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rowanmg's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bookendtobookend's review against another edition
3.5
The setup and message of this was unique and interesting. The story is told in present day and flashback that leads up to the reason Michael decides to take all the money from his account and travel to the US with the goal of ending his life after the money runs out. I found the time jumps sometimes abrupt but the timestamps helps with that, at times Michael was telling the story and then in the same paragraph, you get a third person narration, that was also confusing. Overall it was an interesting read that explored the idea of a very unhappy person who was depressed and did not know how to handle what he was dealing with, which is something that I am sure would resonate with a lot of people. Ultimate, there are a few things that was missing when the story wrapped up that made this a 3.5 star read for me, when it was trending to a 4.5 as the story progressed.
annecarts's review against another edition
4.0
A very different book in its style, and I can see why some reviewers didn't get on with it but personally I loved it. The author is a poet and the writing is beautiful.
He paints a very real picture of the parts of London in the book and I was more absorbed with that half of the story than the US side.
Read as part of Shelterbox bookclub
He paints a very real picture of the parts of London in the book and I was more absorbed with that half of the story than the US side.
Read as part of Shelterbox bookclub
april_siese's review against another edition
probly not in the right headspace for this just yet tbh
booksandbedtime's review against another edition
3.0
JJ Bola did great at getting us into the mind of someone who is depressed and contemplating suicide. It’s a tough book to read though. I had a very hard time connecting with it. Not the issues at hand, but the MC’s voice. It felt a bit all over the place. I couldn’t understand his decisions and how a lot of the events even came to be. The organization of the story was super confusing too.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it wasn’t a hit for me. However, if you know someone struggling with depression, it might be a good story for you.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it wasn’t a hit for me. However, if you know someone struggling with depression, it might be a good story for you.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
4.0
When the author uses this quote to start a book, prepared to be ruined, They said you came looking for me. I didn't drown; I was the water"- Jo Nketiah Also...the the title was a dead giveaway.
This book is being marketed as a mash up of Transcendent Kingdom and A Man Called Over and I think its doing the book a disserve, I think this Open Water and Transcendent Kingdom had a baby... The Selfless Act of Breathing would be the child. This is my way of saying... it's a beautiful child that you MUST READ!
This is such a beautiful debut, Bola has a way with words where they get under your skin, and stay there. I was so moved by how the author handled Michael story, it was nuanced, fresh, engaging, and truly beautiful, I think everyone should read this book.
We meet Michael, a young teacher at a high school in London. He is loved by his students, his co-worker enjoys his company, his best friend loves him, he still lives with his mother and can barely save enough after he gets paid. While he is doing was well as can be, for a long time he's felt like he doesn't have the will to go on. He continues to push through those feelings- even when his mother brings home the pastor and asks for his blessing for them to get married. After a traumatic experience, things finally pushes him to leave it all behind... and that's where the story starts, with these lines, "I quit my job; I am taking my life savings, $9,021, and when it runs out, I am going to kill myself."
With an opener like that, prepare for the unexpected. To leave London, head to LA and all over the USA... but what happens when the life savings runs out? Well... read to find out.
I cannot wait to read what Bola writes next. Loneliness is a topic I feel we don't talk a lot about and Bola did it with heart and nuance. Michael experience is so layered, being a Black teacher in London, from Immigrant parents, being raised by his mother who expects so much of him, including going to church regularly. I really did not want the book to end. What a beautiful read.
Below are some of of the quotes from the book I absolutely LOVED!
We fight to be seen, for the world to know that we are here, only for us to be forgotten, to be invisible once again.
Have you ever loved, knowing it would end, but giving your whole heart regardless?
She loved books in a different way than I; they brought her back into the world but helped me escape.
The thing about losing love is makes you feel like you can never love again, like you are not worthy.
It reminds him of the Caribbean restaurants in Dalston or Tottenham High Road, and how there's always something endearing about the way the servers behind the counter never smile at you, or the way they tell you, "we nuh ave that," and yet you keep coming back because you love it.
Loneliness is being there for everyone, everyone, in the hope that someone will be there for you. But no one ever is. You are the sun, lighting the world of another, while setting yourself on fire.
And above all, it is love, that spark of bright light, that dazzling flame, ephemeral or eternal, may it find us, may it be us, the will that carries us forward, the bond that brings us back, from beyond this lonely feeling to healing; the selfless act of breathing.
This book is being marketed as a mash up of Transcendent Kingdom and A Man Called Over and I think its doing the book a disserve, I think this Open Water and Transcendent Kingdom had a baby... The Selfless Act of Breathing would be the child. This is my way of saying... it's a beautiful child that you MUST READ!
This is such a beautiful debut, Bola has a way with words where they get under your skin, and stay there. I was so moved by how the author handled Michael story, it was nuanced, fresh, engaging, and truly beautiful, I think everyone should read this book.
We meet Michael, a young teacher at a high school in London. He is loved by his students, his co-worker enjoys his company, his best friend loves him, he still lives with his mother and can barely save enough after he gets paid. While he is doing was well as can be, for a long time he's felt like he doesn't have the will to go on. He continues to push through those feelings- even when his mother brings home the pastor and asks for his blessing for them to get married. After a traumatic experience, things finally pushes him to leave it all behind... and that's where the story starts, with these lines, "I quit my job; I am taking my life savings, $9,021, and when it runs out, I am going to kill myself."
With an opener like that, prepare for the unexpected. To leave London, head to LA and all over the USA... but what happens when the life savings runs out? Well... read to find out.
I cannot wait to read what Bola writes next. Loneliness is a topic I feel we don't talk a lot about and Bola did it with heart and nuance. Michael experience is so layered, being a Black teacher in London, from Immigrant parents, being raised by his mother who expects so much of him, including going to church regularly. I really did not want the book to end. What a beautiful read.
Below are some of of the quotes from the book I absolutely LOVED!
We fight to be seen, for the world to know that we are here, only for us to be forgotten, to be invisible once again.
Have you ever loved, knowing it would end, but giving your whole heart regardless?
She loved books in a different way than I; they brought her back into the world but helped me escape.
The thing about losing love is makes you feel like you can never love again, like you are not worthy.
It reminds him of the Caribbean restaurants in Dalston or Tottenham High Road, and how there's always something endearing about the way the servers behind the counter never smile at you, or the way they tell you, "we nuh ave that," and yet you keep coming back because you love it.
Loneliness is being there for everyone, everyone, in the hope that someone will be there for you. But no one ever is. You are the sun, lighting the world of another, while setting yourself on fire.
And above all, it is love, that spark of bright light, that dazzling flame, ephemeral or eternal, may it find us, may it be us, the will that carries us forward, the bond that brings us back, from beyond this lonely feeling to healing; the selfless act of breathing.
zellm's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the dual storylines of this book, and thought the way they built to a mutual conclusion was beautiful. The back and forth was a little confusing at first but once I settled into it, it felt really natural and was a great way to tell Michael's story. I loved him as a character and thought the plot was beautiful. As far as a book about wanting to die goes, this is everything "The Midnight Library" wanted to be but wasn't able to.
jpreads6's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book had a great plot but I felt like we weren't given enough time with the character in the present in order to see his point of view. The book fell flat for me at the end with the random death , and it just left me feeling like "it was all a dream" in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
nietlucht's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 | I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. It was an interesting and captivating story, but the writing itself didn’t feel convincing (even just plain bad at some points) and I couldn’t find a way to connect to the main character either. But it also had Really great parts, and overall the book does send a good message about mental health and it’s consequences and effects.