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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
Wellness is a novel that really made me reflect on relationships, self-awareness, and how much our childhood shapes us as adults.
One thing I really liked was the way the chapters alternate—it’s not told in a chronological order, which keeps things interesting. I also appreciated how some chapters are from Elizabeth’s perspective and others from Jack’s.
Some parts of the book involving Jack’s parents gave me a bit of anxiety. His parents are so over the top, and I found myself really relating to Jack at times.
I felt everything from melancholy to sadness to understanding while reading it.
“If someone wants to be unhappy, there’s nothing you can do to fix them.”
“Don’t trust the arrogance of certainty.”
“If someone wants to be unhappy, there’s nothing you can do to fix them.”
“Don’t trust the arrogance of certainty.”
I did feel that some stories within the book were unnecessarily stretched out. Also, I kept wondering why Jack and Elizabeth never considered therapy in all their years together—it seemed like such an obvious step, yet they avoided it completely.
reflective
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
I finished reading this way more quickly than I anticipated! I knew I would love the style because I also loved The Nix, but I really didn’t know anything about the premise going into it, so I’m thrilled that it grabbed me and never let go. I really appreciated how much it made me think about a lot of aspects of life, like love, ambition, grief, and blame. I do think some topics were dwelled on a bit too long where others could have been explored in more depth, and sometimes it got repetitive, but overall I really loved it.
the fluid story telling tying past and present built the plot in ways you wouldn’t imagine.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This was a really creatively told story, it was very stressful for me personally. That is why I gave it less stars. The tension in the relationships was a lot for me.
got disinterested through all the Facebook algorithm chapters
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh Nathan Hill, you've done it again. Taken a good story and all but smothered it in a surplus of detail and run on sentences. Once again, I'm shocked to have been able to muddle through to the finish line, which is a testament to how flowing and engaging I find his writing to be. But wow. He does not make it easy.
Jack and Elizabeth Baker meet in the 1990's as college students, both having fled to Chicago to escape difficult families and traumatizing childhoods. While striving to reinvent themselves, the pair discover each other amidst the budding underground art scene, immediately becoming beholden to the other, evoking a belief in fate and soulmates. Now, twenty years later, they're married with a young son and plans for a forever home, but the stresses and mundanity of parenthood and modern life have caught up to Jack and Elizabeth. After a disastrous foray into polygamy, suddenly they're questioning what they ever saw in each other, as it seems the person they're married to is the exact opposite of the person they thought they were.
Just like Hill's debut novel, The Nix, Wellness drew me in from the very first page. It's true, I really do love Hill's prose, and his ability to pack so much depth and meaning into absolute absurdity is truly remarkable. Wellness casts a critical eye on the health obsession of modern society, with characters taking a plethora of daily supplements to cleanse their body or others "manifesting" their problems away in a haze of gratitude and delusion. Elizabeth herself even runs a placebo clinic, essential treating patients with nothing but the power of suggestion. With all this fake-ness floating around, it's no wonder our main couple finds themselves caught up in questioning the legitimacy of their own love story. And it's not just their relationship to each other that falls into doubt. Jack and Elizabeth struggle with their careers and parenting and their pasts, paralyzed by the never ending desire to do things "right", to be 100 percent certain about every aspect of their lives. It creates an uncrossable gulf between who they are and who they want to be.
Throughout the novel, I found a lot of Hill's broader points to be quite resounding and I generally enjoyed the ride to get there. But if there is one thing Hill is determined to provide, it's a very thorough and complete background of his characters that inevitably brings the plot to a stuttering halt. At various points, we jump backward into Jack and Elizabeth's pasts where we learn why they are the way that they are -Elizabeth terrified of her son's outbursts because they remind her so vividly of her father's competitive rage. Jack desperate for love and attention after being shunned and diminished his entire life. Of course all this context did lead to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the characters, but it was also a massive amount of information that ballooned Wellness into a behemoth of a novel. And I can't help but feel that all of it wasn't necessary. Like when Elizabeth goes on her tirade about all the childhood development studies she's read, teaching the easy and innumerable ways to mess up your child for life. Or the chapter that was dedicated solely to Facebook algorithms and how it jams conspiracy theories down your throat. I know there's a point to all of it but, good lord, there has to be an easier way to lay it out that doesn't take up hundreds of pages.
Despite my frustration with the sheer length of this novel, I did find myself engrossed in Wellness, especially for a story that is so heavily character driven. I was hooked on all the deconstruction and examination of life, all the outrageous and humorous ways we seek to better ourselves. And I cared about Jack and Elizabeth, sticking through to the end with hope for reconciliation. So, yeah, Nathan Hill will definitely always write more than he needs to to get his point across. But it's usually worth it.
Jack and Elizabeth Baker meet in the 1990's as college students, both having fled to Chicago to escape difficult families and traumatizing childhoods. While striving to reinvent themselves, the pair discover each other amidst the budding underground art scene, immediately becoming beholden to the other, evoking a belief in fate and soulmates. Now, twenty years later, they're married with a young son and plans for a forever home, but the stresses and mundanity of parenthood and modern life have caught up to Jack and Elizabeth. After a disastrous foray into polygamy, suddenly they're questioning what they ever saw in each other, as it seems the person they're married to is the exact opposite of the person they thought they were.
Just like Hill's debut novel, The Nix, Wellness drew me in from the very first page. It's true, I really do love Hill's prose, and his ability to pack so much depth and meaning into absolute absurdity is truly remarkable. Wellness casts a critical eye on the health obsession of modern society, with characters taking a plethora of daily supplements to cleanse their body or others "manifesting" their problems away in a haze of gratitude and delusion. Elizabeth herself even runs a placebo clinic, essential treating patients with nothing but the power of suggestion. With all this fake-ness floating around, it's no wonder our main couple finds themselves caught up in questioning the legitimacy of their own love story. And it's not just their relationship to each other that falls into doubt. Jack and Elizabeth struggle with their careers and parenting and their pasts, paralyzed by the never ending desire to do things "right", to be 100 percent certain about every aspect of their lives. It creates an uncrossable gulf between who they are and who they want to be.
Throughout the novel, I found a lot of Hill's broader points to be quite resounding and I generally enjoyed the ride to get there. But if there is one thing Hill is determined to provide, it's a very thorough and complete background of his characters that inevitably brings the plot to a stuttering halt. At various points, we jump backward into Jack and Elizabeth's pasts where we learn why they are the way that they are -Elizabeth terrified of her son's outbursts because they remind her so vividly of her father's competitive rage. Jack desperate for love and attention after being shunned and diminished his entire life. Of course all this context did lead to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the characters, but it was also a massive amount of information that ballooned Wellness into a behemoth of a novel. And I can't help but feel that all of it wasn't necessary. Like when Elizabeth goes on her tirade about all the childhood development studies she's read, teaching the easy and innumerable ways to mess up your child for life. Or the chapter that was dedicated solely to Facebook algorithms and how it jams conspiracy theories down your throat. I know there's a point to all of it but, good lord, there has to be an easier way to lay it out that doesn't take up hundreds of pages.
Despite my frustration with the sheer length of this novel, I did find myself engrossed in Wellness, especially for a story that is so heavily character driven. I was hooked on all the deconstruction and examination of life, all the outrageous and humorous ways we seek to better ourselves. And I cared about Jack and Elizabeth, sticking through to the end with hope for reconciliation. So, yeah, Nathan Hill will definitely always write more than he needs to to get his point across. But it's usually worth it.