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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I really wanted to know more about Elizabeth, Jack, and sweet Toby, but this book kept going off on tangents that seemed not at all fruitful. After 233 pages, I threw in the towel.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This could have easily been a novella. I really liked the beginning and the humour of the writing but then it just kept going and going by giving you more background info to the characters, which I didn’t really need.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death
Minor: Pregnancy
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At times this book felt like it was writing about me (probably a bad thing). You can tell that a lot of incredible research was done into the topics covered, everything is covered with depth yet an accessibility for the layman like my poor self.
There were, however, also times where I would find myself glossing through a page, some segments go on a little long to really hammer home a point.
But ultimately the love(?) story at the core of this feels real and tender and alive. And as someone with a narcissistic mam and emotionally closed off father who only opened up to me once he overcame a great tragedy (being married to my mam), the family stuff hit home (pun intended).
Kudos to Nathan Hill for pulling this mammoth book off
There were, however, also times where I would find myself glossing through a page, some segments go on a little long to really hammer home a point.
But ultimately the love(?) story at the core of this feels real and tender and alive. And as someone with a narcissistic mam and emotionally closed off father who only opened up to me once he overcame a great tragedy (being married to my mam), the family stuff hit home (pun intended).
Kudos to Nathan Hill for pulling this mammoth book off
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hill is a very good writer. Despite this, though, this wasn’t the most fun read as it seems to be Hill’s thing to write of unlikeable characters. I think that was my impression of his first novel The Nix, and it’s definitely true of Wellness as well. It’s hard to root for any of this novel’s characters or care about their lives — because they’re all kinda miserable. I’ve also come across this theme of having an open marriage in several books and TV shows lately. Even if this theme is relevant to our current day, it’s getting old fast when I come across it so many times in just a few days. I’m not one to say I could use something heartwarming from a novel, but I hope with Hill’s next story he takes a more optimistic viewpoint of life, even if only slightly so. It’ll make for a more enjoyable reading experience.