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snailweed's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mamasquirrel's review
3.0
While the addiction end of the story got repetitive, the challenges of refugee assistance was deftly unfolded and analyzed. The author also has an excellent self-deprecating tone that drew me in immediately and kept me reading through to the end.
social_eyes's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this was a fantastic, self-aware, heart felt, and hilarious novel. I devoured it in a day and a half. I was hesitant with its premise of a white guy dealing with addiction and working with refugees, but because the author was a friend from high school, I read it and I’m SO GLAD I did. This book is so much more than its premise. What really makes this book lovable and relatable is the narrator. I suspect I’m not the only one who saw myself in his hyper self-observation and skepticism of his own intentions, his insecurity and awkwardness, and his deep desire to connect and help. This is a pretty close to perfect book, and the first published from this author. I can’t wait to see what comes next from him.
booksnbrains's review
3.5
I enjoyed this quick read, even if it did feel a bit "white boy trying to make himself feel better about the injustice of the world" at times. At least the author was upfront with the ridiculousness that is the "white savior" and acknowledged the fact that Westerners often do things just to relieve their own guilt without thought for consequences, that empathy is often a tool for self-aggrandizement rather than a true emotional response. This is the story of Jonas Anderson, a 20-something recovered drug addict who finds himself in college in Sweden in the middle of the "refugee crisis" of 2015. There are many touching moments and occasional humor, including some good digs at American privilege and our current government. I just would prefer not to read another book about a white male trying to make himself feel better (the book is called Such Good Work!), but I was pleased with the humanizing of refugees and the self-awareness of the main character.
missmesmerized's review against another edition
5.0
After losing his teaching job at a college because of his very peculiar assignments, Jonas Anderson moves to Sweden to change perspective and to have a fresh start. Even though he is some years older than the students there, he socialises with them easily and leads the life he had in his early 20s. After the break-up with his German girlfriend, he moves from Lund to Malmö, the town where 2015 masses of immigrants from the Middle East arrived. Seeing the hottest political topic in front of his own door, Jonas decides to get active and to volunteer in the work with the migrants, too. He soon realises that all that is meant to be supportive and good, doesn’t necessarily turn out to be such a good idea in the end.
Johannes Lichtman’s novel isn’t easy to sum up or to describe since his protagonist goes through tremendous changes throughout the novel which also affect the plot and the tone a lot. I really enjoyed the first part a lot when we meet Jonas trying to be a creative writing teacher. The tone here is refreshing and the character’s naiveté makes him sympathetic and likeable. With moving to Sweden and becoming a stranger and outsider, his role changes, yet, he still needs more time until he actually grows up and does something meaningful with his life.
The last part, his work with the unaccompanied minors, was for me personally the most interesting because I could empathise with him easily. Having myself worked with those youths when they came to Germany in 2015 and 2016, I went through the same emotions that Jonas went through. And I had to do exactly the same learning process: you want to help and you have good ideas, but actually they sometimes go past the needs of the refugees. The struggle between the news where all the immigrants were treated as a homogeneous mass and where the focus was put on the danger that came with them, and the everyday experiences with real people made it often hard to cope with the situation. In this respect, Lichtman did a great job because he depicted reality as it was back then.
All in all, a novel that addresses so many different topics with a lively and highly likeable style of writing, a great read not to be missed.
Johannes Lichtman’s novel isn’t easy to sum up or to describe since his protagonist goes through tremendous changes throughout the novel which also affect the plot and the tone a lot. I really enjoyed the first part a lot when we meet Jonas trying to be a creative writing teacher. The tone here is refreshing and the character’s naiveté makes him sympathetic and likeable. With moving to Sweden and becoming a stranger and outsider, his role changes, yet, he still needs more time until he actually grows up and does something meaningful with his life.
The last part, his work with the unaccompanied minors, was for me personally the most interesting because I could empathise with him easily. Having myself worked with those youths when they came to Germany in 2015 and 2016, I went through the same emotions that Jonas went through. And I had to do exactly the same learning process: you want to help and you have good ideas, but actually they sometimes go past the needs of the refugees. The struggle between the news where all the immigrants were treated as a homogeneous mass and where the focus was put on the danger that came with them, and the everyday experiences with real people made it often hard to cope with the situation. In this respect, Lichtman did a great job because he depicted reality as it was back then.
