Reviews

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

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Gosh, I feel really bad, but I just did not connect with this book very much. The writing was gorgeous, it had a very lush, rich texture to it almost, and I liked the way the POVs dipped into the heads of the different characters as the story progressed.

But... those characters, this story, it just felt all very academic and distant to me, in a strange way? I feel like when people who don't like literary fiction imagine what the genre is like, this book is exactly it: a pretty bleak story about inter-generational trauma and suffering, with a slow-moving plot.

I think the biggest disappointment for me in this book is that up until like the halfway mark, I thought this book was going to be about grandmother, mother, and son all coming together. I thought the book would be about Bonaparte. Those were the most interesting sections to me, and I kept waiting for Ava and Toussaint to finally go there and reunite with Dutchess. And that is a promise that the book never fulfills. Instead it just keeps building and building up to a tension point that doesn't really have catharsis, I guess.

So yeah. I can't deny that this book has a lot of gorgeous individual elements in it, but for me, it just didn't really hit the spot.

melissa_cosgrove's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

candacesiegle_greedyreader's review

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4.0

Everyone in this novel is unsettled. Even in the tiny hamlet of Bonaparte, Alabama, Dutchess sees the world she has loved threatened by new housing developments and old friends leaving to enjoy their senior years elsewhere. In Philadelphia, her daughter Ava has taken her son and left the most stable home either of them have ever known for a homeless shelter. Cass seeks to create a utopia but builds a shaky cult in a struggling neighborhood.

Ayana Mathis uses the 1985 MOVE bombing as the crux of her story. The characters are complex and not entirely likable but it is hard not to become entangled in their story. You will feel a lot in this novel, mostly anger at the racism, misogyny, hopelessness, deception, and more. Mathis has a literary style that is accessible and sweeping. The story will keep you engaged.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC. This is my honest review.

laur_en's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really needed to have DNFd this one, but I was too far in to exit. Brought no value to my life!, which is terrible because it covered some important topics. Started strong but quickly lost its traction.

Content Warnings

theredheadbaker's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

every_morning's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Really didn’t like several of the characters. And some of the situations felt extreme. Made it hard to connect to the story overall. Probably part of the point with a book that is about generational trauma, but I still did not like it.

mnboyer's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Book of the Month Club: October 2023

Dark, dark vibes throughout but the kind that you're not going to easily forget. I want to make a longer comment here but at the same time, I'm having trouble processing my feelings about this one. I'd say if you like historical fiction with heavy discussions of race and multiple viewpoints, this one is for you.