Official Review: Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Som...

[Sveta]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody" by Eric Olsen.]

I have chosen to review a book titled Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody written by Eric Olsen. It doesn't seem to have an ISBN number, thus here is its ASIN number: B00EOYLTYY and it was published by Amazon Digital Services Inc. The subjects that Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody seems to cover including negative relationships with girls, interesting misadventures, negative childhood influences, drug use and friendship. Eric also attempts to talk about how he has tried to escape these negative things, but unfortunately they tend to hunt him wherever he goes, whether to Milwaukee or back home.

When it comes to characters, I found them to be interesting; such as Eric's ex girlfriends, or his friends and buddies as well as his grandparents, but I couldn't really connect to these character because I feel that Eric has done more told than showed variety. What I mean by that is they didn't feel human somehow and at some points, due to the non-linear narrative I had trouble remembering relationships he had with some characters.

When it came to theme as well as a lesson I should have carried away from reading the book,I honestly have no idea what I should have learned from this book; that there are bigger forces such as genetics and environment that is plotting your failure? In the next paragraphs I will mention what tended to kill the book for me.

With the plot, its written in first person narrative and for me personally was very disorganized. The stories and ramblings, as well as character backgrounds were fascinating for me, but I would have liked it if the author put them into some kind of linear narrative.

Eric Olsen, the author of Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody was born in Oakland California and he happens to be a journalist, editor and sometimes a writer. He has published other books such as We Wanted to be Writers, This Business of Networking in the Music Industry. He has an MFA in Fiction and was awarded James A Michener Fellowship for Fiction.

In conclusion, from the summary, I got an impression that I would be reading about someone who will continue to look at negative aspects of life and will not look or see the positive aspects. Intrigued, I decided to click and read it. While there is something interesting about the writing, I have to admit that I got lost while trying to understand the narrative of the story. It wasn't, well, linear, and there weren't warnings. Eric Olsen tended to jump around a lot in this story. At one point he was discussing a relationship with an ex, while the next thing I know he divulges the history of his mother's negative relationships. I have no idea what I should have learned from reading the story. Closing with the last page, I have to ask; what did I learn from reading Dirtball? It feels that the story has little to no resolution.

When it comes to the rating, I have to give this book 2 out of 4 stars, unfortunately.

***
Buy "Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody" on Amazon

[kismoody]

Read this one, too Was expecting a little more. Felt sorry for the guy, though.