertaining novel that doesn't quite consistently shine. Perhaps it's a matter of personal taste, but the picaresque characters here tend not to reach any moment of clarity or true conflict. Whatever events happen seem to happen without consequence, and characters by the end of the novel are just the same as they were from the beginning. Kirn has some interesting insights into the quirks of American suburbia--the strangely neurotic power-struggles over the mundane (high school debate teams, passive-aggressive board game sessions, Ritalin addictions)--but I never found the payoff to be satisfying. There is a kind of manic riffing, but never a full composition. For something richer, I would recommend Denis Johnson's "Jesus' Son."
—Mitchell
