3.9k reviews for:

Wellness

Nathan Hill

4.14 AVERAGE

vale_ns's review against another edition

3.25

emotional informative medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nuts246's review against another edition

4.25

emotional informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"Wellness" is the story of Jack and Elizabeth, who fell in love as college students in the 1990s, dated, got married, had a child, and twenty years later have reached a point in their relationship where they wonder if it is even worth salvaging. The trajectory of their life together is so familiar- the giddy days of falling in love, the settling down into predictable patterns, the gradual growing apart. The novel is set in the present where they are struggling to parent a child with what appears to be behavioural issues, not wanting to expect that they didn't achieve what they had hoped to achieve, and trying they best to salvage their relationship without really speaking about it with their partners. Nathan Hill captures this middle aged angst really well, and describes the various slightly dubious ways in which different people cope with the right degree of snark which is entertaining without being judgemental.
Jack and Elizabeth became the people they did because of what happened in their childhood, and these stories are captured as a series of vignettes, each of which could easily be a short story in itself. There are also frequent digressions- into placebos, into social media algorithms, into landscape art of the Prairies- which could become tedious because they pop up just when you are settling into the story.
The ending was also slightly disappointing- both Jack and Elizabeth had sudden insights almost simultaneously, and decide to take exactly the right steps needed to save the relationship. When the author takes more than 500 pages to carefully build up the tension which culminates in a mega conflict, it seems almost a coop out to then have the characters retreat and serendipitously arrive at their respective epiphanies.
I certainly enjoyed the book, mainly because both Jack and Elizabeth were not unwilling to display their deepest vulnerabilities. But was the "The Great Gen X Novel" that it clearly wanted to be- no.

kelseygrachek's review against another edition

2.0

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Meh.

hannah_seaburt's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

erwils's review against another edition

3.0

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some super important topics, some really lovely writing, and some tears shed at the end, just so so slow at parts… glad i read it and never need to read it again

bri_reads7's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

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Soft dnf at 99 pages. My Libby hold is due in 2 days and there is no way I’m gonna read 590 pages in 2 days nor do I care enough to try.

more_books_needed's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

jodiealli's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

shaniekimber's review against another edition

2.75

informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

thekuliest's review against another edition

4.5

funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes