PositiveThe Chicago Review of BooksBecause the whodunnit is constructed with great skill and extends into the other sections, I suspect Coe’s novel will be remembered primarily as a mystery, whether he intended this or not. Had the culprit and the crime been less intriguing, the other two genres might have asserted themselves more, and the framing of the whole thing might stand more clearly in the memory. Instead, the reader is drawn most by the comforts of cosy crime ... These two younger characters, Rashida and Phyll, never quite live and breathe properly. Instead, they read as if they’ve been assembled from opinion pieces on millennial trends ... Some might only tolerate the hectic, nearly up-to-date politics or the quick and easy cultural comments, but they will be able to enjoy Coe’s novel as a book about books, because it is genial and gameful enough to be treated that way. If you turn your head and squint to read the novel, it won’t mind.
RaveChicago Review of BooksThere are troubles...but it is finally a triumph ... Comical ... The novel is vivid, and it is definitely someone else’s life, so its picture of what’s real is different from ours, though just as convincing.
PositiveChicago Review of BooksReally quite good ... Best quality is its thoroughness ... The strength of Something Rotten’s setup is enough to sustain it. There is suspense, and it is not only a question of what will happen in the end, but why, and what follows.
Ismet Prcic
PanChicago Review of BooksPrcic has his tics, which will irritate some readers more than others ... I suspect that Prcic used a thesaurus to decorate plain thoughts, or rather, utilized a thesaurus to bedizen spartan cogitations ... Unspeakable Home... has and will be commended for its honesty and its bravery in being honest, and for its apparently related formal experimentation. Leaving aside the sad story and the bag of gimmicks which are pretty much just grabbed at and thrown at the page, what about quality, or rightness of expression, let alone music?
Carys Davies
PositiveChicago Review of BooksDavies’ language is contemporary, but there is an older one in play here ... The late turn will seem too sudden to some readers, and they might consider the rushed, sheepish ending that follows to be a mercy. Others might be pleased by the surprise, or even heartened as Davies insists that amid strong customs, across thick obstructions, people can choose their own paths.
Vinson Cunningham
MixedChicago Review of BooksCunningham writes fairly well, but he relies too reliably on em dashes ... Without...interest, you need a real plot, an irony or two, a few laughs, anything at all to keep things lively.
Samantha Harvey
PositiveChicago Review of BooksWill serve best if you think of it as a sort of educational picture book, with generous, full color images done in prose description.
