Title: Okay, but nothing new, nothing great.
Product review: Byler's debut is indeed impressive, as the hype indicates. However, contrary to critical consensus, Byler's voice is not all that new; in fact, I found it to be rather tired and trite, though often amusing. All in all, though, this book--oh, another thing: no way is this a novel--is better than much of the [stuff] that's published these days, but there's not one ounce of originality in any of the stories. Even the structure is borrowed: from Hemingway, no less. Byler, get real, get fresh, do something new with your newfound fame. Don't believe your own hype.
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