Monday, February 25, 2013

Throwing The Flamethrowers Out the Window!



I am about 50% in this book The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner.  I have to admit that it is somewhat tedious. There are moments when I'm totally there with Reno, our heroine, and other times when I'm honestly bored out of my mind. Maybe it's because it is Monday that I may feel a little burned out, or it could be that the book is actually pretty boring. I concede that my usual reads are thrillers/mysteries that are full of shock and awe, but that in no way stops me from giving other novels a fair shake. I have read my fair share of literary novels that I cherish more than my usually macabre menu.

The story is being told through the eyes of Reno which is enjoyable because it should make whoever she is standout all the more. In this case, it does not. The groups of people she encounters are flamboyant and deminsional whereas she's just a wallflower for me. If she wasn't so interested in speed, motorcycles, skiing and going fast, I probably would have had no interest in her. The artists that she meets are so much more interesting and I want them to be telling the story. I guess I can appreciate that she doesn't have much going for her in the way of feelings or emotions. This lack of characteristics makes it easier to enjoy the moment she's in instead of worrying why she did or didn't react a certain way.

So far, The Flamethrowers is a well written book that I just can't seem to stay interested in for longer than a few minutes. This in no way is the authors' fault. I just need something more to draw me to Reno or a little more structure of the plot. I don't understand yet what all this has to do with anything. I guess I'll have to read on to find out where Reno is on the verge to.

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