Customer Reviews

It's Kind of a Funny Story: A Novel

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I moved back to New York City a decade ago, I was drawn immediately to the pages of the free alternative weekly "The New York Press". Why? Back then it had a terrific stable of eloquent columnists, ranging from Jonathan Ames and Melissa de la Cruz to fellow Brunonian Amy Sohn. But I thought the most remarkable person writing for them was a young high school student, Ned Vizzini, who would soon become a fellow alumnus of our prestigious New York City public high school, Stuyvesant High School, which is of course best known for its Nobel Prize-winning alumni, other distinguished scientists, doctors, engineers and lawyers, legendary Hollywood movie stars like James Cagney and Tim Robbins, and a certain former member of its faculty, one bestselling memoirist by the name of Frank McCourt. Although I haven't been following his subsequent career as diligently as I should, I was quite impressed back then with Vizzini's crisp, clear prose, and fine ear for clever dialogue. All of these are amply present in his latest novel for adolescent kids, "Its Kind Of A Funny Story", which I think will interest many adults too.

Vizzini offers an eloquent, memorable fictional description of teenage clinical depression in his latest novel; one which is the most honest, and truly - on occasion - humorous accounts I have come across. It is also one firmly rooted in reality, since he had suffered from clinical depression too, shortly before writing this novel. Craig Gilner is a new student at a prestigious New York City high school which is a fictionalized, business-oriented version of Stuyvesant. One night he begins thinking of suicide, and ultimately checks himself into the emergency room of his Brooklyn neighborhood hospital. It's the start of an engrossing - and as I have noted before, an occasionally hilarious - journey through the hospital's adult mental ward, where he soon encounters recovering drug addicts and people with multiple personality disorders. Craig does his best trying to retain his sanity while dealing with his fellow patients, the hospital's staff of superb doctors, nurses and other medical attendants, his family, and his small circle of high school buddies. You will find yourself smiling, perhaps laughing, as you read Craig's encounters, which will, of course, end on a triumphant note. Having established himself as one of our finest writers of adolescent fiction, I am truly looking forward to the time when Ned Vizzini joins the ranks of our best adult fiction writers too.

If anyone compares Ned Vizzini to Ken Kesey, don't listen to them. He's different because I said so. And because he is. In so many good ways.

His third book, IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, takes its readers on an honest (and, in the end, refreshing) plunge into Craig Gilner's teenage depression and resurfaces in world that, five days later, feels real for the first time. He looks like your everyday modern kid until he sneaks out in the middle of the night and admits himself into a mental hospital. Why would he do that? If you asked him, he'd tell you it's because of all the Tentacles. Too many Tentacles and not enough Anchors. The stresses of life are wrapping him so tightly that he's not sure he can handle it. Even if he wants to.

The thing about Tentacles (Yes, it's spelled correctly) is he'd cut them off if he could, but if he did, he'd end up a failure. That's how life is right? He studies his brains out to ace the entrance exam and get into Executive Pre-Professional High School, so he's obligated or something to the best student he can, right? It seems so simple. Study hard. Read 3 newspapers a day. Respond to email. Answer phone calls. Sound normal. Look normal. Basically, do what everyone wants, when they want, and he'll make it in life. They'll see him as a success.

The problem is that Craig wants to end it all. As much as he loves that beating heart of his and his family and his friends and chilling with Aaron and hoping for something more with Nia, he wants to die. It's the only way he can think to stop the Cycling in his brain. He keeps waiting for The Shift to happen, but it feels eight continents away--In other words, Impossible. Vizzini captivates his readers with wild parties, Argenon (mental) Hospital, crazy roommates, Egyptian music, Brain Maps, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the third best sex scene of the year according to the Henry Miller Award panel, in a way that's as witty as it is wistful, and as humorous as it is human. Readers will love to follow Craig as he learns that cutting off the right Tentacles may be the only way to go from Broken, to Healing, to Normal, to Real, and finally, to Alive.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

I've read Ned Vizzini's two previous books, Teen Angst? Naaah... and Be More Chill, and they were both hilarious. It's Kind of a Funny Story is also funny (heh), occasionally to the point where I was laughing out loud. It also hits on a different level though, and Craig's recovery is one of the most life-affirming things I've ever read.