All in all, a novel that addresses so many different topics with a lively and highly likeable style of writing, a great read not to be missed.
aribookie's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable and thoughtful, though maybe I’d lean towards 3.5 because it was slow to start. Probably could’ve skipped the whole part in the US at the beginning.
emilyinherhead's review
4.0
3.5 stars.
Jonas is a graduate student in his late 20s who struggles with addiction and moves to Sweden to avoid drugs (hopefully), finish his degree, and do something good with his life. Throughout the book I alternated between disliking Jonas and identifying with him—extensive discussion of drugs aside (they are a large part of what he thinks about, understandably), he is a fairly relatable character, which at times made me feel implicated and uncomfortable. He's very honest and introspective about how the driving forces behind doing good things aren't always as pure as we'd like to believe.
Though not a lot happens plot-wise, I enjoyed following along in Jonas' head and watching a subtle shift take place as he attempted to improve his behavior and understand his own motivations. Johannes Lichtman brings up some really meaty and important points here, about selfishness, self-righteousness, and condescension in the context of helping others. I can see this story being especially salient to privileged white readers trying to figure out their place in contemporary discussions of race, immigration, and poverty.
Jonas is a graduate student in his late 20s who struggles with addiction and moves to Sweden to avoid drugs (hopefully), finish his degree, and do something good with his life. Throughout the book I alternated between disliking Jonas and identifying with him—extensive discussion of drugs aside (they are a large part of what he thinks about, understandably), he is a fairly relatable character, which at times made me feel implicated and uncomfortable. He's very honest and introspective about how the driving forces behind doing good things aren't always as pure as we'd like to believe.
Though not a lot happens plot-wise, I enjoyed following along in Jonas' head and watching a subtle shift take place as he attempted to improve his behavior and understand his own motivations. Johannes Lichtman brings up some really meaty and important points here, about selfishness, self-righteousness, and condescension in the context of helping others. I can see this story being especially salient to privileged white readers trying to figure out their place in contemporary discussions of race, immigration, and poverty.
goldbergsk's review
3.0
First: thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
So. This book. In a lot of ways, this book reminds me why I stopped reading literature by straight white men for a year.
Such Good Work tells the story of Jonas, from his time as a literature lecturer in Wilimington, NC, where he's cycling between sobriety and drug addiction, though a similar gig (and similar on-again/off-again relationship with the wagon) in Eugene Oregon, to his grad program in Sweden, where he finally finds sobriety, finds himself, and finds a new purpose in life as an advocate, mentor, and English tutor for young refugee boys fleeing the current Syrian (and broader Middle East) crisis.
There is a lot about this book that's good. I really enjoy Lichtman's writing style, which is so realistic, with such a well developed protagonist, that I was convinced this was a memoir (as another reviewer has said), rather than a work of fiction. I also admire Lichtman's ambition, in trying to tackle so many of the pressing issues of RIGHT NOW--the refugee crisis, crumbling/exploitative academic culture, drug addiction/opioid crisis, and the bigger theme of our time which, in my opinion, is the constant struggle between doing good, remaining informed, and getting burned out or horribly depressed/anxious, vs, becoming apathetic and willfully ignorant in an attempt at self-preservation and being able to get out of bed. To this last point, I particularly appreciate the honesty with which Jonas narrates these conflicting emotions and urges--at many points, I found myself screaming "YES! THIS!" in support, as he accurately described feelings I've grappled with, but have yet been able to label.
However, the biggest problem is that, well, I just don't care what Jonas thinks. The first half of the book, where Jonas flits from class to class, and from sobriety to using, reads a bit too much like the 'white boy who desires to be a writer struggles to write' trope, one which was recently employed far more successfully, in The Nix (which also features a Scandinavian-American washed-up writing wunderkind who struggles with alienation/addictions, gets dropped into something much bigger, and slowly pulls himself out). I keep remembering the saying that 'being a drunk/addict doesn't make you interesting'--since that's the only thing that makes Jonas a bit unique, and even that isn't that unique (the constant repeated comments of "I wish I was high/on drugs" etc. were so bland they seemed more like bored off-hand comments, rather than given the weight and urgency that would seem more appropriate). More than that, it's far too long---for a book to claim to be about responses to the refugee crisis, the fact that refugees don't even show up till almost two-thirds of the way through the book, is a disservice.
