Comments (21)

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Nov 15, 2021BARosen1112 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Lisa Halliday's promising first novel is probably intended for those more receptive to experimental forms of novels than me. Asymmetry is in three parts. The first is called Folly, which follows a young woman's affair with an elderly…
Jul 28, 2021cmnnielsen rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I wish I had read the acknowledgments (at the end of the book) first. They explain the references to other literature.
Jul 01, 2020DrPaul_0 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is an absolutely brilliant novel. It will be enjoyed most by discerning readers with a good literary and cultural background. I enjoyed the richness of the narrative detail in all three sections of the book. And I was amazed by how…
May 08, 2020CALS_Lee rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
That now old generation of patronizingly sexist and overbearing celebrated male authors gets a mostly tender jabbing here from Halliday, who wryly draws upon her real life “Folly” of sharing Phillip Roth’s bed to sketch out a young blank…
Jan 29, 2020redtayres rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A novel of such high regard (on NYT best books of the year list as well as Obama's) comes with high expectations and I'm just echoing a professional reviewer's remarks when I say that I'd have enjoyed reading 200 more pages of the book's…
Dec 27, 2019
2 sections connected by shocking coda; about ideas; politically engaged
Oct 12, 2019
NYT 2018 10 best
Apr 26, 2019
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday, Winner of the Whiting Award n 2017. Nothing short of a literary phenomenon, a book so well crafted and powerful that every word has to be weighed gently, like a tiny bird in the palm of your hand. It could…
Apr 06, 2019peacebenow rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Halliday is a wise creative writer. I found following this story a bit challenging. When able to engage w/ the diverse characters, the book became more meaningful. For me it was a stretch and took more effort to read/connect the dots…
Mar 11, 2019
Well, damn! I guess midway through my ninth decade I've learned I have no feel for innovative fiction (if I had any prior). I would love to say I see the connection between 'Folly' & 'Madness' but I don't. I loved the Alice/Ezra story.…
Mar 11, 2019nalahblueberry5 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved it
Jan 30, 2019krsbozo rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A beautifully written book. Amazing to think that this is Lisa Halliday's first novel. It's not a typical novel in its form. There are two very different sections focusing on two different stories. They seem unrelated, but of course, they…
JCLS_Ashland_Kristin
Jan 17, 2019JCLS_Ashland_Kristin rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Uniquely structured, these 3 loosely connected stories won’t be for everyone. This one will stick with me for a while as the resonances between the stories continue to sink in. Interesting.
Jan 05, 2019
Obama's List
Dec 29, 2018
On Barack Obama's Top Books of 2018
Nov 30, 2018
NYT Best 10 Books
Nov 28, 2018
Intriguing book; and especially so with Philip Roth's recent death. Really well written and you want to think it's all true (she did have a relationship with Roth). The second part of the book- a seemingly unrelated story, is also totally…
Nov 18, 2018llwboston rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
A memorable sentence in the "Folly" section helped me guess early on the connection to the "Madness" section. I have been struck by how many online commenters have finished the book without seeing the connection, (there is also a clue in…
Sep 04, 2018uncommonreader rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading this clever book. Halliday reveals in an interview with the NY Times that she had a romantic relationship with Philip Roth when she was a young editor, which makes the first of the three parts of the book…
Jul 13, 2018lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
"This is because politics in imaginative work is like a shot in the middle of a concert. The noise is deafening but it imparts no energy." A woman gets involved with an older writer. An economist is detained at the airport. Year later, the…
Mar 18, 2018Candaceb108 rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
The first part of the book is interesting for awhile. The second section relates to a completely different topic, and I supposer represents the asymmetry of the title. In other words, while the mundane is happening others are trapped in a…