I can't say if this will apply to other people or not, but when Craig talks about his "Cycling" and the "Tentacles" it was one of those YES!!! moments. It was like "I know what this feels like", and it was just very nice to read about that, and to know that I'm not alone in having it.

If nothing else, read the book for the ending. While it's still directed towards Craig, it's also kind of a message for everyone who's ever battled against suicidal feelings.

Ned hits a lot of things right on the nose including the tentacles, the cycling(both of which I can TOTALLY relate to and I know other teens can too) and most importantly...the comedy. It's a story about a depressed kid but i just love the way Ned Vizzini can make such a serious topic and add a lot of laugh out loud moments(never have I actually laughed this hard from a BOOK)ranging from the characters to Craig's awkwardness and thought process which I love. This is a must read for young adults and will have you rooting for Craig. This may sound cheesy but this book changed my life for the better and it really opened my eyes up to what life would be like if I stayed in bed and did nothing all day...Muqtada. I know it sounds cliche but It's a Really Funny Story :)

The author is a good writer, it's just that he seems to have fallen in love with his own writing. There's way too little action for a 400-plus page book. This book goes on and one and on. The Burn Journals is a much better, more intense, more realistic view of teenage depression. The romantic encounters at the end were a bit too unbelieveable.

Ned Vizzini, cult author who has been relatively successful although not blown up yet, was depressed. In December of 2005 he had suicidal thoughts and went into his local hospital's recovery program. He was there five days, and it took him a month to write this novel afterwards.

The main character, Craig, is starting to feel the pressures of life. Recently accepted into the most prestigious high school, things start building up, however instead of dealing with them he just keeps stacking his problems in the corner. While he's fallen into some shady friendships and into some pretty heavy pot use, his grades slip and he realizes he's not perfect. The thoughts nearly drive him to suicide, but thank God, he checks into his local hospital instead.

This story aside from some setup, mainly are the chronicles of Craig Gilner's 5 day stay. As he forms friendships with some of the patients he meets a girl, which leads to the development of one of the best and most touching romances I've read in a story since I read Feed about four years ago.

Through depression this narrative shows that there are reasons to live, and should help many teens through rough times. Although it's sad Ned Vizzini had to suffer through those times, it was now for the better since he has written this wonderful work which we can all learn from.

I expect this book to explode on the YA media, even though there are some adult themes (drugs, sex, language, etc.) it's nothing worse than you run into during the average day of life.

Although the book is about 440 pages long, you would never know it. I read this book in a day and a half, and I plan to read it several more times. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Whether you're depressed or not, young or old, that doesn't matter, because this book is about something we all have in common: life.

Ned Vizzini has a distinct advantage over other authors who write about teen depression, attempted suicide, and the ins and outs of psychiatry--as a teen he was clinically depressed and even spent time in a psychiatric hospital. That experience has allowed Mr. Vizzini to bring to life the kinds of situations that were once largely absent in teen fiction; that of the fact that not all teens are happy, spontaneous, happy-go-lucky youths.

For Craig Gilner, gaining acceptance into the elite Executive Pre-Professional High School in Manhattan is not the end of his problems, but only the beginning. All the studying, the cramming, the all-nighters he pulled to get high marks in his old high school and ace his entrance exam now seem mediocre, at best, at his new school. Craig realizes quite early on that he's not brilliant, he's not at the top of his class--he is, in fact, average. For a guy who worked as hard as Craig did, with such obsessive determination, this is a blow not just to his ego, but to his very soul.

