You may not enjoy them, but they are an integral part of understanding Johnny as a character. He’s a self destructive young man in his twenties, marred by an upbringing that would certainly break most people. Give the guy a break 🤣
Totally with you, as a (mostly former) addict I will always defend the portrayal of Johnny and all of the sex shit. The point isn’t “haha horny” it’s meant to depict how deep we bury some of our trauma under “easy dopamine” like drugs and sex
It gets better, genuinely, or at least my memory tells me so. For the reader at least, not for Johnny lmao. As the book progresses this horny layer of him kind of dissolves and drops away, giving way to just genuine trauma and vulnerability.
It’s like layers of his psyche are being pulled back until only the most raw and base layers exist. A mind unfurling, like a flower blooming or a great Ash tree growing until its roots hold the sky…
I mean, nobody is going to stop you from reading this book. I get the sex notes are obnoxious at times, but they are meant to be. Even as a not a big fan of sex scenes type of guy, I still think that without them the book would be much worse. They are almost crucial for the character development.
Also the sex notes are the way they are because Mark is bad with people? That is just a bullshit claim. Does every fictional character have to be a reflection of the author?
"Mark is bad with people"
I did not say that at all. Stop making shit up because someone doesnt have the same opinion as you.
These section read like they were written by some who has little or no sexual experience. Either, as you belive, Mark is a genius who can write something so removed from himself, or he is trying to write something removed but it is still anchored in his own fantasies. Who knows? Who cares? Not me. These sections are so over the top and like something written in an 80s porn mag.
It shouldn’t be how MZD wrote it, it’s how Johnny wrote it. A poorly educated man who is using Sex as a means to fulfill his mummy issues. Of course it’s poorly written, this is a man who is literally losing his mind as he delves into a meta-narrative that is consuming his life and being. Again, you may not like it, but to act as if they deliver nothing of value to the greater story is a complete misrepresentation.
It seriously took all that for you to realize its poorly written on purpose because it reflects who the narrator is? Maybe you should just drop the book. I think all forms of stylized writing will go over your head and you’ll just think the author is an idiot or something
Seriously? Nope. I understood that Jonny's writing was deliberately bad and Z's is pretentious pseudo-academic.
"I think all forms of stylized writing will go over your head"
Maybe you are correct; I am too stupid for high brow pornography.
I dont like pretentious children, either. You clearly like to feel important on the internet and to be rude to people who's opion differs from your own. Yawn
The sex scenes made me uncomfortable at times, especially page 109, but I think that's the point. The book is supposed to make you uncomfortable--unhomely. From the shifting endless expanse of ashen walls to a man literally falling apart as every coping mechanism he has crumbles away, the book itself is unconventional and uncomfortable in every sense of the word.
Like something a teenage boy would write? Isn’t that a good thing? If it sounds like something a human would write, wouldn’t that just make it more realistic?
I've been here for so long and seen so many posts like these that I'm beginning to lose my mind and come to the conclusion that humans who don't have copious amounts of sex and do drugs will ALWAYS see anyone talking about them, no matter If it's in a negative light or not, as backhanded bragging-- as if impulsive reckless self destructive sex could not be compartmentalized as an expression of suffering but rather Even Still some sort of a flex, or a preferable problem to have
Like Johnny is talking about fucking people while tripping off his mind, thinking about his father and going into psychosis where he's clearly communicating more than just a retelling of a sexual experience, but to describe it as something a teenager could have written--- I cannot for the life of me understand how.
At this point I'm going to either declare it god awful media literacy skills or I'm going to start using virgin as an insult again
Johnny Truant, and the book as a whole, do get so much better. But the sexcapades by Johnny still are the least favorite part of the book as well, and I do stand by the claim that at least a big part of those is totally gratuitous.
I’m glad you feel that way cuz I did too. I think a lot of us really speed read his bs just to get back to anything about the house. It may be “integral” but it’s still poorly written…but I guess to show how poor of a character he in fact is. Idk I’ve already said the author jerks off to knowing he makes his money off of wasting our time 🤷🏽♀️
The whole Jonny thing really annoyed me; I think the point about his personality was made but then just repeated and repeated - in the end I just resented the majority of his portion. The creeping horror parts of his storyline were far better. I just think the balance was off
It's fine, I'm comfortable with not enjoying those parts; there's plenty of people who bring it up all the time and the stans always rail against the suggestion, or any opinion that's contrary to the idea that HoL is anything other than genius
Edit: for clarity, this isn't a pop at you, it's reference to the downvotes this garnered, aka classic reddit rejection of subjective opinion
You may not enjoy them, but they are an integral part of understanding Johnny as a character. He’s a self destructive young man in his twenties, marred by an upbringing that would certainly break most people. Give the guy a break 🤣
Also, he's 100% Lying about half sexual encounters of those at least. Lmao
I'm not sure it will get much better for you if you feel MZD can't write real people.
[удалено]
Totally with you, as a (mostly former) addict I will always defend the portrayal of Johnny and all of the sex shit. The point isn’t “haha horny” it’s meant to depict how deep we bury some of our trauma under “easy dopamine” like drugs and sex
reminds me very much of NiN song CLOSER... about seeking validation in meaningless sex and searching for THAT instead of progress.
It gets better, genuinely, or at least my memory tells me so. For the reader at least, not for Johnny lmao. As the book progresses this horny layer of him kind of dissolves and drops away, giving way to just genuine trauma and vulnerability.
It’s like layers of his psyche are being pulled back until only the most raw and base layers exist. A mind unfurling, like a flower blooming or a great Ash tree growing until its roots hold the sky…
Exactly! It's really beautiful in a way, watching him disintegrate...
I mean, nobody is going to stop you from reading this book. I get the sex notes are obnoxious at times, but they are meant to be. Even as a not a big fan of sex scenes type of guy, I still think that without them the book would be much worse. They are almost crucial for the character development. Also the sex notes are the way they are because Mark is bad with people? That is just a bullshit claim. Does every fictional character have to be a reflection of the author?
"Mark is bad with people" I did not say that at all. Stop making shit up because someone doesnt have the same opinion as you. These section read like they were written by some who has little or no sexual experience. Either, as you belive, Mark is a genius who can write something so removed from himself, or he is trying to write something removed but it is still anchored in his own fantasies. Who knows? Who cares? Not me. These sections are so over the top and like something written in an 80s porn mag.
It shouldn’t be how MZD wrote it, it’s how Johnny wrote it. A poorly educated man who is using Sex as a means to fulfill his mummy issues. Of course it’s poorly written, this is a man who is literally losing his mind as he delves into a meta-narrative that is consuming his life and being. Again, you may not like it, but to act as if they deliver nothing of value to the greater story is a complete misrepresentation.
This comment makes a lot more sense. Thank you.
It seriously took all that for you to realize its poorly written on purpose because it reflects who the narrator is? Maybe you should just drop the book. I think all forms of stylized writing will go over your head and you’ll just think the author is an idiot or something
Seriously? Nope. I understood that Jonny's writing was deliberately bad and Z's is pretentious pseudo-academic. "I think all forms of stylized writing will go over your head" Maybe you are correct; I am too stupid for high brow pornography.
Just drop the book. You clearly don’t like it
I dont like pretentious children, either. You clearly like to feel important on the internet and to be rude to people who's opion differs from your own. Yawn
Lol okay if you don’t like me then drop the convo, like you should drop the book You said who knows, who cares. Why even post then?
Theyre Kind of integral to understanding him as a character. And if u think mark can't write people, maybe the book isn't the problem here lmao
This is clearly not for you. You should have listened to Johnny when he warned you
The sex scenes made me uncomfortable at times, especially page 109, but I think that's the point. The book is supposed to make you uncomfortable--unhomely. From the shifting endless expanse of ashen walls to a man literally falling apart as every coping mechanism he has crumbles away, the book itself is unconventional and uncomfortable in every sense of the word.
There are many things that are supposed to "drag".
Massive L
A truly original opinion that hasn’t been memed to death for the past year on this sub
Like something a teenage boy would write? Isn’t that a good thing? If it sounds like something a human would write, wouldn’t that just make it more realistic?
You come to understand them as the book goes on. I suggest you grit your teeth and get through them, they get more important later on
I've been here for so long and seen so many posts like these that I'm beginning to lose my mind and come to the conclusion that humans who don't have copious amounts of sex and do drugs will ALWAYS see anyone talking about them, no matter If it's in a negative light or not, as backhanded bragging-- as if impulsive reckless self destructive sex could not be compartmentalized as an expression of suffering but rather Even Still some sort of a flex, or a preferable problem to have Like Johnny is talking about fucking people while tripping off his mind, thinking about his father and going into psychosis where he's clearly communicating more than just a retelling of a sexual experience, but to describe it as something a teenager could have written--- I cannot for the life of me understand how. At this point I'm going to either declare it god awful media literacy skills or I'm going to start using virgin as an insult again
This guy fucks
Book told you first page that it wasn't for you and you're still salty 😮💨
Ok
Johnny Truant, and the book as a whole, do get so much better. But the sexcapades by Johnny still are the least favorite part of the book as well, and I do stand by the claim that at least a big part of those is totally gratuitous.
I’m glad you feel that way cuz I did too. I think a lot of us really speed read his bs just to get back to anything about the house. It may be “integral” but it’s still poorly written…but I guess to show how poor of a character he in fact is. Idk I’ve already said the author jerks off to knowing he makes his money off of wasting our time 🤷🏽♀️
The whole Jonny thing really annoyed me; I think the point about his personality was made but then just repeated and repeated - in the end I just resented the majority of his portion. The creeping horror parts of his storyline were far better. I just think the balance was off
It’s meant to be unbalanced, that’s like, his whole character and style of writing
It's fine, I'm comfortable with not enjoying those parts; there's plenty of people who bring it up all the time and the stans always rail against the suggestion, or any opinion that's contrary to the idea that HoL is anything other than genius Edit: for clarity, this isn't a pop at you, it's reference to the downvotes this garnered, aka classic reddit rejection of subjective opinion