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The Ignored

The Ignored

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Little's sociological take on The Ignored....
Review: Little writes with passion and is a thinking man's horror writer of the first order.

The Ignored is one of the best novels I have ever read and that covers about 1,000 or so books. He takes an ordinary concept and turns it into a brilliant piece of literature. Many think he is too splatterpunk and grotesque. He tones it down here and does a masterful job of write a "genre-less story." Not horror, not drama, most probably described best as black humor.

Bob Jones is just your average everyday college grad.

He interviews for a job he doesn't expect to get.

To his shock, he gets it.

He is very rarely ever noticed except for his immediate boss who humiliates him at all costs.

Even his fellow cubicle worker hardly ever notices him.

Until one day he shows up in a clown outfit and attacks his boss in the lavatory, stabbing him to death.

Soon, he is accepted into a secret society of misfits and outcasts.

They call themselves "terrorists" for the common man.

And Little gets his juices flowing from there.

Little writes about society and issues in a lot of his books. Here he "Goes Postal" and writes like he himself has encountered some of these things in his own personal life.

Little is the heir apparent to King, now that Steve has annouced his retirement.

Take over the throne, Mr Little!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Little - The Ignored
Review: I'll readily admit that Little is not a purveyor of great literature. But he sure does write the occasional fun and entertaining novel. Reading The Ignored was refreshing for me after struggling through his awful new release, The Return a few months back. The Ignored is stylistically different from other novels, as its told from the first person. And while many of his other novels focus on evil inherent in everyday places or groups (The Association, The Town, The House, etc'), The Ignored focuses on broader issues. Instead of targeting chain stores or homeowners associations, Little takes aim at society as a whole and, specifically, the way in which we all live and work.

As he proves in The Ignored, Little is able to write a great novel when he puts his mind to it. While its not my favorite Little novel, The Ignored certainly is among his best.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing Little
Review: I like Bentley Little. I didn't really like "The Ignored" though. It starts out well and really kept my interest for the first third of the book: I have had jobs like Bob Jones describes, where you do not feel like anything you do matters and where coworkers treat you as if you do not exist. So, I could definitely relate to a job that one hates. But, as much as I liked this part of the novel, I kept waiting for the introduction of Philipe and what I thought would be the "real" start of the book. Well, Philipe arrives and the book makes a 180 degree turn into...disaster. From what could happen to silliness. I know that horror is based on extraordinary things happening to ordinary people like here, but there needs to still be some type of reality involved so you think, "hmmm, maybe this could happen." Therein lies the horror, at least to my way of thinking. This book just does not deliver. I did not care about most of the characters (although I really rooted for Bob's relationship with Jane from the outset). Parts dragged and the ending was very anticlimactic as far as I am concerned. I agree with other reviewers that the basis for Little's book "The Ignored" is a great idea, however, as stated before, it probably would have made a better short story than a full-length novel. Little's books are all about story and plot and he has great ideas. The execution of this one didn't work for me, though. I will continue with my Bentley Little reading, but "the Ignored" is at the bottom of my list, so far.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Rubbed me the wrong way
Review: I really wanted to like this book. I've been a diehard fan of horror novels and ghost stories since I was twelve, and I'm always eager to read something by a new writer.

Last year, I became aware of Bentley Little from some buzz on the Internet and went out and bought "The Town". It was okay, but it left me less than overwhelmed. Still, I kept reading a lot of good things about Little, and wanted to give him another chance.

A majority of amazon.com reviewers cited "The Ignored" as their favorite Little novel, so I thought that would be the perfect selection for a second-chance read.

Unfortunately, I was even less impressed with "The Ignored" than with "The Town". In fact, "The Ignored" really got under my skin'in the worst kind of way. I found it excessively whiny and juvenile. The characters were shallow and the writing just felt lazy.

I don't mean to be overly harsh in this review, but this book just really annoyed me. I don't think I've ever read a book with less sympathetic main characters.

Spurred by a society that refuses to notice them in any way, the Milquetoast main characters become 'Terrorists for the Common Man,' committing random acts of violence to draw attention to the plight of the Ignored. Particularly offensive after 9/11, the small-minded and spiteful actions of the main characters grate on even the most under-developed sense of goodness and decency. It's just hard to care about characters that are so broadly hurtful.

