A review by secre
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Urgh, I'm on the unpopular opinion road show again. The first ten percent of this was good. Then it fizzled until the last ten percent, which was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, the eighty per cent in the middle was repetitive, slow, meandering and mostly without purpose. And it's obvious from the get go that we're meant to be building up to the big romantic reveal, but there's very little build up and it's just chucked at you in the last few pages instead.

I think my biggest issue throughout the novel was that it wasn't interesting, wasn't engaging and felt flat. The dialogue felt stilted, the characters didn't feel fully dimensional and there was almost no plot for the vast majority of the novel. You might get away with one of those flaws, but all three is a triple whammy without hope of reprieve. I was bored and that is one of the most fatal criticisms of a novel. It's better to make me angry than apathetic as at least I felt something.

It's a pity, because there's a solid kernel of excellence in here and the author can write, as demonstrated by the final ten per cent of the novel. It's just the bulk of this said very little in a whole lot of words whilst failing to build dynamic characters. There are some gems here, but they are floating in the dross. 
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