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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
The best thing I’ve read in a long time. Literally couldn’t put it down.
For those of us who live in Louisville, this was a fun read with recognizable streets, bars, restaurants and parks sprinkled throughout. But the story takes a deep dive into class and relationships, as Owen Callahan and Alma Hadzic navigate the difficulty of meshing their different backgrounds into a present day relationship. Owen grew up in rural Kentucky. Amazingly, in spite of some serious drug use, Owen graduated from college, and then he drifted from one menial job to another. His divorced parents were often perplexed with his choice of becoming a writer, but their love for him never wavered. Eventually, penniless, Owen ends up living in his grandfather's basement and working as a groundskeeper at a small liberal arts college, taking one free writing class. He meets Alma, who is a Bosnian refugee. She and her parents moved to the Washington, DC area, where they worked hard to assimilate and thrive. Alma graduated from Princeton and now has a job as writer-in-residence at this small Kentucky college. Owen and Alma's relationship is fraught with landmines. Their backgrounds and motivations are so different, it's hard to see how their relationship will survive. The pace of the novel is a little slow, but the writing is wonderfully descriptive.
emotional
reflective
slow-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
First book in a LONG time that I had to just keep reading. Read it in two days. Loved the voice and story.
I don’t even k ow where I heard about this book from.
I don’t even k ow where I heard about this book from.
This book echoes what it says about its protagonist's writing — very well written, they also a little hollow.
This is very well written, very literary, a bit slow moving, but overall an enjoyable read.
JD Vance meets Sally Rooney in a self-indulgent and very, very meta romp through the months leading up to the 2016 election. Unfortunately, this book just didn't come together the way Cole thought it did.
One of those books where you hate every single character. Bleh.
I liked this novel quite a bit and am surprised at it's middling rating, suspecting Trump supporters might find have found it troubling. But I found it a fairly balanced examination of a country pulling itself apart at the seams for no particularly good reason, its citizens swayed by lies and nonsense. The storyline is interesting, the main and secondary characters are well-drawn and complex and flawed enough to be much more than one-dimensional, the problems are real and contemporary... in short, a fine piece of work.
It's a gorgeously written debut. I cannot wait to read what he writes in the future.