Little clearly has some things on his mind, however, and wields some weighty existentialist themes in "The Ignored"'themes of identity and isolation. It's too bad that the impact of these themes is so greatly diminished by the dullness and meanness of the story's presentation.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not horror, but still entertaining
Review: "The Ignored" is another excellent work by one of the modern masters of horror. However, unlike his other works, "The Ignored" is not a horror novel. It's more of a sci-fi story that reads like an extended version of a Twilight Zone episode.

The story centers around an average guy, Bob Jones, who lives an average life. After accepting a new job, he begins to realize that his life is average and that no one seems to notice him, regardless of his actions, choice of clothing, etc. He eventually reaches a breaking point and snaps.

At this point, he encounters a stranger who is just like him -- simply average. Bob is asked if he would like to co-exist with average people like himself. Bob's decision has him to continue on an emotional rollercoaster. Bob realizes his life will have to reach the bottom of the mountain before he can start working his way to the top, and to a new start on life. His inner struggle with what life throws at him is described in great detail and gives the reader a genuine feel for what Bob experiences.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fight Club-ish
Review: Wow, I'm an avid reader, and let me tell you, this book is AMAZING! So far I've read The Store and The Ignored, and no horror writer compares! His stories are so unusual, and definitely keep your attention.

This is a great book. Very off beat, bizarre.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ignored. tsk tsk tsk
Review: Bentley little smokes two barrels with this pastiche of psychotic mayhem, fading reality, and furoring unreality. The plot is one of the craziest ever. It is so original that it can be held as eccentric. The gang of ignored are similar to Tyler Durden's nogooders in Fight Club. The office experiences and dialogue had me laughing to puke. If you're looking for something to keep you awake or fade away, The Ignored is it. Expect the unexpected.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting Story
Review: Bentley Little is very good at coming up with unique story ideas. However, especially in this case, the execution comes off as rather stilted. There were several "clunky" scenes throughout the novel that could have used a little more editing. I will say that I really could relate to how the protagonist felt at being ignored early in the story. The main idea seemed to tap a vein in self doubt with which the reader could empathize.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bentley Little's The Ignored
Review: Bentley Little is 'the man' when it comes to originality. The basic premise of this novel is quite true: There are average folks out there who are all but 'Ignored', people who-not on their own volition- live their lives in almost aboslute anonymity because of their 'bland' genetic makeup; to achieve his horrific goal however, Bentley constructs atop this basic premise a parodic house...people so average that, in time they will become seeming non entities to those 'cooler' folks around them...LITERALLY! As I read this book, alarm bells and little airy voices were at war within, for the most part becuase of the believability factor...we know it's not possible to 'eventually' become literally invisible because of what is considered 'average makeup', but that's it, Bentley manages to make us believe, forces us to believe. I devoured this book in one day, though I must admit, the information on the last hundred pages or so was a bit gratuitous...writers call it padding. Nonetheless The Ignored is unlike anything I have ever read in the genre, it is original, it is true to life, it is thought provoking. Now, on to Bentley. The man cannot write, period! But sometimes, when profound, voluminous content is ubiquitous throughout a novel, it doesn't matter very much if the author can write.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Revenge of Joe Average?
Review: Who hasn't felt the pull of mediocrity in their lives? When you know you've "settled" for most things - your job, your dreams, your wife? We all have, unless we happen to have "Trump", "King" or "Alex Rodriguez" at the top of our checkbooks. This staid but engaging foray into the life of one such ordinary man (in fact, the poster boy for "average tastes" - all of his favorite movies, cds, foods, and books are listed on the most popular charts - just like everyone else) delves into areas many of us think about, but would never stretch the ordinary boundaries of our lives to actually do. Think of the nerds in those revenge movies - add to that a dark, disturbing twist on conforming that will leave the reader subtly shaken, but also moved and validated. The main character "Bob Jones" (no comment) finds himself nearly invisible in the world - to his girlfriend, to his coworkers, his family, everyone - but a group of others just like him who aren't going to take it anymore. Very different from Little's other efforts, but just as enjoyable.


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