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A review by shansometimes
God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've never read a stream-of-consciousness novel that was so stream-of-consciousness before. While reading God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, I mostly just lived in this man, Joseph's, head. And although I hardly understood where the book was headed, I enjoyed this intimate, gritty, unconstrained, and unconventional story.
Joseph is a young Black man who has left the Army, enrolled in grad school, and started working in a hospital's emergency department. He's trying to navigate fatherhood, old and new relationships, rebuilding his life in Philadelphia, and a number of other personal struggles and aspects of life and society. The Philly vernacular and routine daily life scenarios created a compelling slice-of-life reading experience and a strong voice in Joseph's character.
Readers of literary fiction, Black American fiction, and the like are most likely to enjoy this one. As long as you can get past or, rather, get into the unique writing style, you'll slide into a story that isn't necessarily tidy or cohesive but is ultra-realistic, emotional, tragic, and powerful.
*This review is based on an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
Joseph is a young Black man who has left the Army, enrolled in grad school, and started working in a hospital's emergency department. He's trying to navigate fatherhood, old and new relationships, rebuilding his life in Philadelphia, and a number of other personal struggles and aspects of life and society. The Philly vernacular and routine daily life scenarios created a compelling slice-of-life reading experience and a strong voice in Joseph's character.
Readers of literary fiction, Black American fiction, and the like are most likely to enjoy this one. As long as you can get past or, rather, get into the unique writing style, you'll slide into a story that isn't necessarily tidy or cohesive but is ultra-realistic, emotional, tragic, and powerful.
*This review is based on an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.