Reviews

Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu

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ktha's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.0

ciarafrances's review

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

cozyarthur2022's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a very sad book, exploring grief deeply, at the same time, it’s a book that to me was unique in the type of sadness portrayed, and that is special and needed. So, while I agree with the extreme need that there is for happy queer books, a story like this one was, for me, not contrary to that, aka not tragic for the purpose of being tragic. It was real, insightful, well thought out, delicate, and came from the heart.
Aside from that, to me it wasn’t more than 4 stars because it felt too long, was repetitive at times, and also left me predicting it’s ending.

All of that said, I admire this author so much and will read anything he publishes.

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

here again now is a beautifully written novel whose themes of love and masculinity are skillfully, tenderly explored, one in which i also nevertheless find unsatisfying bc of loose ends and plot points that are left inconclusive and ever evasive.

while i get what nzelu's trying to do, imo the story's structure and various interspersing timelines can be distracting and not as effective as i think the author hopes them to be. the book could be more trimmed as well; the current languid pacing, esp in the first half, often makes reading it a drudging task to trudge thru. i also dont quite wholly empathize w/ some of the characters, particularly ekene whose characterization and reasons for action baffle me at times.

the novel, its characters and themes are painted w/ a tender hand and oft heart-tugging writing, but would've benefited from a more solid foundation and tied up loose ends.

Content Warnings