Defiance

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but challenging
Review: "Defiance" is written in the format of a journal/stream of conciousness of a mentally unstable genius who has murdered two young men. It follows her thoughts as she sits in prison on death row awaiting her execution. At times this book can be hard to follow as it jumps around from one subject to another... but you truly do feel as if you are reading the ramblings of a psychopath. Its a challenging read but worth the effort in the end.

My book group read "Defiance" as one of our selections. Most people in the group did not enjoy the book and found it hard to follow and very disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: The fluctuation of being within and without this text, a sensation Maso's great manipulation of language induces, is very entertaining and the strength of this book. Interesting to read, with ingenious linguistic and literary devices - sometimes actual mathematic algorithms represented in diagram - that come from within the mind of the protagonist; disclosing her character is the process of this book. The almost interesting plot comes second to the protagonist's interiority. 'Perversely brilliant' are words that come to mind. I like that.

Rating:
Summary: tongue
Review: The fluctuation of being within and without this text, a sensation Maso's great manipulation of language induces, is very entertaining and the strength of this book. Interesting to read, with ingenious linguistic and literary devices - sometimes actual mathematic algorithms represented in diagram - that come from within the mind of the protagonist; disclosing her character is the process of this book. The almost interesting plot comes second to the protagonist's interiority. 'Perversely brilliant' are words that come to mind. I like that.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: This is a masterful telling of a young woman's all to brief life. "Defiance" to that life's continuation is the emotional basis of the story and the springboard for revisting her traumatic life. As each layer is peeled away, we begin to see the psychological scars that lie deep within. This is a hauntingly emotional tale. I was propelled along by the extraordinary quality of the writing and the depth of emotions conveyed. Stayed with me for months. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fine literature.

Rating:
Summary: Defiantly Difficult (but so worth it)
Review: This is not a book that readily yields its secrets. For some people (myself included), it takes a couple reads to be appreciated. You'll get along much better in this prison inside the protagonist's head if you think for a moment about everything you know about the way fiction is "supposed" to work, about plot, setting, and character, then just wad that up and throw it away. Plot, character, and setting flow into one another and close in on the reader and the protagonist. It is a difficult book to just sit down and read. It lulls in spots and occasionally gets completely incomprehensible. But it starts speeding toward its terminus in the last 25 pages or so, and then it ends, exactly how you think it's going to. But that isn't even important. In this book, it's the winding, horrifying road the narrator takes you down. You're not going to understand everything the moment she gives it to you. But stick with it, read to the end, and you'll be able to say "I get it---I think." Like any really good book, the most important thing about it is not necessarily what you get on the page, but what you think about after you're done reading.

Rating:
Summary: Defiantly Difficult (but so worth it)
Review: This is not a book that readily yields its secrets. For some people (myself included), it takes a couple reads to be appreciated. You'll get along much better in this prison inside the protagonist's head if you think for a moment about everything you know about the way fiction is "supposed" to work, about plot, setting, and character, then just wad that up and throw it away. Plot, character, and setting flow into one another and close in on the reader and the protagonist. It is a difficult book to just sit down and read. It lulls in spots and occasionally gets completely incomprehensible. But it starts speeding toward its terminus in the last 25 pages or so, and then it ends, exactly how you think it's going to. But that isn't even important. In this book, it's the winding, horrifying road the narrator takes you down. You're not going to understand everything the moment she gives it to you. But stick with it, read to the end, and you'll be able to say "I get it---I think." Like any really good book, the most important thing about it is not necessarily what you get on the page, but what you think about after you're done reading.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary!
Review: This novel is not about that "stuff" folks call a piece of fiction. This is an innovative, incredibly powerful inner journey of a woman (a brilliant, articulate professor) who just also happens to be a serial killer. But the murder/the killings/ the sexual deviances inherent in the murders is NOT what makes this book extraordinary - a fabulous and incredible read. It is an absolutely original new "form" of novel. It is about Form and not about Content, and you have to flow with it, with the fabulous language, the incredible use of language to connect not only the thoughts of the narrator (to the reader) but to her entire inner tableaux of living experiences (which IS by the way what we all do as we live our lives, breathing in and out, with our past histories affecting us in deep and mysterious ways). This book is so good I can't even stand that I had to finish it. I am a writer myself, and I wish I had the ability to write it. I wish I could read it NEW again, and enjoy it all over again with that fresh, immediacy that Ms. Maso (who I JUST discovered) brings to fiction. Unbelievable! People who don't like this book are not into literature. I suggest Stephen King, instead. Truly. This is Literature.