Praise for Tao Lin's "Shoplifting From American Apparel"
"Tao Lin writes from moods that less radical writers would let pass--from laziness, from vacancy, from boredom. And it turns out that his report from these places is moving and necessary, not to mention frequently hilarious."
--Miranda July, author of "No One Belongs Here More Than You
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"A humorous reflection on the instantaneity of Internet-era life and relationships.... The writing stays fresh, thanks to occasional oddball dialogue about everything from Oscar Wilde to what exactly constitutes a fight with a girlfriend. And for all his meandering prose, there's something charming about Lin's directness. Writing about being an artist makes most contemporary artists self-conscious, squeamish and arch. Lin, however, appears to be comfortable, even earnest, when his characters try to describe their aspirations (or their shortcomings).... Purposefully raw."
--"Time Out New York"
"Lin's candid exploration of Sam's Web existence (and by extension, his own) is full of melancholy, tension, and hilarity... Lin is a master of pinpointing the ways in which the Internet and text messages can quell loneliness, while acknowledging that these faceless forms of communication probably created that loneliness to begin with."
--"The Boston Phoenix"
"Somehow both stilted and confessional.... often funny.... Lin is doing his best to capture a mid-twenties malaise, a droning urban existence that--in the hands of a mildly depressed narrator--never peaks nor pitches enough to warrant drama. In a way, it makes more sense to think of Tao Lin as a painter or performance artist; his work attempts to evoke through persistent, dull-edged provocation."
--"Time Out Chicago"
"Uniquely sad, funny, and understated in all the right ways. In his most autobiographical work yet, Tao Lin has once again created a book that will polarize ctitics, but reward his fans."
--"largehearted boy"
"A r