Customer Comments

Matthew Holley has commented on (5) products.

Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook

Matthew Holley, April 14, 2013

I can't say that I'm a huge Joy Division fan, but being a 40-something I was familiar with their music, the suicide of Ian Curtis, and the subsequent development of New Order. Yet I found this book fascinating - from the band's beginnings in the late 70's, their struggle to make a name for themselves in the music world, and the tragedy that everyone should have seen coming. Mr. Hook writes in a very open and engaging way, not sugar-coating or glamorizing their history at all. In addition: this book is so beautiful! Printed boards, black page edges, and a partial dustjacket - this is one that should be on your shelf for multiple reasons!

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Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Matthew Holley, January 26, 2012

This was the best book I read in 2011, for sure. Chaon keeps all three storylines completely engrossing, and I was often "on the edge of my seat", as they say. I plowed through this book because I needed to know what happened next! A masterfully written novel.

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Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun

Matthew Holley, May 21, 2010

More a collection of joined short stories than a novel, about a Korean teenage girl in the Bronx who runs away from home and gets all tangled up in trying to survive, including drug abuse and prostitution. A jolting read. It's not often you come upon this kind of protagonist and I wonder how much of the book was autobiographical. I'm interested to see what Mun puts out next.

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Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet

Matthew Holley, May 21, 2010

One of the most interesting books I've read in a while. Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, all of these stories (except the last one) are about a famous person (Madonna, Jimmy Carter, Sharon Stone, Thomas Edison, etc) and an animal of some sort (pheasant, rabbit, Komodo dragon, and elephant, respectively). Some are quite quirky, others are suprisingly moving. A very quick read. I'd heard that Millet is a very well-regarded writer, and I'll certainly read more of her work now.

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The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Matthew Holley, January 31, 2010

Easily the best book I read this decade...even though I read it nearly a decade ago! I remember being amazed by Franzen's writing, but not to the point of being distracted from the story: mesmerizing, surprising and very touching. Of course, we're all still waiting for Franzen's fiction follow-up...here's to hoping it comes to us in THIS decade!

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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)

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