A review by curatoriallyyours
Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book won the Stella Prize in 2024 and I cannot understand why. While there were some profound moments (a scene where a teacher defends a student from the police comes to mind) and some beautifully written passages, overall this book was long-winded and there was no payoff at the end for enduring over 700 pages with insufficient plot to keep me interested. The characters were pretty unlikeable too, which made it harder to care about what happened to them. The author had some important things to say but her messages got a bit lost amongst the repetitive prose. Ultimately this book did not deliver on what it promised and it did not get better as it went along. I endured it!