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Everything Matters

post #1 of 48
8/28/09 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 
by Ron Currie

Anyone here read this? Dave B? Zooey? Anyone?
It's a great exploration of mortality and existential angst hung on a sci-fi premise. One guy has known all his life the exact date and time an asteroid will destroy earth (thanks to mysterious omniscient voices in his head) and hijinx ensue.
Someone read this so we can talk about it.
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post #2 of 48
8/31/09 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
You all suck.
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post #3 of 48
8/31/09 at 2:47pm
Better than Too Fat to Fish?
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post #4 of 48
8/31/09 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
You all suck.
Sorry, man. It's been Infinite Jest for me since June (with a few distractions along the way). Sounds interesting, though.
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post #5 of 48
8/31/09 at 2:52pm
My library only has eight copies, and they're all either out or on hold. I'm requesting it, though.
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post #6 of 48
8/31/09 at 2:56pm
Adding it to my painfully long LAPL queue!

ETA: Goddamn, number 50 on the list and they're replacing one copy, so there are only two copies available. I'll be back in this thread at this time next year.
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post #7 of 48
8/31/09 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
Alright, I'll grant you all an extension this time. But rest assured, I will be bumping this thread in a few months...
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post #8 of 48
8/31/09 at 3:27pm
Yeah, my library system has 4 copies and 17 requests so it may be a while before I can give it a read. Thanks for the thread though, I was just thinking, "I wish someone would suggest an interesting sci-fi-esque book for me to read."
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post #9 of 48
9/2/09 at 3:37pm
Hey, co-workers just gave me a Borders gift card for $20 for pulling together a bunch of stuff for a presentation at the last minute. Gonna go buy this today.
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post #10 of 48
9/2/09 at 10:06pm
Wow, just the "birth" chapter alone would be a great short story. So, yeah, everything else is officially on hold until I finish this book. Thanks for the heads-up, BobClark.
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post #11 of 48
9/3/09 at 10:20am
Thread Starter 
Phew!
I was afraid I'd be in trouble if you used a 20 dollar gift card on it and didn't like it.
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post #12 of 48
9/3/09 at 11:52am
I'd just kill you! No big deal.

At first I thought the way that Currie switches narrators was going to get irritating, but it's pretty awesome. Deeper thoughts later, right now I'm just enjoying the ride.
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post #13 of 48
9/3/09 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
The father is probably my favorite character.
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post #14 of 48
9/4/09 at 4:44pm
At first I wasn't sure about the father, but (POSSIBLY SPOILERISH I GUESS?)




seeing how he deals with Rodney's situation and then Debbie's alcoholism, I like him more and more while Junior just irritates the shit out of me. I thought it was going to be the exact opposite when I started, with the father being pretty much a non-entity and Junior being a compelling protagonist, but hey, I'll take some conventions/expectations being turned on their heads. And Reggie's story = whoa.
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post #15 of 48
9/6/09 at 12:40am
Wow. Eric Fuchs. And the resolution to that entire build-up and ensuing chaos was kinda awkward, but not as bad as several reviewers seemed to think. I just feel horrible for Junior at this point regardless of whether or not things are going to work out between he and Amy.
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post #16 of 48
9/6/09 at 2:30am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, i have no idea what that was all about. Such a gruesome, bizarre interlude.
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post #17 of 48
9/6/09 at 11:58am
It's on my hold list at the library, should have soon.
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post #18 of 48
9/14/09 at 3:44pm
I just finished this. Good god.
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post #19 of 48
9/14/09 at 4:15pm
Picking it up tonight. Last recommendations I followed from BobClark were The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and A Good and Happy Child, so I'm pretty excited.
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post #20 of 48
9/14/09 at 5:56pm
Yeah, same here. I'm never doubting his word again when it comes to books. His advice on how to pay your bills using his penis, though, is still a little suspect.
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post #21 of 48
9/24/09 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake View Post
Wow, just the "birth" chapter alone would be a great short story. So, yeah, everything else is officially on hold until I finish this book. Thanks for the heads-up, BobClark.
Just finished the "birth" chapter and Debbie's first chapter. This is one fucked up book.
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post #22 of 48
9/24/09 at 12:49pm
It's so good. I felt like I had been hit by a truck thanks to the last few chapters.
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post #23 of 48
9/27/09 at 7:29pm
Only the last few chapters? Maybe I'm too empathetic, but this book has been suckerpunching me left and right. Can't remember the last time I had to take a break from reading a book (too intense). Best I can manage is a few chapters at a time (about 2/3 through).

