First things first: I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.Like several other readers who have reviewed Rage is Back, I had difficulty getting into it. The first few pages were rough for me, mostly because of the author's rhythm and voice, which I was unaccustomed to. I had to re-read some paragraphs more than once in order to understand and there was probably a lot I still didn't 'get'. Something made me want to keep reading, though, and before long I was swept into the story despite th...

My review from LJ Journal, 11/1/2012, Vol. 137 Issue 18, p62-62, 1/6pIn his intriguing novel, the author of the phenomenal best seller Go the F**k to Sleep tells the tale of Kilroy Dondi Vance, a biracial African American youth from Brooklyn who has the power to open a portal 24 hours into the future. He also has some interesting parents. His dad is Rage, a famous graffiti artist from the 80s who has been gone for almost 20 years, ever since a fellow artist died because of Metropolitan Transit A...

This book came into my possession accidentally and I ended up reading it because I like to venture outside my wheelhouse from time to time. Totally not my thing, with the glorification of drug use and vandalism and an entire cast of unapologetic potty mouths. My thoughts are a compilation of many other reviews.Things that made me ‘’aggro’’:1. the drug trip swerve AND drugging the MTA workers2. despicable /unforgivable 9/11 reference 3. the underground demon4. the day skipping portal Things that

(Note: Viking Press provided me with a copy of Rage Is Back for the purpose of this review.)Grade: A-L/C Ratio: 60% Literary / 40% CommercialThematic Breakdown:30% - Graffiti25% - Family drama15% - New York City15% - Humor10% - Drugs 4% - Race 1% - Sci-FiAddictiveness: HighMovie Potential: 1 Thumb UpRe-readability: MediumThe strength of Adam Mansbach's new novel is its narrator, Dondi Vance. He's half-white, half-black, part drug-dealing gangster, and part preppy schoolboy. But most importantly,...

Five star review, but this book won’t be to everyone’s taste. Old school New York Metro graffiti mixed with an excess of mind-altering substances, a dysfunctional but ultimately loving family, some classic 1980’s hip-hop, a smattering of Rastafarian patois and an inexplicable piece of very limited time-travel. There were a few fabulous switches of perspective, including one chapter told by a different narrator off on a side-quest, and the manuscript of a short story which wove into the main plot...

Eighteen-year-old Kilroy Dondi Vance has pretty much messed up his young life at the beginning of Adam Mansbach’s Rage is Back. He’s been expelled from his elite prep school, broken up with his girlfriend and has been kicked out of his mother’s apartment. While couch surfing between selected friends, trying not to wear out his welcome, he begins to hear rumors that his father Billy Rage (a famed graffiti artist missing for sixteen years), has resurfaced, leaving underground tunnels awash in graf...

I've been reading a good amount of Mansbach lately, this is the third book in a week. In his other one, The End of Jews, he touched down on the world of graffiti writers, in this one he's landed smack down on the subject. This is sort of a love letter to the old school days of NY, when apparently it had character. Personally I didn't care for it then or now and character in this sort of reminiscences usually implies grime and, in this case vandalism, but there it is. A world of hip hop, spray ca...

Decent, quick read. Engages graffiti as an artform and lifestyle in a way that was detailed, but not obnoxious to point of being overly technical or obscure. A few of the characters have some depth, others feel flat or cliché at times. Storyline gets caught in the weeds at points, but overall this was a fun, adventurous book without having to leave the city

This book is exciting. The writing is exciting! It's hysterical and strange is it breaks the fourth wall and it's irreverant and lovely. Really enjoying my journey through this.OMG OMG OMG. This book is so fantastic. I'm in love. With everything ever.It's a caper. Its language might get under some folks' skin. It's urban NYC graffiti culture and as such is not a gentle read. But it's incredibly written - kind of ridiculously intelligent and witty. Heartfelt, fascinating... I'm definitely going t...

