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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok I’m aware that this book was dragged on and none of the characters were likable and there were so many unnecessary words but I still loved it. I felt so nostalgic reading about kids navigating high school and everything that comes with it. The story wasn’t entirely relatable, but the difficulties of being a teen and learning to understand the people around you really shone through the characters. I didn’t even like them but I miss them. I would honestly read it again but that thing was a brick to carry around with me.
So so accurately captures what being in high school / middle school in the 2010s felt like. Nostalgiafest in a good way
This book was so close to nostalgic, and so full of teen angst. I laughed, I cried, I felt bad for an affluent white boy.
Still good on the reread! Didn't cry this time, still felt bad for an affluent white boy. This book is so fucking pretentious it really speaks to my teenage me. This is like self aware male manipulator literature I would say. Did make me want to text my Maryland ex, resisted!
Still good on the reread! Didn't cry this time, still felt bad for an affluent white boy. This book is so fucking pretentious it really speaks to my teenage me. This is like self aware male manipulator literature I would say. Did make me want to text my Maryland ex, resisted!
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Rounding up from 3.75
The story was engaging and kept me reading, but to be honest the book could have been cut down by anywhere from a quarter to a third. The action grinds to a halt many times in order to have a dense paragraph about the the sunset over the campus --lovely writing, but frustratingly placed and a touch overwrought.
The dense, overly academic style will certainly not be for everyone. Those more forgiving may see it as a characterization of the otherwise totally effaced narrator. Maybe he's someone who overintellectualizes things to keep them at a safer distance emotionally. Maybe his obsession with the story of people he never even knew keeps him from examining his own. Maybe that obsession is why he's able to "know" (make up?) the intimate details of conversations and events he could not possibly know about. But at times it's a slog, and it many times undermines the sense of action and motion. The narrator remains too underdeveloped, though. Thinking of him as someone who latches on to the stories of others as surrogate relationships is my own conjecture, and probably how I justified the structure at all.
The structure of the story, a collection of documents and recollections, is not a bad one, but Jenkins' balancing of a historical report and a more traditional narrative is not always deft. I was able to suspend my disbelief because the story was compelling, but I can see how it would be a sticking point.
The story of Foster and his schoolmates, as well as some of the character's future reflections on that time, is the book's saving grace. Even if you haven't been part of the privileged boarding school crowd, you'll find familiarity in the characters, the politics, and the social anxieties of being a teenager. The characters are flawed, sad, and frustrating, and the divide between what teenagers actually feel versus what they think they're supposed to be is poignantly felt. A period piece, the book even includes playlists and other touchstones, but the feelings of confusion, alienation, and the feelings fifteen-year-olds can't yet name remains timeless.
The story was engaging and kept me reading, but to be honest the book could have been cut down by anywhere from a quarter to a third. The action grinds to a halt many times in order to have a dense paragraph about the the sunset over the campus --lovely writing, but frustratingly placed and a touch overwrought.
The dense, overly academic style will certainly not be for everyone. Those more forgiving may see it as a characterization of the otherwise totally effaced narrator. Maybe he's someone who overintellectualizes things to keep them at a safer distance emotionally. Maybe his obsession with the story of people he never even knew keeps him from examining his own. Maybe that obsession is why he's able to "know" (make up?) the intimate details of conversations and events he could not possibly know about. But at times it's a slog, and it many times undermines the sense of action and motion. The narrator remains too underdeveloped, though. Thinking of him as someone who latches on to the stories of others as surrogate relationships is my own conjecture, and probably how I justified the structure at all.
The structure of the story, a collection of documents and recollections, is not a bad one, but Jenkins' balancing of a historical report and a more traditional narrative is not always deft. I was able to suspend my disbelief because the story was compelling, but I can see how it would be a sticking point.
The story of Foster and his schoolmates, as well as some of the character's future reflections on that time, is the book's saving grace. Even if you haven't been part of the privileged boarding school crowd, you'll find familiarity in the characters, the politics, and the social anxieties of being a teenager. The characters are flawed, sad, and frustrating, and the divide between what teenagers actually feel versus what they think they're supposed to be is poignantly felt. A period piece, the book even includes playlists and other touchstones, but the feelings of confusion, alienation, and the feelings fifteen-year-olds can't yet name remains timeless.
Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos is a sprawling, heartbreakingly complex tale of a young man and the short history he left behind at his boarding school. Told in a collection of blogposts, playlists, texts, essays and interviews, the journalist style makes the unfolding of the story feel deeply intimate and devastating. Hauntingly lyrical and introspective, this book wrecked me.
Tierney appeared lost in thought. "What I mean," he said, "is that you have weathered storms, and it's nice to see you sailing out of them. A choppy voyage is good for the soul."
4.5/5 That f**cking hurt. I’ve felt a pit In my stomach and pain in my soul for the past 200 or so pages but I needed to know what happened to Foster. I have a LOT of thoughts on this book I just need to write out, bear with me.
