dr_rachelmcshane's reviews
430 reviews

I can’t say it enough: the art is amazing. The book was so interesting, I breezed through it in two sittings. The only comment I have is that I think it could have been a bit more introspective on Derf’s part—as it turns out, Dahmer wasn’t exactly his friend as much as he was a form of entertainment for Derf and his friends. I would have appreciated a bit more of Derf’s own thoughts and feelings about Dahmer—does he regret any of his encounters with Jeff or feel like he could have been there for him or anything like that? But that being absent from the book doesn’t really take away from it at all—it’s still SUCH a great book!

I just happened to stumble upon this at the library, and picked it up out of curiosity. I ended up really liking this book! It was so short and enjoyable, I read it in one sitting. I do think it was a little jumpy in terms of the plot—I wish there would have been some focal point or theme throughout, like how Andre himself felt or why he drank like he did or how he dealt with his own insecurities about wrestling. It felt more like a quick overview that said, “Wow! Look how crazy his life was!” (Which, yeah, it was INSANE.) But the illustrations and the writing itself were so great, I really did like the book a lot and am glad I picked it up!

As a wise man once said, “I don’t care for [racism], and you may quote me on that.”
That wise man was John Mulaney, who’s much more entertaining and less chauvinistic than Mark Twain anyways. He should write a book and go down as one of America’s best authors instead of Mark Twain.

Easy read—I finished it in about 30 minutes. If you like folklore, you’ll like this book. As Masha (the modern day protagonist) runs away from home and tries to become Baba Yaga’s assistant, she has to rely on the folk stories her grandmother told her in order to succeed the tasks Baba Yaga gives her. It’s not a deep or complex book, but it is an enjoyable and entertaining story.

As much as I love Paul Simon, this book was just okay. It was interesting and well-written, but there was the constant comparison to Bob Dylan that got a little old. Also, there were times in the narrative where it felt like the author was just name dropping—literally—because at times there were just lists of names of “behind-the-scenes” people you wouldn’t know unless you were pretty well aware of 1970’s music culture. And finally, it just sort of ends. I know that it’s hard to wrap up a story about a LIVING legend who is still performing and making music—Paul has now put out four new albums since the publication of this book and completed his “farewell tour”—but it felt like the author just kept writing, and then wrote a single closing sentence because he just didn’t have any more material. But despite those things, did I like the book and like reading it? Sure. Even though I know a lot about Paul’s life and career, I learned some things I didn’t know. If you’re a big Paul Simon fan like me, you’ll definitely still be able to enjoy this book.