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/lit/ - Literature

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5017581 No.5017581[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

I was looking to pick this up. Memes aside, is it a worth-while read?

>> No.5017630

>>5017581
Y3s 1t 1s.

-Ta0 L1n

>> No.5017640

It's not worth the read, no.

>> No.5017647

>>5017581
total shit don't read

>> No.5017653

>>5017640
why not?

>> No.5017654 [DELETED] 

>>5017581
:p ebin simpky ebin xdd

>> No.5017656 [DELETED] 
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5017656

>>5017581
needs frogs xd

>> No.5017664

>>5017656
>>5017654
go back to /b/

>> No.5017672

Why the fuck would you think /lit/ is a good place to ask this? Go read some reviews, or read the first few pages and judge for yourself if you're interested, or anything except asking /lit/ what to think.

>> No.5017678

>>5017581
You should buy Taipei. Tao Lin is above average at writing, so the book is good.

>> No.5017684 [DELETED] 
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5017684

>>5017664
lolllllllllllllll frogs xd tao lin is such le funny meme xdddddd

>> No.5017705

>>5017581
Yes, if you want to see what the contemporary literary scene is like in urban America.

The answer is: not too good, but there are parts of the book that are actually decent. The way he describes himself and his peers is flawless, and the awkwardness/drug-obsession/bleakness combined with social media and macbooks is like reading an up-to-date Ellis (who called Tao Lin boring but also the "most interesting prose stylist of his generation).

>> No.5017709

>>5017581
tao for how long have you been awake

>> No.5017710 [DELETED] 
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5017710

>>5017705
>comparing ellis to tao meme

>> No.5017714
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5017714

>>5017678
>Tao Lin is above average at writing

>> No.5017717

>>5017678
>>5017650

Hi Tao. It takes true autism to make a sales pitch through some half-assed syllogisms.

>> No.5017764

>>5017717
I'm not Tao. I just think Taipei is a good read, so people should buy it. Reading it was a good experience.

>> No.5017792

>>5017581
It's okay, but not good enough to warrant a reccomendation from me.

>> No.5017831

>>5017678
>above average
>you should buy it

No thanks, I'd rather spend my money on a far greater quantity of dead authors who weren't merely above average but were bomb ass triple jack.

>> No.5017875

OP only get this book if you have an interest in hipsters, autism, or drugs. It is literally just an aloof sperg floating through life on a bunch of pharmaceuticals and psychedelics. Paul acts and perceives others totally autistically, and Tao is not very talented. He is okay. I could see him writing a really good novel in maybe a decade.

>> No.5017904

Tao Lin is the best representative of 21st century bohemianism.

>> No.5018030

This thread just proves how few people understand Tao Lin. Saying Taipei is about hipster druggies is like saying Infinite Jest is about tennis. It is about the impossibility of sincerity in a society where the line between self-awareness and self-consciousness is nearly invisible. It is post-New Sincerity without being metamodern.

>> No.5018036

>>5018030
please stop

>> No.5018041

>>5018030
I know this is probably a joke post but seriously, paul just comes across as autistic as fuck and there is a -substantial- emphasis on drugs and the effects drugs have on Paul's already retarded perceptions.

>> No.5018087

>>5017875
>>5018041
this has actually kind of made me want to read it
I mean i love psychedelics and im a bit retarded and aloof myself

>> No.5018098

>>5017581
tips fedora

>> No.5018120

Taipei is better than Eee eee eee and Shoplifting, but not as good as Richard Yates. Take that as you will

>> No.5018121

>>5018120
>Tips fedora

>> No.5018374

>>5018087
Then read it.

Tao Lin manages to portray the zeitgeist of our times in a way very few people can. I don't know if it'll hold up, but to read now, Taipei is great. It's also very funny and very, very, sad.

>> No.5018384

no

>> No.5018492

>>5018374
That's why it's good. There's no one part of it, story-wise, that's intrinsically sad, but after you finish it, you feel empty and lonely. It's a weird effect, not one that's really satisfying, but it's moving enough to read once.

You get the exact same effect after reading Shoplifting from American Apperal, so I think Tao is a one-trick pony, but it is, albeit, original.

The "I thought you said butter" scene made me laugh out loud

>> No.5018640

>>5018492
>“Seated, in Angelica Kitchen, they looked at each other directly for the first time that night. Laura seemed anxious and tired. Paul said the restaurant was organic and vegan and Laura said she had been trying to eat better since meeting Paul, who grinned while saying “you’ve been trying to eat butter?” twice, during which Laura began to blush.
>“I thought you said ‘butter,’” said Paul grinning.
>Laura looked at her hand touching a fork on the table.
>“I thought you said you’re trying to eat butter.”
>“Stop,” said Laura moving the fork slowly toward herself.”

Based Tao.

>> No.5018780

>>5018492
You feel sad because it's a terrible fucking book.

>> No.5018821

>>5017581

Knut Hamsun