A review by laurathebookhermit
The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle by Steve Hugh Westenra

Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

So Tyler Kyle is a youtuber with his friend. They investigate cryptid sightings together and although Tyler knows that his friend is heterosexual, he has confusing feelings of romantic love towards him. After they drunkenly kiss one night Tyler decides to investigate a video he was sent, by his stalker,  revealing a link with his long lost mother. However, when he arrives on the island he is overwhelmed by the ominous feeling and odd occurrences that seem to be going on the island. Will Tyler find the answers he wants and will he figure out his own sexuality questions along the way?!

This review will only comment on the experience of reading it to 40%. This novel is written in the first person and is overtly stream of consciousness. Although this is not my favourite style of writing, I did love the amount of queer representation there was. There were references to Canadian folklore which was fun too. If you enjoy books that feel like a fever dream this is definitely for you. There is something about Tyler and the plot that makes you want to know what happens and find out what’s going on. And while I did not find it funny or particularly atmospheric, I can see how a lot of people would get that aspect. I also really wanted to know the outcome of Tyler telling his friend how he feels. However, all of this was not enough to keep me reading. While I could see the potential of the plot and the characters, I felt it would have benefitted from a couple more rounds of editing (Tyler read like he was a teenager instead of in his thirties); and potentially a sensitivity reader due to the nature of many of the themes. For example, references to gender, sexuality, race, religion, and ethnicity were all bandied about in a very jarring way that was not always called for, or appropriate. I wonder if this was intended to be social commentary, if this is the case I support it 100% and this is why I am still making the effort to review a book I did not finish. More editing I feel would work out the disjointed nature of the sentence structure and flow. As a reader, I want to be shown more and less of the telling what to visualise.