Spoiler (swipe): John Sr.'s cancer diagnosis? Damn.

Agree with Bob and you. The father is definitely the most compelling character. I find myself hoping nothing happens to him.
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post #24 of 48
9/27/09 at 9:48pm
Just finished. Spoilers Ahoy:

I think I knew exactly how the book would end as soon as Junior and Amy sat through the Challenger explosion, that no matter how much you would wish that the comet would miss, or that people would survive, or escape, it wouldn't happen. The book is almost cruel to the reader in it's raising of expectation, only to crush them in the next two pages. Junior nearly kills himself to cure his father's cancer(!), only to have him die in a car accident a week later. He convinces Amy to come with him on the mothership and live, only to have her killed in a bombing while signing up. Even Rodney, finally gets into rehab for a crippling cocaine addiction at age 13 only to suffer a major brain injury. The Yo-yo-ing was so extreme, but I still plowed through. I definitely loved the book, and I definitely took out of it to treasure every moment because life is fleeting, but man, Currie is cruel. It's like chopping off one hand to make you appreciate the other.
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post #25 of 48
9/28/09 at 10:20am
Thread Starter 
I wouldn't consider it cruel. Bleak, maybe. Swipe-There's a sliver of optimism in his girlfriend's death. (BTW- I've got a big problem with that scene. It's absolutely ridiculous that she would have to go to a public registry to get on the ship. She's the inventor's girlfriend. All she needs to do is tell him she'll go and it would be taken care of. That plot hole kind of pulled me out of the book at one of it's most important moments.)
All of those instances you cite are a metaphor for death. There's just no defeating it, no matter what. You can tell this author has grappled with a crippling fear of death perhaps all his life. Junior's knowledge of the comet is the author's awareness of his own mortality.
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post #26 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:09am
Son of a bitch!
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post #27 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
Mwa-hahahahaha!
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post #28 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:24am
I say cruel because of the optimism he infuses prior to the demise. It's a pretty well defined pattern that he establishes with many parts of the book:
> This seriously sucks
> Holy crap! Miraculous recovery!
> Screw you it all falls apart randomly!!!

I know what he's going for with that, no matter what happens you can't stop death, even with miraculous courage and ingenuity, but still, it's the hope he injects in between that makes me go from bleak to cruel. Again, this isn't a criticism, mind you. I don't fault Currie for it, it actually made it more effective.

Oh, side note to Doug, I was thinking about your recent "bleak" comics about buying milk when I was reading this, putting 2 and 2 together, and laughing.
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post #29 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:28am
One thing that irritated me (swipe):

The voices tell Junior that he could have picked an alternate reality that "Held no comets or cancer diagnoses". I know that the author was going for an unstoppable death metaphor, but that took me out of it a bit, you would think that given the option to not have The Destroyer of Worlds take out earth, Junior might have considered that....
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post #30 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Miller View Post

Oh, side note to Doug, I was thinking about your recent "bleak" comics about buying milk when I was reading this, putting 2 and 2 together, and laughing.
Wow, that's hilarious because I never conciously noticed the (obvious) influence until you pointed it out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Miller
One thing that irritated me (swipe):
Swipe SPOILERS, yo!

