A review by lena7623
You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

3.0

This is one of those stories that I can tell that the author is a good writer, but something about it didn't go with me. The main character goes to a fertility clinic that not only lets you pick the sex and looks of your child (and get rid of any genetic diseases, of course), but can also seemingly pick out their strengths and traits. The main character, Sam, is shown three examples of who his son could be, picked out by his wife previously, but he doesn't like any of them. They're all set up in a cliche three act way, with the son always stumbling in the second act before triumphing in the third. When the clinic owner points out that Sam is in his third act while his wife is in her second, he has a meltdown and leaves.

Then the story veers off and has Sam go to a bar rather than go home to his wife. Honestly, this is where it kind of loses me. I'd rather have read about him talking to his wife than arguing with strangers in a bar. I like the premise and the first part, but the story choices in, well, the second act leave me feeling like the story is incomplete.