The Flamethrowers: A Novel | 
bailedI‘ve been listening to this book for a few days but after a strong beginning I kind of lost what the book was about and couldn‘t make myself really care. So I am bailing. The good news is that I started another audiobook (I Have Some Questions For You) and that one is able to hold my attention so far! #1001books
so-soI seem to feel much the same as many other Litsy reviewers about this book. There were descriptive parts I thoroughly enjoyed, like the section about riding a motorcycle on the salt flats, but overall it was a long listen that often lost my full attention. I‘m not sure what I was supposed to get from it, and it definitely jumped around confusingly at times.
#audiobook #1001books #Reading1001
#TBRTakedown September 2023
so-so7-2-22: My 64th finished book of 2022! It‘s 1975 and Reno, a motorcycle riding artist is living in NYC. This story was a bit hard to follow and took me awhile to get through. Reno meets a group of artists, travels to Italy during a time of protests, comes back to NYC to start over after a break up and never gets her art going. The men all treat her poorly, as do most of the women. The 70s in NYC were a weird time of unrest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣6️⃣4️⃣
#FallFinds #Flames
Kushner‘s books often divide readers, but I love her writing. 🔥 🔥🔥
Currently reading Flamethrowers. The rest isn‘t April stack.
bailedBeautiful writing but I couldn‘t for the life of me engage with the story.
bailedIt just wasn't my style and I had a hard time following it.
...instead of a bottle they used a little stovetop espresso maker...
...The big inheritance question was who would get the guns....
None of it could be recreated. We'd eaten the lotus paste buns on a cold, damp November day...
One I've had on the shelf, from the library, for ages. 40 pages in and I've no idea where it's going...
so-soA novel about class and belonging populated by a bunch of people pretending to be...I dunno, imagined versions of themselves. The writing is good, the language is good, but I got mired in this and have no real idea about what Kushner was trying to say. This one was so hyped (been on my TBR for years) and it did nothing for me.
pickOverall I enjoyed this book. Some parts were beautiful and fascinating - especially the motorcycle parts - and Kushner generally writes well. The parts about the New York art scene got a little long in the tooth, however.
@hermyknee - it arrived! I love opening stuff, so that was much fun, thank you!
😍 to all the coffee and that mug! The bookmark is really cool, too. I'm so super curious on that strawberry infused coffee.. like I want to try it now, but I'm going to force myself to wait until morning.
Thank you, again! Awesome box and looking forward to this read 😁
My current read. I received this along with The Mars Room and this one intrigued me a bit more, so it was up first!
So many critics loved this book. I have a huge book hangover from my last read and the words she writes are just words. I‘m not getting any feeling from it or even any desire to know more. You get the picture. With that glowing recommendation, if anyone wants to try it, I‘m happy to mail it to you.
“The year is 1975 and Reno has come to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity in the art world... Reno begins an affair with the son of a motorcycle magnate. Her relationship takes her to Italy where she falls in with a radical political group.”
#juneitselectrifying #coolrider
so-soInteresting, but jarring. I don‘t think I knew enough about any of the cultural topics or incidents to make this book meaningful for me.
A little mini #bookhaul from my local used bookstore!
I've been horrible about the photo challenges, but here's my pick for a title that would make a great band name. #marchintoreading
This was #myfirstlitsypost two months ago! (Thanks to @Ebooksandcooks for liking!) #firsteverlitsypost
Today's #bookhaul from the library bookstore. Got everything for only $12! My husband made me leave and said I had to save some for next time.
pickAnd for my belated #WCW, posting from Vegas about Rachel Kushner who wrote about a woman named Reno. I loved this book especially the strong and female characters of Reno and Giddle trying to make it in the male dominated art world of 1970's New York. @BookishFeminist
"The man looked up at us. In his face I saw confusion and misery, and I understood that we had interrupted him. He'd been trying to kill himself. He looked up, helplessly alive, swaddled in his drenched clothes."
