Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #11

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sublimely crafted, romantically hopeful, surprising, fantastically entertaining, ‘Life, I Love It’ is a remarkable novel by a young, promising writer. So why the hell should you bother reading ‘Family Blog’, instead?

(Sarah Faith, Sunshine Literary Review, Los Angeles)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #10

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Clary Antome I know has nothing to do with this purported author of ‘Family Blog’, which I have only partially read. I didn’t get any of the jokes – and the characters were so strange! They are obviously a figment of the author’s imagination, nobody in her family even remotely resembles those people in the novel. In fact, I didn’t think that the family was very realistically portrayed.
Clary was such a nice girl when she was little, always obedient and attentive. Never a mean thought. I don’t know what went wrong. We did our best to raise her into a fine young lady. I honestly think that she was influenced by the vicious ideas in all those books she’s always reading. We should have made her watch more TV.

(Matilda Antome, mother of the purported author,
Useless Gossip-Radio PPP, Rio de Janeiro)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #9

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The characters are either manipulative or nitpicking or hopelessly naïve. All attempts of emancipation are continually frustrated by ironic twists of fate, as if people had no control over their lives. Clary Antome is the kind of subversive writer that should best be avoided. Her fiction will not offer any answers to those of us who are trying to make this world a better place. Apparently, she has already thrown the battle.
I would strongly advise against a translation. Our country has enough problems as it is.

(Anne-Marie Avant, Le Petit Gauche, Paris)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The idea of writing a novel in blog-form is very cool, but Clary Antome ruined it. Not only did she not explore the possibilities of the web (paste some photos, include some links, make it all more colourful and dynamic!), but the blogs in her novel are… well, not really blogs, right? I mean, you can’t comment or anything! Plus, I think she could have created far cooler characters, with really exciting lives. I mean, there’s lots of things going on in the novel, like war and strip-clubs and cops and love-affairs and something about aliens, I think. It might look cool in a movie. But there aren’t any dialogues, which really makes reading so slow. Plus the more thoughtful and ironic bits were a bit of a bummer to follow.
I guess the book is supposed to have a message, but not something cool like a secret magic code or whatever. A more… philosophical message (pardon my French). That’s the whole problem, Clary Antome expects her readers to think!
I’ve got better things to do with my time.

(Missy T.’s blog Cool and Uncool Stuff, San Francisco)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #7

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is not a novel, it's an accountant’s nightmare! Virtually every page has a reference to finances: the characters are only concerned with making, wasting, gambling, or even cheating other people out of their money. Are we really supposed to believe that life boils down to such vile calculating instincts?
Clary Antome has not shown the slightest ability or interest in truly exploring the diversity of human feelings and potentialities. In the end, she seems to be suggesting that everyone is greedy, traitorous and self-centred.
I would recommend that you skip this novel and turn to a good lifestyle magazine or romantic movie instead. At least they will brighten up your day!

(Gwen Goodness, Smile, Please! TV Show, Dublin)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you ask me, Clary Antome is just some anarcho-punk frustrated lesbian. This would explain the terribly wimpy male characters who always fail to live up to the arrogant females’ expectations. I found her novel very castrating. Totally uncool.

(Ronny Mann, Brain and Muscle Ezine, New York)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance Review of FAMILY BLOG #5

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Actually, I quite enjoyed some of the practical tips provided by the father, the only male blog writer in the novel. Some good ideas the chap has. Especially regarding recreational explosions. Right on! The mother isn’t bad either, though a tad too sentimental for my taste. But at least she’s got a good story to tell, about war in Africa. I learned quite a bit. It makes the reader appreciate the comfort of a cosy European living-room all the more. But those bloody daughters are absolutely annoying! No sense of direction, no motivation, no balls! It’s obviously a book about the generation gap. And I’d say the parents have won that battle by far."

(Tom Elder, International Handymen’s Book Club, Sheffield)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------