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A review by thebookishmel
Such Good Work by Johannes Lichtman
4.0
3.5-4 ARC received for review
This novel has taken me three months to read and its mostly because Jonas isn’t a love-able character and I really didn’t want to keep reading into his mind.
The first part before Sweden takes you through the mind of an addict. Jonas, the main character, is a teacher and recovering addict who traces back and forth through the present and the past. Although the writing style isn’t my favorite and the topic is difficult to go through, you really are able to see the complexity of everyday struggles.
Once in Malmö, we’re given a full description of why we should feel threatened and have our guards up as Jonas is there, but I had an overarching feeling that amongst the chaos, he’d find himself.
“Right back where I started but having accomplished one more day of life. There was no great excitement, but there was contentment. I rarely felt the need to escape my life or myself. It was the first time I could remember feeling this way.”
When he started seeing the refugees arriving, he wanted to help not out of the goodness of his heart, but for the gratification he’d receive. I’m not too sure if I’m supposed to like him or not because as of right now, I don’t. It’s really difficult to sympathize with him at times because he sits and tries so hard, and you want to acknowledge the fact that he’s done so well with his addiction. But the fact of the matter is that he’s still not fully there yet. He definitely understands that he’s doing that, and when looking at others and discussing immigration and refugee policy, he’s still very fond of how Sweden tries to help, and I think we can start to see a shift in his character at this point.
It’s really interesting to see how different cultures come into contact with one another, and especially interesting to see how American culture is depicted. I had a laugh when it talked about Trump’s presidency campaign and I like that it doesn’t feel historically written, it’s very much so in the present even if it’s within the last 5 years. Really well done in that respect!
Jonas clearly wants to do more than just a basic aid, he wants to really dig deep into their minds but he keeps being shut down and I think with good reason. He’s trying too hard to fix something when he hasn’t even fully fixed himself. Jonas even says:
“I wanted to correct the world. But I was angry with myself for feeling the need to be right more strongly than I felt empathy for the victims of the attacks. I longed for drugs.”
Coming back to LA, there’s a sense of peace that’s flooded over Jonas and I genuinely appreciated the calm that he’s finally received.
This novel has taken me three months to read and its mostly because Jonas isn’t a love-able character and I really didn’t want to keep reading into his mind.
The first part before Sweden takes you through the mind of an addict. Jonas, the main character, is a teacher and recovering addict who traces back and forth through the present and the past. Although the writing style isn’t my favorite and the topic is difficult to go through, you really are able to see the complexity of everyday struggles.
Once in Malmö, we’re given a full description of why we should feel threatened and have our guards up as Jonas is there, but I had an overarching feeling that amongst the chaos, he’d find himself.
“Right back where I started but having accomplished one more day of life. There was no great excitement, but there was contentment. I rarely felt the need to escape my life or myself. It was the first time I could remember feeling this way.”
When he started seeing the refugees arriving, he wanted to help not out of the goodness of his heart, but for the gratification he’d receive. I’m not too sure if I’m supposed to like him or not because as of right now, I don’t. It’s really difficult to sympathize with him at times because he sits and tries so hard, and you want to acknowledge the fact that he’s done so well with his addiction. But the fact of the matter is that he’s still not fully there yet. He definitely understands that he’s doing that, and when looking at others and discussing immigration and refugee policy, he’s still very fond of how Sweden tries to help, and I think we can start to see a shift in his character at this point.
It’s really interesting to see how different cultures come into contact with one another, and especially interesting to see how American culture is depicted. I had a laugh when it talked about Trump’s presidency campaign and I like that it doesn’t feel historically written, it’s very much so in the present even if it’s within the last 5 years. Really well done in that respect!
Jonas clearly wants to do more than just a basic aid, he wants to really dig deep into their minds but he keeps being shut down and I think with good reason. He’s trying too hard to fix something when he hasn’t even fully fixed himself. Jonas even says:
“I wanted to correct the world. But I was angry with myself for feeling the need to be right more strongly than I felt empathy for the victims of the attacks. I longed for drugs.”
Coming back to LA, there’s a sense of peace that’s flooded over Jonas and I genuinely appreciated the calm that he’s finally received.