The Metaphysical Touch

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Summary: Some novels just *have it* and this is one of them!
Review: I discovered Metaphysical Touch accidently, browsing the library shelves. Although I pay attention to these things, hadn't seen it discussed or reviewed anywhere. It turns out to be one of the most extraordinary contemporary novels I've read in years. Not that it isn't flawed (the ending, in particular, reads as if Brownrigg had backed herself into a corner; and JD's "Diery" is far superior to the rest of the novel), but it is a brilliant rendering of what it means to be an intelligent person coming of age in the 90's. In short, I was astounded by this book.

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Summary: The Metaphysical Touch
Review: I found this book interesting to start with, but when it began to consist of nothing but transcripts of the sophomoric philosophizing by email between the two main characters, I simply couldn't keep going. Pity, as it is well written, as other reviewers have agreed.

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Summary: I laughed! I cried!
Review: I have now read _The Metaphysical Touch_ twice. The first time I was simply stunned by the skill of the writing and the depth and reality of the characters. I laughed out loud five or six times, especially at a description of the Baltimore waterfront that moved skilfully (almost as if in a film tracking shot) towards a hysterically funny climax. The second time I read it I could appreciate some smaller details of writerly skill and magic. Most of all the characters have stayed with me over time. They seem so real and true--I wish I could meet them, and it almost seems as though I have. J.D., one of the two main characters, is a melancholy comic masterpiece. This book will bring you great joy. I can't wait to see what Brownrigg writes next.

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Summary: Good things but persistant in one irrelevant element
Review: I like this book and the ideas It's so intellegently written. I thoroughly enjoyed the online discussion. I loved the philosophical themes running through it. If they had omitted every reference to lesbianism that it contained it would have been even better. At first it didn't bother me it was lightly touched on then 3/4ths of everyone introduced were lesbians then the mother of Martha decides divorce makes her want to have lesbian tendencies too. I tolerated this stuff but It was completely irrelevant to anything but the author bringing across that she new the subject of lesbianism.

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Summary: philosophy reborn
Review: Like its protagonist, I am a former academic philosopher faced with a dilemma of how to live as a philosopher in the technological world. So I was worried that this book when I first chanced upon it would be a mirror image of my own paltry existence. What I found instead was a meditation, witty and hip (but always gentle and human), on the overcoming of absurdities and pre-fabricated relationships. While the book might have been trimmed by some fifty pages or so, and while the ending is not up to the rest of the gentle tension that the intriguing plot has built, the book as a whole nevertheless reverberates. Brownrigg is an artist in character creation and in the drawing of encounters between characters, both in virtual reality and in person. The brief scene towards the end where the main protagonist re-encounters her fellow students at Cody's in Berkeley is sheer poetry in its simplicity. This book is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in what draws us together and what makes us think in this present-day world.

Rating:
Summary: philosophy reborn
Review: Like its protagonist, I am a former academic philosopher faced with a dilemma of how to live as a philosopher in the technological world. So I was worried that this book when I first chanced upon it would be a mirror image of my own paltry existence. What I found instead was a meditation, witty and hip (but always gentle and human), on the overcoming of absurdities and pre-fabricated relationships. While the book might have been trimmed by some fifty pages or so, and while the ending is not up to the rest of the gentle tension that the intriguing plot has built, the book as a whole nevertheless reverberates. Brownrigg is an artist in character creation and in the drawing of encounters between characters, both in virtual reality and in person. The brief scene towards the end where the main protagonist re-encounters her fellow students at Cody's in Berkeley is sheer poetry in its simplicity. This book is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in what draws us together and what makes us think in this present-day world.

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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: My best friend and I, who live in separate states and are in touch mostly by email, read this book at the same time. We marvelled at the intelligence of the writing, and the geniune friendship between J.D. and Pi. Many of the late night questions we ponder were addressed in M. Touch. We both felt compelled to write the author a letter of thanks for such a touching (no pun) book. But we never got around to it. Hopefully, Sylvia Brownrigg will read this review! I can't wait for her next book!!!

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Summary: I almost quit on this one... you shouldn't
Review: The beginning of this book was slow, painfully so at times. The verbosity of the author makes it hard to get into the story. Then, as the story begins to move in and out of the email converstations things pick up and I couldn't put the book down. At that point I realized (or at least speculated) that the writing style was meant to set a tone for the story. As the book switches characters, the writing style changes subtly. In the end, I was happy I read the book and would recommend it to you.

I for one did not find the mention of "alternative lifestyles" distracting or offensive. I did, however, find the "plugs" for Dodie Smith strange and out of place.