As a result, this book is far too much about Jonas, who, in my opinion, is the least interesting part of the story. I also can't tell if we're supposed to view (and call out) Jonas for the naive, slightly self-centered, prototypical 'privileged white dude' that he is, or if Lichtman is himself unable to see the flaws in his character. Though at several points, Jonas calls himself out for veering a bit too much into 'instagram activism'/'voluentourism,' that he still continues to carry out the very actions he chides himself for, makes me wonder if we're supposed to forgive him, or pity him. And the end result is that these call-outs read more like Lichtman's insertions to avoid future criticism from angry internet mobs, rather than core parts of Jonas' character.
All this being said, I definitely enjoyed this book more than I didn't, mostly due to Lichtman's strong writing style. And once I recover from all the eye rolling, I definitely look forward to reading future works by him.
So. This book. In a lot of ways, this book reminds me why I stopped reading literature by straight white men for a year.
Such Good Work tells the story of Jonas, from his time as a literature lecturer in Wilimington, NC, where he's cycling between sobriety and drug addiction, though a similar gig (and similar on-again/off-again relationship with the wagon) in Eugene Oregon, to his grad program in Sweden, where he finally finds sobriety, finds himself, and finds a new purpose in life as an advocate, mentor, and English tutor for young refugee boys fleeing the current Syrian (and broader Middle East) crisis.
There is a lot about this book that's good. I really enjoy Lichtman's writing style, which is so realistic, with such a well developed protagonist, that I was convinced this was a memoir (as another reviewer has said), rather than a work of fiction. I also admire Lichtman's ambition, in trying to tackle so many of the pressing issues of RIGHT NOW--the refugee crisis, crumbling/exploitative academic culture, drug addiction/opioid crisis, and the bigger theme of our time which, in my opinion, is the constant struggle between doing good, remaining informed, and getting burned out or horribly depressed/anxious, vs, becoming apathetic and willfully ignorant in an attempt at self-preservation and being able to get out of bed. To this last point, I particularly appreciate the honesty with which Jonas narrates these conflicting emotions and urges--at many points, I found myself screaming "YES! THIS!" in support, as he accurately described feelings I've grappled with, but have yet been able to label.
However, the biggest problem is that, well, I just don't care what Jonas thinks. The first half of the book, where Jonas flits from class to class, and from sobriety to using, reads a bit too much like the 'white boy who desires to be a writer struggles to write' trope, one which was recently employed far more successfully, in The Nix (which also features a Scandinavian-American washed-up writing wunderkind who struggles with alienation/addictions, gets dropped into something much bigger, and slowly pulls himself out). I keep remembering the saying that 'being a drunk/addict doesn't make you interesting'--since that's the only thing that makes Jonas a bit unique, and even that isn't that unique (the constant repeated comments of "I wish I was high/on drugs" etc. were so bland they seemed more like bored off-hand comments, rather than given the weight and urgency that would seem more appropriate). More than that, it's far too long---for a book to claim to be about responses to the refugee crisis, the fact that refugees don't even show up till almost two-thirds of the way through the book, is a disservice.
As a result, this book is far too much about Jonas, who, in my opinion, is the least interesting part of the story. I also can't tell if we're supposed to view (and call out) Jonas for the naive, slightly self-centered, prototypical 'privileged white dude' that he is, or if Lichtman is himself unable to see the flaws in his character. Though at several points, Jonas calls himself out for veering a bit too much into 'instagram activism'/'voluentourism,' that he still continues to carry out the very actions he chides himself for, makes me wonder if we're supposed to forgive him, or pity him. And the end result is that these call-outs read more like Lichtman's insertions to avoid future criticism from angry internet mobs, rather than core parts of Jonas' character.
All this being said, I definitely enjoyed this book more than I didn't, mostly due to Lichtman's strong writing style. And once I recover from all the eye rolling, I definitely look forward to reading future works by him.