Indecision [Perfect Paperback]

Benjamin Kunkel (Author)

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback
• Publisher: Random House International (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812976517
• ISBN-13: 978-0812976519
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,287,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very disappointing book, October 3, 2005

By 

Richard Kurtz (NYC<P>NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indecision: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have to say, as I often say, that I agree with many of the reviews that have been posted here. I approached this book with great anticipation -- very good reviews, potentially interesting story line but, aas it turned out, I was really disappointed and borderline annoyed that this book had received the hype that it did. I was about 2/3 's of the way through and struggling to finish it and mentioned it to a friend of mine who is a published author, whose opinions I respect ,and asked him about this book and he said "he just gave up" about 1/2 way through --however, I did persist and with some judicious scanning did finish it. I did, however, like the beginning, thought it was funny and clever and really enjoyed Kunkel's capturing of some of the "voices" in a very humourouis way, (e.g. his father and mother) but once he goes off to Ecuador the book really sinks and goes absolutely nowhere as far as I am concerned. But, as they say, you don't know what something tastes like unless you try it ...and this one just didn't do it for me.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Patchy, but entertaining at times, September 20, 2005

By 

Edmund Mcguigan "Ed McGuigan" (Boynton Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indecision: A Novel (Hardcover)

I was struck by how wildly the reactions to this book vary. The women seemed to like it more than the men. I don't regret reading it but could not recommend it to others. I used to live in Quito and so had my interest piqued by the setting. I think I might have been less pleased by the book without this association.

On occasions Kunkel is funny, on others he is off the mark and needed to be taken to task by an editor. I imagine that a writer may have an approach where he gets "stuff" on the page that needs to be ferociously edited and honed, either by the writer alone or in conjunction with an editor. This didn't happen with Indecision.

There are some genuinely thought provoking musings but there is also a bit too much musing of lesser quality. Since a lot of the prose was the random inner musings of the main character, I think Kunkel felt entitled to leave them "in the rough". I would have preferred more cut and polish. I thought that the writer totally failed to give life to the Brigid character and the latter part of the book lacked believability.

He falls into "democratic socialism" in a way that does not jive with his subsequent commitment to the cause. I have often marvelled at how the mainstream media covers the anti-globalization protests of major economic summits without ever allowing the views of the protesters to be heard, leaving one to believe that they are simply a contrary rabble with no clear idea of what they are against. It was disappointing that Kunkel failed to properly develop some kind of expression of this anti-globalization / anti-neo-liberal viewpoint.

He is a young man and I hope he goes on to produce better quality work.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings, September 26, 2005

By 

C. Yu - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indecision: A Novel (Hardcover)

The first 50 pages of Indecision were like brain candy. Specifically, they were like Pop Rocks for my late twenty-something post-ironic soul - a lot of fizzle and the promise of danger, and also some drooling. Every other line in the first quarter of this book made me want to throw it across the room in a fit of envy/admiration. So clever! So right on the money! Aargh, I wish I had thought of this first!

The middle 100 or so pages, however, were different. I started to pick up a rhythm of beats and scenes and sequences, faint at first and then undeniable. The density of good lines decreased sharply and by the time I was about 2/3 of the way through I realized I was reading an extended screenplay/treatment.

The epilogue is really inexplicable. It feels a little Frankensteinish, like some grotesque body part grafted onto the wrong novel. It was as if Mr. Kunkel wanted Dwight to arc from Point A to Point B, realized ten pages from the end that he had not gotten the character anywhere near where he needed to be, emotionally, intellectually or even just geographically in the story, and basically just drew a straight line to the end, as in, voila, here we are.

I think a lot of the negative reviews on here may have been brought on as a result of backlash at the crazy amounts of attention Mr. Kunkel has received, especially from the New York Times. I think he absolutely deserves it - the attention, not the backlash. But I do think this book, for whatever reasons (hopefully not including a rush to completion driven by a justifiably excited publisher) falls way short of the promise it exhibits in the opening chapters.

Still, I know I'm buying his next book no matter what, so I guess that says a lot right there. I guess I was just expecting so much from Jay McInerney's review (that'll teach me) that even an above average reading experience was a severe letdown.