Scan barcode
camerongib's review
4.0
pleasant reading, a mature way with words, intriguing accounts, clever observations and peculiar characters, i will read another nunez.
sam_bizar_wilcox's review
4.0
To describe Sigrid Nunez’s new novel, What Are You Going Through, as anything other than a revelation would be slanderous. Nunez is an author that traffics in thoughts, allowing the reader to seamlessly peer into the mind of her narrator. It is a metaphysical sleight-of-hand, this novel, as it immerses the reader so deeply in her conversations that one forgets this is a fiction. What happens in the book seems as though they cannot be contained within the page. Indeed, the central focus of the novel is not its plot—which revolves around a visit between the narrator and her terminally-ill friend—but the musings that collectively assemble a grappling with death. The work of What Are You Going Through coalesces almost in the form of a Socratic dialogue, interlocutors on opposing sides divining meaning through a series of conversations. The result, however, is not one single definition or meaning of life and death, but an honest account of coping with their effects. It becomes, then, less a work of fiction and more a study of grief and—ambitiously, courageously—humanity itself.
sdossantos's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
oh my god this woman can write
willspeer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hufflo's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.0
sherilynharper's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
mjkienbaum's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
jarcher's review
3.0
“What Are You Going Through” is a companion piece to “The Friend.” If you enjoyed the latter you will enjoy the former, and vice versa. I loved “The Friend,” and though this novel did not quite live up to its predecessor, it has the same conversational intimacy and subtle depth while discussing life’s most important questions. It’s a short read but a dense one in the best ways.
emilyb84's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death