Reviews

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee

recycledwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I was excited by the premise of this book but found it didn't live up to my expectations. The characters were likeable but I didn't find myself engrossed in their stories.

The book is billed as a critique of capitalism. It somewhat lived up to this, it didn't really provide much hope in my opinion but it did point out in various ways how impossible it can be to get out of debt in modern day America through no fault of one's own.

everuth91's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.25

flyingorcas's review

dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

torts's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad

• 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

This book is

like what you'd get if you took Stranger Than Fiction's bumbling protagonist facing imminent death, with the existential dread and capitalist ennui of The Pale King and the surreal dystopian magic of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself and an element of the satirizing of racial and class-based displacement of They Cloned Tyrone and romantic memory-sucking of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and stitched it together with the undercurrent of deeply-unsettling-twin nightmares of Annihilation (the movie). But also

wholly its own thing.

vgk's review

Just not for me at this time. I was finding it quite depressing and anxiety-inducing, so I stopped reading at page 54.

porbee's review

dark emotional funny

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Jonathan Abernathy you Are INSUFFERABLE!!! Loved this book 4.5 stars great job

eliya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Maybe my favorite book I have read this year so far. It is worth noting that the books that call to me or especially are touching to me are the ones that follow the human experience in its rawest form. The characters are neither good nor bad (debatable to some), just plagued with choice and consequence.  

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind is about the lies we tell ourselves to quiet the sting of guilt and regret. It is about the crushing weight of what we owe to those around us. Jonathan Abernathy is a well-meaning man in so much financial debt, he does what he is convinced is the “right” decision - the only way to get out of the debt he is submerged in. He is a rule follower, he actively doesn’t do things that might cause him any more pain and suffering than he already endures. Jonathan Abernathy is so afraid of making a bad decision, he makes none. So many of his circumstances happened upon him, so he appears to think that even if he does absolutely nothing, bad things will happen.  He is a spineless man and he is me at my worst. This character really resonated with me. 

The book ends so beautifully. This is such a heartbreaking story and I will remember it for so long. 
 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Suicide, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Body horror

treebark18's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

ztremohno's review

The magical realism was too real and not magical enough. Too me right out. 

possibilityleft's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5