Craig soon finds himself unable to eat, unable to sleep, unable to find joy in just about everything. As he realizes he's clinically depressed, he tells his shrink--excuse me, psychiatrist--that his only joy in life comes from peeing. Yes, peeing. You go in, you get it done, you accomplish what you set out to do, and you're finished. It's pretty sad that going to the bathroom seems to be the highlight of his day (he even manages to stretch each trip out to about five minutes), but it's also the truth.

Dr. Minerva, for $120/hour, is attempting to help Craig figure out exactly why he's depressed and how to overcome it. But Craig no longer thrives on a life of complexity; for him, life is a nightmare. And as his depression leads to thoughts of suicide, he's not even surprised to find that there's an 800 number he can call. And after taking the plunge and calling 1-800-SUICIDE Craig hikes over to the local emergency room at the hospital, where he meets Dr. Mahmoud (who is not a terrorist).

From there, Craig is checked into a psychiatric hospital, and he meets a motley crew of patients who, amazingly enough, become better friends to him than the ones he had before he went in ever were. For Craig, being in the hospital might just save not only his life, but his sanity and his will to keep on keeping on.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is a great read. Filled with issues that plague a large number of teens today, the author has managed to take sensitive topics and deal with them in a humorous way that never seems disrespectful. A very enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

Take a good helping of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," add a heaping spoonful of "Girl, Interrupted," and stir in a dollop or two of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," and you'll have a good idea what you're going to get with "Funny Story."

A week after the author, Ned Vizzini, was discharged from his own stay in the psychiatric ward of a New York hospital, he began the tale of depressed teen Craig Gilner. On the point of suicide, Craig checks himself into the hospital, hoping to come to find hope beyond his depression. Inside he gains perspective on his illness, his current lifestyle, and his own talents and strengths.

Smoothly written with a strong voice, "Funny Story" is full of vivid, real characters. What rings less true is Craig's almost-miraculous recovery and ability to gain a new lease on life after only five days. However, the fairly unbelievably happy ending was welcome after the flood of depressing books that seem to be hitting the charts.

I saw the movie based on this book with a guy friend of mine, and it really had me thinking because I am like most teenagers and young adults going through lifes big changes. So my guy friend decided to buy this book and I thought "why not?" and he got his copy a week before me and I finished it just last night. This book dives into the world of Craig in such detail that you become this young man going through these hardships of seeing his crush pick his best friend, of having the pressures of society in general all on his shoulders. This book is/was amazing to read and experience. Not to mention it made the movie look like crap for skipping parts or interpreting them differently, but without the movie I wouldnt have even come to this find this book. Basically its great and a must read, by guys and girls.

It's Kind of a Funny Story, my new favorite book, is a quirky and honest read that comes with a very unique narrator. I've never really seen anything remotely like it--it's definitely a book that would appeal to boys, with Craig's dryly hilarious way of looking at the world. So, it's a book about life in a psychiatric hospital, and I guess the word 'hilarious' is probably not the first one to come to mind with that scenario, and yet, it really is. Craig's outlook and subsequent narration of the goings-on around him are a blast to read, serious, heartbreaking, and unexpectedly funny at the same time. Like I said earlier, it's a ridiculously honest book, with the real tone of a real kid. The fact that the book was written by someone who had gone through a remarkably similar experience (and in fact, began writing the book only a week after his own stay at a hospital) makes a world of difference. The story moves at a good pace, with a great cast of well-developed characters that really brings it all to life. Each character has their own story, their own personality, their own life, and we get to witness a glimpse at all of that through Craig's over-perceptive eyes. I was just a tiny bit disappointed at the ending, in particular, the overly-happy non-subtle resolution with Noelle. I felt that was extremely overdone. Other than that, I'm glad it ends somewhat happily, but still makes it a point to address the fact that Craig is not cured and still has a long way to go ahead of him. The book definitely makes it a point to address the diversity of psychiatric problems. I'm not going to lie--it's a triggering book, but I would go so far as to say it is a necessary read for people who can handle it.

Rating: 5/5