I was looking forward to reading a novel based on the taggers in NYC the '80's. Traditional publishing has totally ignored these stories, so, I bought this after reading a sample.Dondi Vance is the son of 2 graffiti bombers in the early 80's. His mother was one of the few women bombers, who would climb over fences and decorate the trains before they left the yard. It was a dicey business. Dondi's father was somewhat caught then disappeared for all of Dondi's childhood. He is Rage. And he's back

I had pretty much dismissed this guy as a doofus after the idiotic Go the Fuck to Sleep took off like goddamn wildfire. But OMG this book is just completely spectacular. Plus check out this terrific & heartbreaking piece he wrote for the Awl about New York's "War on Graffiti" (which, duh, equals a war on brown people and poor people and the desperate fight for the control of public space). And this one for Salon, hilariously skewering the publishing industry and mocking himself on his author tou...

The first twenty pages are disorienting, and the end isn’t perfect, but everything in between is revelatory. Dondi, the narrator, writes pleasing sentences. There’s something hard boiled in the tone. Flashes of magic give the book a speculative undertone, and a wide cast of minor characters keep the action fresh. I’m not sure how the story would hold up to a second reading, but I imagine I missed plenty. I reveled in the inside jokes: from-one-writer-to-another kind of winks and nods, and I’m co...

When I first started this book, I was a bit skeptical about whether I would really enjoy it. I'm not into graffiti, or drugs, and I don't live in New York. Would I be able to connect with characters in a book that somewhat glorifies these things? On the first page, it took me a while to get into the groove of the writing style. It's written from a first person perspective that makes heavy use of slang and colloquialisms with which I wasn't very familiar. By the end of the first page though, I wa...

The name might not sound familiar, but you know Adam Mansbach’s work. He’s that guy who sold 9 gazillion copies of “Go the [expletive] to Sleep” and made every parent in America groan, “Why didn’t I write that?”Yes, it was a fluke, but a very funny fluke that went viral among exhausted moms and dads and climbed up the Amazon bestseller list months before publication. The success of that profane children’s book (soon — somehow — to be a feature film from Fox 2000) brings him the kind of prominenc...

As several other reviewers noted, this book doesn't start reading well. I get Mansbach trying to peg the inconsistent, street-but-not-too-street cadence and voice of the 18 year old narrator, but ultimately it's awkward. I admit it's hard to pepper in authentic lingo and scenarios but still keep it readable for people who weren't part of the graff scene — or even just city youth culture period. But it just sounds like name dropping to me. All these gratuitous cultural references seem to be there...

Even though I didn't understand half of what the narrator was talking about, I still think this book was amazing. His use of the graffiti-speak was impressive. I simply loved the narrator's voice-it was equal parts cynical and naive, and always funny (even during the bleak moments).

Having recently returned from a week in New York (my first visit), where we spent much of our time walking the streets of Brooklyn catching trains to Manhattan from our AirBnB, I was very intrigued when I came across this book. I thoroughly loved my time in the city. Growing up and living the first 42 years of my life "out west" where I couldn't even begin to comprehend the diversity, congestion, and grime that a city like New York provides, I couldn't have been more immersed in the city while I...

Very enlightening in a "a look into the real lives of subway bombers" kind of way, and if just for the writing maybe I'd've given it 4 stars, but Dondi started seeming like an annoying punk of a narrator after awhile. His mom was a badass tho!

It’s not easy to describe a book like this one, because it really doesn’t fit into any formal categories. It’s a mix of comedy, urban attitude, and sharp sociological analysis. It really surprised me how much I enjoyed reading it, actually.What makes this book so special is the narrator. His voice is wholly unique, and one that resonates from the very first sentence. Dondi, a young man born into the world of graffiti, is struggling to find his place. It could have turned into a melodrama, but th...

*I received this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.* Rage Is Back introduces a very unique style of writing and story telling, that took awhile to get used to. Overall I enjoyed reading this book, but I felt like there were too many things going on and too many dead ends. I feel like this story would have been a lot better if there was one central thing to focus on. Positives: unique story, perspective, and writing style; very interesting at certain points; and it showed a realistic view on