This book had me changing my opinion on it I swear every other 50 pages. The real positive for me was that the author had me hooked in the last 30% of the book. Besides little breaks to keep myself sane I didn’t put the book down. I enjoyed how at the end you could see how Jenkins had intertwined everything throughout the story. You were getting little pieces throughout but you couldn’t see the full picture until the end. I think Jenkins did masterfully put it all together. I would have really loved to have a bit more of the narrators conversation with Annabeth. Since there were so many scenes jumping around and different perspectives, I think it would be really cool to see visually whether in a film or a tv show. I think it could be really beautiful especially with the setting and the soundtracks interjected throughout the book.
Things that pissed me off
- Gracie and mason god the hatred I have for these characters
- I had to look up the definitions of so many words it felt like Jenkins was acting out some sort of superiority complex over his knowledge of the English language. It was superfluous
- The author just genuinely pissed me off for a while. It bothered me how he wrote about certain dynamics especially class and race. It felt very higher than thou.
- Some of the scenes were just gross and graphic in an extremely uncomfortable way I couldn’t eat anything
Things I enjoyed or at least respected about the book
- Tierney!! So many of my saved quotes came from his character. The conversation between foster and him was so so beautiful. In my mind foster got clean and was at his retirement party.
- It was very painful to read the scenes of foster’s mind but I think it was painful because it was articulated so well that it resonated with how depression feels for me. Foster I wish you made it to more birthdays
- I did really love the setting (the quad being designed by an Olmsted had me geeked aka uri tour guide coming out)
- The relatability to the awfulness of high school and it being tied up with wealth
- The way the author dealt with addiction was I think super special and powerful. Even with some of the tragic outcomes of characters it was real
- I found myself relating to annabeth as well as foster probably in their brokenness
- I found it very interesting how everyone felt like unreliable narrators
- Many kudos to Jenkins for a powerful debut and the ability to write this while working towards a PhD
Would I recommend to someone? Maybe? Do I understand why it is so widely regarded? Yes. The book got some tears out of me but I never want to read it again. But I also know I won’t forget about this book and how it made me feel anytime soon.
“There is beauty in the world and literature is how you bottle it. It is not horribly complicated or beyond your comprehension, despite what some of my well-intentioned colleagues might insist.”
4.5/5 That f**cking hurt. I’ve felt a pit In my stomach and pain in my soul for the past 200 or so pages but I needed to know what happened to Foster. I have a LOT of thoughts on this book I just need to write out, bear with me.
This book had me changing my opinion on it I swear every other 50 pages. The real positive for me was that the author had me hooked in the last 30% of the book. Besides little breaks to keep myself sane I didn’t put the book down. I enjoyed how at the end you could see how Jenkins had intertwined everything throughout the story. You were getting little pieces throughout but you couldn’t see the full picture until the end. I think Jenkins did masterfully put it all together. I would have really loved to have a bit more of the narrators conversation with Annabeth. Since there were so many scenes jumping around and different perspectives, I think it would be really cool to see visually whether in a film or a tv show. I think it could be really beautiful especially with the setting and the soundtracks interjected throughout the book.
Things that pissed me off
- Gracie and mason god the hatred I have for these characters
- I had to look up the definitions of so many words it felt like Jenkins was acting out some sort of superiority complex over his knowledge of the English language. It was superfluous
- The author just genuinely pissed me off for a while. It bothered me how he wrote about certain dynamics especially class and race. It felt very higher than thou.
- Some of the scenes were just gross and graphic in an extremely uncomfortable way I couldn’t eat anything
Things I enjoyed or at least respected about the book
- Tierney!! So many of my saved quotes came from his character. The conversation between foster and him was so so beautiful. In my mind foster got clean and was at his retirement party.
- It was very painful to read the scenes of foster’s mind but I think it was painful because it was articulated so well that it resonated with how depression feels for me. Foster I wish you made it to more birthdays
- I did really love the setting (the quad being designed by an Olmsted had me geeked aka uri tour guide coming out)
- The relatability to the awfulness of high school and it being tied up with wealth
- The way the author dealt with addiction was I think super special and powerful. Even with some of the tragic outcomes of characters it was real
- I found myself relating to annabeth as well as foster probably in their brokenness
- I found it very interesting how everyone felt like unreliable narrators
- Many kudos to Jenkins for a powerful debut and the ability to write this while working towards a PhD
Would I recommend to someone? Maybe? Do I understand why it is so widely regarded? Yes. The book got some tears out of me but I never want to read it again. But I also know I won’t forget about this book and how it made me feel anytime soon.
“There is beauty in the world and literature is how you bottle it. It is not horribly complicated or beyond your comprehension, despite what some of my well-intentioned colleagues might insist.”
do not read this book it could’ve been 200 pages shorter i honestly feel personally frustrated with this author for wasting my time in this way and imposing their unhealthy love of the thesaurus onto us readers, i won’t lie it did make me feel and i did appreciate when all was revealed but the other 440 pages of nostalgia fueled slop are not approved by me, i really thought this book was gonna be different than all the other white prep school novels and truly have something to say spoiler: it didn’t