PositiveVol. 1 BrooklynNow, let’s look at this book for what it is: a debut novel about a man teetering on that edge between child and adult, meandering jobless, getting high, making witty/cynical observations on a world he’s too young and ignorant to comprehend yet. It’s a story or trope or whatever-you-want-to-call-it that’s been told so many times before, it could be its own genre. Most of the time, yeah, these kinds of stories are so lifeless and whiney that you feel like picking up a blunt instrument and seeking vengeance for the trees who gave their lives for such mediocrity to exist on paper. What separates Welfare, though—and this is a testament to the skill of the author—is its honesty, its heart, and its careful balance between detachment from and immersion in the world of these young bums. It’s written in a way that your judgments of the characters are entirely your own. The narrator barely tries to defend his actions, while simultaneously avoiding too much self-deprecation ... Another thing Welfare has going for it is its level of authenticity. It feels like it was written by a seventeen-year-old boy, and that’s as scary as it is impressive ... Every sentence, every paragraph, has a rhythm to it … it’s not as beige as Tao Lin, or quite as quip-filled and minimalist as Sam Pink. It’s close to being Bukowski’s blue-collar matter-of-factness ... Anwyll has got a unique, approachable voice.
Jeff Jackson
RaveVol.1 Brooklyn\"Destroy All Monsters is definitely one that lingers well after closing the last page, but I can’t help but see it as a small painting on a giant canvas. I can’t help but imagine it as being even sharper if it’d been chiseled at a little more, if maybe Side A would have matched the musculature of Side B. On that note, I definitely recommend reading the halves of the book in order. It’s being advertised as working either way you approach it, and that’s true, but when reading Side A first, Side B presents a twist that is too good to spoil. My complaints of length aside, this is still a masterful work by someone I’d dare to call one of the greatest living authors ... Rather than present a clear, one-sided critique of the social climate, Jeff Jackson has done something much more powerful and genuine with Destroy All Monsters: he’s given the readers a mirror.\
