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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This might be the new contender for best book I’ve read this year. It was so good; moving, funny, strange, just pure perfection.
Interesting premise, but I struggled to
stay engaged. Finished it and ultimately enjoyed it but it was a slog.
stay engaged. Finished it and ultimately enjoyed it but it was a slog.
I thought this book was interesting. There are some stirringly beautiful passages, however, I think Matt Haig sometimes sacrifices plot and character development in favor of lengthy ruminations on life and what it means to be human. This book could easily be half as long, and you would still get the entirety of the storyline. It felt at times as if Haig had written some good essays on the human experience and decided to tape them together using this alien narrator and call it a novel. That said, I still enjoyed the book, and found myself laughing out loud at many parts, while also being moved by the prose and introspection at points. The last third is especially wonderful. I would recommend this book to my more fervent of reader friends, but not anyone who is easily bored, nor would I read it again.
Rather than crafting characters with depth or telling a rich story the author uses the set up of an alien on earth as a soap box for his personal philosophy. He says in the preface " ...read this book with an open mind, and to work out for yourself the true value of human life" but he doesn't really let you work it out for yourself. I want to be led to the moral, not spoon fed it.
Thank you to @SimonBooks #SimonBooksBuddy #FreeGift.
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emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book. How interesting that a perfect exploration of what it means to be human comes from an alien narrator. Great read.
if I were an alien sent to earth I would also be weird and love my dog.