Liver : A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes

from browner56

This is a collection of short stories, all of which are connected in both small ways (e.g., major characters in one story appear as minor players in others) and by their reliance on the same motivational device: the body's largest internal organ. It is the liver that detoxifies the system and pro...

from amaryann21

I adored reading Self's Great Apes, and as my second experience of Will Self, Liver was a disappointment. In the first of the four stories, Self seems more interested in showing his skills as a sesquipedalian (someone who loves big words) than in making the story cohesive. My favorite was the sec...

from stephmo

It's quite clear that Will Smith didn't just have a good idea, it was an excellent idea. Four works, thematically linked through the liver that would even mirror the liver's lobes in size and each would have portions of the other stories flow through them even though the stories were quite differ...

from ehines

Self is an interesting writer. I think he's honestly interested in the existential questions this collection centers on, but there's a lot missing. For one thing, Self, while capable of some really good writing, is typically a poor craftsman. He just seems to lose interest in his stories, charact...

from rennefish

I had a tough time getting into this book given the depressing nature of the subject matter. I kept trying to get through the stories but found myself continually putting it down. I still haven't finished the novel. Though I have to say that I liked Self's use of descriptive language and story or...