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Avg. Rating: 4
Monkeys Do Not Digest Cheese Well.
The ending was really weird. The book was moving solidly through bizarre characters and scenes , teeth-grinding critiques, and unrequited love assignments, and then it felt off the cliff, not exactly like a surrealist way, but more like "good is dead" sort of way. Immediately after I read page 196, I went to google. I had to find out who was the designer of the Wigley's Doublemint gum logo. I was thoroughly disappointed at my ability to navigate through useless information. I cracked this book opened two years ago, but never really read it or finished it until now. I must clarify that I am glad I did. The book reminds me of Delillo's White Noise. With the confusing, timeless, unexplained bloodbath in the end. Having an art background, I find the writing of the Cheese Monkeys bordering on absurdity. This is one of the reasons why after I graduated with an art degree, I thought postmodern art tripped on a wooden prank and felt flat on its face and knocked it dead. Some parts of me (8 years after) still feel this is true. Art should speak for itself and I feel (not unlike Grandma Litmus Test mentioned in the book) that what a lot of postmodern art today is a lot about spending its short, very short life, explaining itself. This book is good and one ought to slice an arm of one's time and read it. But I don't know if I should take the book seriously when one of the protagonists (Himillsy Dodd) in the book chew Mark Rothko to pieces.
Interesting Book, but not as good as expected
I highly recommend this book for anyone in college or attended college, especially if you are a graphic arts major. It will bring back some interesting memories of the fun and stress in going to school. This is a story about a kid that is going to state college and majoring in Art. He has a teacher that is very tough, but also inspiring to the main character. The beginning of the story was very funny. It was interesting to see how each student in the graphic arts class completed their project assigned to them.
The last chapter of the book was disappointing, up to then I really enjoyed the book and would of given the book 5 stars, but the tone changes toward the end, and I believe the author got a little disjointed and confused where he was going. I will read another book by this author because I did like his style, but I hope he stays focused throughout the story next time so I won't be disappointed with the ending.
Not quite there...
I really enjoyed the first part of this book, it was honest, quirky, and very realistic. It captured college and art major life perfectly. Somewhere between the girl coming into his life and the party, the book went awry and felt a little strange. And not in a good way. It lost it's sense of humor and authentic feel.
A Cheddar Howl
A crisp witted look into the life of Chip Kidd, circa his college years. With intelligent energy, rebel humour, and snarky banter between characters, "The Cheese..." is an wild, cognitional ride where smile and laughter are the hitch-hikers. You'll start the car, accelerate into full speed, traverse many miles of entertainment, and crash with an empty tank; so be sure to buckle your safety belts for this one!
Definitely Off-the-Wall and FUN read!
I picked up this book based on the title and cover art alone. Just happened to be looking for something different, and BOY, did this book deliver. I found myself reliving my own college days and (some) exploits through the main character--and discovered that the main character and I must have attended the exact same college nearly 30 years apart.
Thought that the font change was a very interesting feature of the evolving storyline--for a visual person like myself, I often wish more authors could weave more elements of a book together like that.
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