The Nix

"the best book I HEARD all year. a first novel and jammed packed with every idea. but it works. funny, human, modern, but with history and somehow a ghost story too. fabulous. you'll laugh you'll cry. stupendous. "

"Beautiful, funny, tragic, heartwarming tale about family and hope against a satirical background of contemporary American capitalism and politics. "

"For fans of The Corrections, The Art of Fielding and Election. "

"UGH. I can't seem to get into this book. I've dropped it at 40% through, and don't want to continue. <br/><br/>This just seems like another "woe is me, the world is out to get me" tale of the overly self-centered male, utterly convinced that he (despite not showing any redeeming qualities nor motivated to do anything of note) has some sort of claim or ownership to a beautiful, talented female character simply because he saw her and wanted her. Vomit-inducing. Though he also has a lot of feelings towards his mother who mysteriously disappeared, the way Hill bothers (or doesn't) to focus on everything else BUT the very most important relationship to the plot in the first thousand pages (I kid, I kid) of this book, makes it hard to even make it to an interesting part before I want to give up.<br/><br/>Much similar to Mitchell Grammaticus's character in 'The Marriage Plot' by Jeffrey Eugenides, and hearkens to to both 'The Goldfinch' (but less enthralling) and 'The Unchangeable Spots Of Leopards' by Christopher Jansma, this was lacking something both seemed to add to make the other books readable, enjoyable, and un-put-downable.<br/><br/>Honestly? Couldn't make it more than halfway because of this main character's utter ineptitude and completely overwhelming amount of self-centered egoistic bull-****** made me want to kick him.<br/><br/>If you're looking for mansplaining, a portrait of the modern male (addicted to videogames, incredible amounts of rage and abandonment issues pointed at a parent that need to be re-hashed) you may find his relationship to his mother interesting. <br/><br/>If you're a 30-something year old female who is sick of meeting these men in real life or on dating apps, you will NOT like this book.<br/><br/>If you're looking for something interesting and complex that hasn't been done better a thousand times before and alluded to before the reader abandons it in a fit of boredom halfway into your novel? Pick a different tome."

"I highly recommend if you are a fan of Rich Boy, The Goldfinch, or This Side of Paradise. Also if you love literature that explores class, circumstance, and sexuality. "

"A thoroughly entertaining book! I miss it already."

""People love each other for many reasons, not all of them good. They love each other because it's easy. Or because they're used to it. Or because they've given up. Or because they're scared. People can be a Nix for each other."<br/><br/>Think about all the people that you crossed paths with throughout your entire life and how they impacted you in some way. Maybe your relationship/friendship was easy, or maybe it wasn't. Maybe you didn't separate yourself from a toxic relationship because you become accustomed to the monotony and you're afraid of change. Overall, these relationships probably hurt you in some way. It influences your actions and who you become. People impact people- whether it is in a positive or negative way. This novel explores the idea that our decisions and who we become are shaped by others in our lifespan, as well as previous generations of people that we may not have met. The narration jumps to various perspectives and times to analyze how people ultimately impact us and our decisions. It further proves that we, as humans, act accordingly for those around us in order to meet their expectations of us. When we don't meet their expectations, we become lost and continuously repeat the memory of that moment in our minds. What could I have done differently? How could I fix this? Maybe the answer is that we can't and it is something we have to accept.<br/><br/>Another favorite quote: "When all you have is the memory of a thing, all you can think about is how the thing is gone." Maybe the memory haunts us forever. Or maybe it doesn't if we finally decide that it's time to move on.<br/><br/>"

"Such a great read. So many themes and stories. It’s entertaining, gripping, and sadly beautiful. Its tone of satire is fun. I’m already sad I finished this book. "

"A very timely novel."