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Adverbs: A Novel
 

Adverbs: A Novel

by Daniel Handler

Can Joe help it if he falls in love with people who don't make him happy? And what about Helena—she's in love, but somehow this isn't enough. Shouldn't it be? And if it isn't enough, does this mean she's not really in love? It certainly seems to be spoiling the love she's in. And let's say there's a volcano underneath the city—doesn't that make things more urgent? Does urgency mean that... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  short stories,  humor,  daniel handler,  romance (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Vid
  • Rated 5 stars

“In "Adverbs," Daniel Handler asks that godawful question none of us can answer: "What is love?" Or rather, "what are love?", as he aspires to explore "different kinds of love." The result is one of the most beautiful books in history, evoking nearly catastrophic levels of emotion and understanding just as it remains a complete mystery. Daniel Handler is a fantastic author, dazzling us with what I think is remarkably telling of what he can do. And his characters are fascinating--they can...”

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Didn’t Like It

Murali K
  • Rated 1 stars

“I felt the author put more effort on the form than the plot. Beautifully written, but what does it all mean in the end?”

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Community:
  • Rated 3.076923 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 3.5 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Hannah McGhost

    hannah mcghost said:

    “I go back and forth with the "are they the same" question, too. Some 'facts' overlap, but then others contradict them, so it's not "chartable" like that, but then, some of these 'facts' could be lost in the retelling? A lot of the characters, like the book itself, seem like such a performance, and what's real is not the characters being the same, or them being separate individuals, but the idea behind them, their stories. If he's trying to construct it like an overlapping story, it really fails -- it's too much like a puzzle, which is just boring, frankly, and doesn't gel with what he's written.”

    posted Friday, September 26 2008
  • valkyrie strang

    valkyrie strang said:

    “it was okay. too woody allen-ish. unfortunate events, horseradish, and latke are better”

    posted Monday, January 21 2008
  • Informationoverlord

    informationoverlord said:

    “Annoying, playful, teasing, compelling ... yes, this book is all of these things. Essentially a short story collection, but one that is sort of tied together but sort of isn't. Are the characters that reappear the same people or just ones that share the same names? Does it matter? I've read it twice (second time to 'figure it out') and am still undecided as to whether it is utter rubbish or a work of genius. ”

    posted Wednesday, July 11 2007
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