Slumberland: A Novel Paperback – August 11, 2009

You may have thought it began and ended with DFW.Read Slumberland and you'll realize, within a page I'd wage, that oh no, there is a mind out there, and it writes novels (as if novels encapsulates what Slumberland will do to you) that will CHANGE you, like marriage, for better and for worse. I say worse because, you'll realize you'll never come close.

Like other readers, I don't know to what classifiation this novel belongs. I thought I had read "satirical fiction" before, but don't remember anything so strange and hilarious. Whenever I see the affronted-looking chicken on the cover, I either have to shake my head, or laugh to myself.

Music love. Music snobbery. Racism. Educators' "expectations" (see: racism) and what result. Berlin pre-and post- wall tear down. The culture crush of becoming "pop." The freedom of being passé (what a delightful thought!) Reality. Magical realism (in Germany?!) Sex and meaninglessness. Humor seemingly born of despair. It's all there. In a beautiful wrapper created by a man who writes beautifully, even about the ugly.

Paul Beatty is a poet and a masterful artist of language. This book takes music and turns it into literature. Beatty's use of language to convey the ideas of sound, texture, rhythm, complexity, jazz, is phenomenal. The story is gripping and very surprising. The character development is complex and nuanced. As a white man writing this review I am very self conscious. This is an extraordinary coming of age tale blending the complexities of being a person of color in a contemporary Berlin that has a frightening Nazi youth movement. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Kind of like having a friend who’s brilliant but doesn’t know when to stop talking. Definitely could use hyperlinks for all the cultural references. Sentences explode like firecrackers, but if you’re looking for a compelling plot maybe better to read George Eliot or Richard Wright.

Paul Beatty is a writer of uncanny ability. He thinks outside any box that exists. His words illuminate the tone of his novels and his words stress the need to carry a dictionary. I will greedily read any book associated with him and, in fact, relish his output.

At first I was a little hesitant to read this book, as I'm far from a music snob and I wasn't particularly interested in a deep treatise on racial identity. Fear not, this lovely novel will retain your interest even when DJ Darky is espousing the sounds of some band you've never heard of, or mulling over blackness in post-wall Berlin. Paul Beatty somehow contrives to write some seriously elevated prose without coming off as pretentious; the sly and inventive humor helps, and the quirky characters are memorable and lovable despite the fact that they all seem to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of music and would certainly be too-cool-for-you hipsters if transplanted to modern-day Brooklyn.

This is only the 2nd Paul Beatty book I've read. The first was 'White Boy Shuffle' and I was so blown away by the quality of the writing, the satirical humor mixed with political views and the well written characters I decided I had to read more. The way Beatty uses language I almost feel like he learned differently from me, he's just so good at writing! I wish he had more novels for me to read. Next up on my list is his book of poetry.

Clever and challenging. But most importantly entertaining and he writes beautifully. And if you have not read The Sell out, treat yourself.

This book is best suited to people that are fanatical about music and are interested in Berlin when the wall fell.The book left me with mixed feelings. It was entertaining, albeit more witty than funny. The author's name-dropping approach to musical and other references eventually becomes annoying.

Ritmo, raza, virtuoso.

I just kept wading through the dense 'look how clever, well-read and hip' I am prose until I couldn't take it any more and Iobbed it.Out of respect for the author I threw it out of a high-window.I like William Burroughs so I'm no stranger to obscure, dense, cool hip-hop writing. This guy ain't no Burroughs.