Customer Reviews

Some Things Are Better Left Unplugged

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

UNPLUGGED has been billed as an anti-novel and believe me it delivers. Sure you've read plenty of books with anti-heroes but how about anti-villains of the polite and genteel variety? UNPLUGGED is an ambitious novel, dense with layers of meaning and rife with irony. Sakowski has a gift for illustrating the absurd.

Follow our "hero", The Man, as he makes his way through countless ridiculous and chilling situations. Picture a kingdom of marionettes ruled by an Emperor, a penguin of course. Meet half-crazed citizens clutching their most prized possessions close to them, their misfortunes. Sounds a bit like your average cocktail party in the modern day.

Stylistically UNPLUGGED is like an amputating scalpel under operating theater lights. Razor sharp and clinical, Sakowski's words cut to the heart of the matter while casting glittering reflections on countless topics. The combination of stripped bare prose with complex images and ideas creates a dizzying effect which makes you wonder how such a slim volume can contain so much. Put this one down on your reading list, twice.

After discovering Eraserhead Press through reading a book by Carlton Mellick III that a friend leant to me I decided to check out what else they have published and bought this book. In the description, this book says that it is post-modern but I wasn't exactly sure what that meant in relation to literature so I looked it up on wikipedia. One of the definitions described postmodernism as:
"A culturally pluralistic and profoundly interconnected global society lacking any single dominant center of political power, communication, or intellectual production."

Which I think really sums up the setting of this book. First of all, the main character has no name, he's known only as "The man". In fact, none of the other characters have names either. At first this was a little off putting, but after a couple of chapters the allegorical purpose became more clear. This story is interesting and funny. Set in an extremely surreal landscape with anthropomorphic appliances and personified animals every object, plant, and action seems to have a deeper meaning. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in art films or offbeat literature.

An allegorical tale, the story satirizes many of our everyday obsessions, including: the pursuit of wealth and materialism; the thirst for empty spectacles and violence; and climbing whatever social, political, or economical ladder is before us

I expected a little more from this book, still give 4 stars, because it keeps you reading.

A wonderful book. I always relate to insane homeless women so I was delighted this had one in it.

The last review for this book should be ignored! I wasn't going to buy this book originally just because I read the last review. Thank God I changed my mind! After LOVING several books released through Eraserhead Press, I decided to take my chances with Some Things Are Better Left Unplugged despite the bad review. I have to wonder if the last reviewer even read the book at all. He calls it "just dumb." How can this be dumb? You might not understand all of it, but that doesn't mean it's dumb. It is one of the more intelligent books out there. It is very odd and deliciously imaginative, but as literate as Kafka. It's like Lovecraft re-imagined by Terry Gilliam. I bet the other reviewer was just expecting something like Fight Club. Yeah, Fight Club is different and a great read but really not all that weird. This book is utterly outlandish. I'm not going to get into the plot but it starts out strange and just gets stranger. This is the only book by Sakowski I've been able to find but I hope there will be more available in the future.

I dunno, the story was definitely "weird" and that's what was promised. As for storytelling itself though, I felt the author left too much out. I could tell the author knew his characters. Unfortunately I did not; I was left hanging when, after completing the first read-through, there was no ultimate delivery. I never felt like I had any sort of real grasp of any character. While I do not mind this while reading (for example, Catch-22 is a great book for re-reading as I learn the characters more completely each time), I do appreciate more detail into the characterizations. I may be beating around the bush here... While I enjoy books that make me an active part of the story (Palahniuk, for example, requiring an active participant in the audience), I do not enjoy when I have to do 50% or more of the detail within my own imagination. This book did not fulfill my needs in supplementing the plot. It was flat and, to be honest, boring.

I have been having a hard time finding good books to read. With all my favorite authors being dead, I really thought I would never be able to relate to modern fiction. But along came Mellick and his Bizarro book genre and Eraserhead press. "Some Things Are Better Left Unplugged" is a fine example of what modern writing should be and I thank Satan it exists for everyone to see!

Sakowski has a very unique and powerful voice, not to mention an amazing imagination. This book had a very surreal quality that reminds me of dreaming or hallucinating. Not many people are able to properly evoke such feeling through words but Vincent W. does it!

I sadly lost this book on the train and need to repurchase it. It's a very well written book that belongs in my library next to my Lewis Carroll books and Chuck Palahniuk collection.

Many of the great stories that humans share with each other feature two entities in opposition to each other. Sometimes these entities are emotionless nations, sometimes equally indifferent businesses. The best of these, the tales that really draw you into their world, feature two people or people-like beings. Some Things Are Better Left Unplugged is one of these stories.

The Man and the Obese Tabby are nemesises, but their struggle is not one of swords, sorcery, or other fantastic methods. No, theirs is a battle of words, a fight of gentlemanly means. Both seek the power of the Prize, a formless and unseen concept that drives both beings for dominance of their surreal world.

There are no armies, there are no guns. The battles fought are for personal discovery, the spoils are knowledge. There is a climactic battle, but one unlike anyone has ever portrayed in fiction.

Bizarro has been compared to the pulps of years gone by, fun and quirky but having little in the way of literary merit. Mr. Sakowski has managed to transcend this idea with this novel, and created what many academics might argue contains the marks of truly classic literature. Timeless in setting, themes, and plot devices while containing universally understandable and memorable characters.

Some Things Are Better Left Unplugged is a new modern myth, a tale deserving of careful scrutiny and study. Don't be surprised if this book becomes required reading for contemporary literature courses in the coming years. But don't be scared by its literary merit. Like all Bizarro, this tale is above all FUN!

Sakowski has a ton of talent and can write well. If this is Bizarro (and the back cover says it is), then those who aspire to write such (as well as some who already have) should read and re-read this book. Except for a few editing issues, he shows knowledge of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. This allows the reader to stay focused on the story.

The Amazon description does a good job of setting up the story. This is not a book with a lot of character depth. You know only what you need to know to keep the action going. Sakowski keeps the plot moving and avoids meaningless filler.

If you require pat endings, avoid this book. If you like a combination of fantasy, horror (light), humor and weird situations - this is a fun read.

I loved it. One of the weirdest novels I've ever read. Sakowski picks apart everything we are taught to believe and reveals the silliness of it all. Through a surreal lenses he catalogues everything that is entailed in being human. He goes against the modern novel format and creates an evocative anti-novel. I'm going to seek out everything he wrote.