Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Put Down
Review: Adam Johnson is gifted writer. Let there be no denying that fact. His prose can take your breath away. His characters were well written, but if you're a fan of contemporary fiction, you will recognize the shadow of a Jimmy Minty or Grady Tripp, borrowed from Russo and Chabon. My biggest gripe concerns the storyline, which really sort of goes down in flames toward the end. Oh, it's worth reading and it will, at moments, leave you shaking your head in appreciation. At the end though, it'll just leave you shaking your head.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put Down
Review: After reading the first paragraph I couldn't put this book down until it was completely read. Now I wish I hadn't read it yet!This is a great book for people who like caveman setting type books.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark and clever comedy
Review: Hank Hannah is a professor of anthropology, but he is the antithesis of Indiana Jones. He works at a second-rate university, has difficulty gaining credibility among his academic peers, and is unlucky in love. He finally hits pay dirt when a doctoral student he advises unearths the grave of a prehistoric Clovis hunter. Attempting to dig at the site without the appropriate permissions, Hank winds up in a scuffle with the police that lands him in a minimum security prison. In the meanwhile, the dig unleashes a nasty surprise with worldwide repercussions. There is a lot of dark and outlandish humor here, as first-time novelist Adam Johnson pokes fun at academia and our materialistic society. There are many comic scenes of Hank and his students fumbling their way through their research, of Hank's womanizing, carefree father, and of the cop who likes Pomeranians, hates Hank, and raises his kids in boot-camp fashion. Interspersed with the wry humor, however, is a serious message. There are some powerful descriptions of life after the apocalypse. We are reminded of the gloomy forecast for our future if we repeat the history of our Clovis antecedents by destroying our environment and ourselves with it. We get to view ourselves as a future anthropologist would when looking back on our culture through the artifacts of our lives. "Parasites Like Us" will make you laugh. But more importantly, it will make you think about what it means to be human. I look forward to other novels by Johnson.
Rating:
Summary: crazy, but exhillerating
Review: Johnson does a wonderful job creating believable yet eccentric characters in his first novel. There are no other novels that I know of that are quite like this. The characters are at once loveable and yet you want to keep your distance. You get pulled into the book easily, but you wish you hadn't. His vibrant descriptions make one squirm at just the thoughts, yet there's something that pulls the reader to keep reading. There's always hope for the main characters of the story, and though there's a bittersweet ending, the book leaves you with a sense that everything will be okay.
Rating:
Summary: crazy, but exhillerating
Review: Johnson does a wonderful job creating believable yet eccentric characters in his first novel. There are no other novels that I know of that are quite like this. The characters are at once loveable and yet you want to keep your distance. You get pulled into the book easily, but you wish you hadn't. His vibrant descriptions make one squirm at just the thoughts, yet there's something that pulls the reader to keep reading. There's always hope for the main characters of the story, and though there's a bittersweet ending, the book leaves you with a sense that everything will be okay.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and intelligently written
Review: Johnson does an excellent job of capturing the essence of an eccentric college professor and his equally odd and interesting students, probably because he is a professor himself. Each character is beautifully portrayed, shortcomings included.
To me, the best part of this novel occurs just when you think it's slowly winding down, just when you begin to loose interest: it hits you! Perhaps even better is HOW it hits you, it doesn't simply get laid out for you; you're left with more questions than answers, and feelings of helplessness and isolation--similar to real life.
Another reason this book gets five stars is how intelligently it is written. Johnson masters the English language in every sentence, selecting the most precise word to convey his story. No cliché, overused, mundane phrases here.
Overall a great book that proffers an interesting theory about the "depletionist" nature of humankind, through an incredible and unique novel.
Rating:
Summary: Johnson Delivers
Review: Johnson solidifies his reputation as one of America's hot young writers with this powerful follow up to last year's short story collection. This is a book that's got it all--surreal characters and situations, dark humor, social commentary, stunning poetic language, and profound wisdom about what it means to be human at the end of the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: The New Face of Postmodern Fiction
Review: Johnson's first novel is a loose, brawling, gritty, comic tale while retaining a great touch of the transcendent. The jokes come fast and the heartache faster. The attention to detail and fact (or not - who knows?) is astounding; small details abound - but certainly no small ideas as Johnson attacks our notions of archeology, academia, history, memory, and family.
The next generation of writers is developing as we speak, a new vanguard of young novelists whose style and themes will come to dominate American fiction: Johnson may not be driving this boat but he sure has his hand on the throttle. This is a thrilling read with intelligence and talent to spare.
Rating:
Summary: A Review as artifact.....
Review: Ok, just a little inside joke there, for people who have read the book.....
What a great story! I've read a lot of "plague takes mankind" books, and this one has by far blown most of them out of the water. A really well written story, laugh out loud funny when you least expect it, and all around satisfying reading. I recommend it hugely.
Rating:
Summary: Witty prose with great characters and storyline
Review: Parasites Like Us is a wonderfully written novel that had me laughing out loud within the opening pages and throughout the book. I found myself thinking about the characters between reading sessions and after I finished the book. Adam Johnson is a gifted writer. This is not your typical story...a guaranteed unique and enjoyable experience.
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