Maybe he already went through a similar "no comet" scenario when he cured his dad's cancer. It could be that he learned trying to stop something as big and deadly as cancer or a comet was ultimately not as important as enjoying your time on earth. Or something.
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post #31 of 48
9/28/09 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
Maybe he already went through a similar "no comet" scenario when he cured his dad's cancer. It could be that he learned trying to stop something as big and deadly as cancer or a comet was ultimately not as important as enjoying your time on earth. Or something.
Pretty much my feelings on it.
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post #32 of 48
9/28/09 at 1:27pm
SON OF A BITCH!! (re - ending of part 2)
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post #33 of 48
9/28/09 at 1:38pm
Oh, poor HBarr. I can't begin to imagine what part 3 is gonna do to ya man.
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post #34 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:09pm
Part 3 was pretty organic (and foregone). Almost as though having already prepared you with parts 1 and 2, part 3 was a gentle and fitting ending.

Fantastic read though. Really appreciate the economy with words. I mean, we start off knowing what's going to happen and the author could easily have wallowed us in the details of despair. No long drawn out episodes of debauchery, etc. Further given the economy of words, he manages to create such real and compelling characters. Spoilers, so swipe to read: None of the deaths felt cheap either and while I wasn't 100% sure how it was going to end right away, after John Sr. died I knew how it had to end.
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post #35 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
Yeah, i have no idea what that was all about. Such a gruesome, bizarre interlude.
That entire chapter had zero place in this book. Jarring really.
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post #36 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HBarr View Post
That entire chapter had zero place in this book. Jarring really.
I was almost wondering if that chapter was an audition piece to write for 24.
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post #37 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:19pm
The more I thought about it as the book went on, the more I realized it could be completely excised and have no effect at all on the story, so yeah, I agree with it not even belonging here.
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post #38 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to find some thematic relevance. Something about being on the verge of death herself, but... nope. I got nothing.
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post #39 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:49pm
Side note, the ending of part 2. Really distressed me because while I was already aware of how the book should end, part 2 was screwing that pooch (in a way). Part 3 was definitely how I saw the book ending (swipe) Junior dying with Amy and his family around him more or less at peace. Not sure what I feel about the addition of a daughter, as the Mist comparison felt a little jarring too.
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post #40 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:52pm
Also Dave and Zooey need to get on this book stat.
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post #41 of 48
9/28/09 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
I'm trying to find some thematic relevance. Something about being on the verge of death herself, but... nope. I got nothing.
Maybe how our choices in life have dramatic consequences? *Smoke a cig on a plane and get your finger chopped off?*. Pretty thin, I know.
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post #42 of 48
9/28/09 at 3:04pm
Thread Starter 
*wailing sax*
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post #43 of 48
9/28/09 at 5:16pm
So, what's next Doug?
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post #44 of 48
9/28/09 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
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post #45 of 48
9/28/09 at 5:40pm
*kills himself with a plastic sack*
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post #46 of 48
9/29/09 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
All of those instances you cite are a metaphor for death. There's just no defeating it, no matter what. You can tell this author has grappled with a crippling fear of death perhaps all his life. Junior's knowledge of the comet is the author's awareness of his own mortality.
See now, I would say that Currie has daddy issues (moreso than a fear of death). Swipe: Junior (Currie) miraculously saves his pop then before he can be reunited with his pop, Senior croaks. In the replay of Junior's life, he does everything a dutiful son should do. Wish fulfillment?
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post #47 of 48
9/29/09 at 10:21am
Thread Starter 
Could be. He writes it in a way that suggests (to me) that he's had a similar experience with a parent dying.
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post #48 of 48
11/16/09 at 12:03pm
Currie writes a short dedication end of the book where he reveals that his father died a year prior to the publishing.

The father character was probably my favorite, and I really liked Junior's relationship with his brother, especially toward the end. The scene that sticks with me the most: Rodney clinging to a tree during the Destroyer announcement, helplessly wondering what his now-dead dad would do. "...he'd know just what to do."
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