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A review by dreareads_
The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang
2.0
The author has a wonderfully imaginative mind that I am sure will compose interesting and engaging pieces of work. Their creativity shines through the world built, the perspective provided, and the effortless diversity of the story. The potential of this book is endless.
Their masterful work is at its most effective through the character of Misery . Yang is not afraid to make the reader uncomfortable , putting us in the mind of a character that does not neatly fall within the categories of good or bad . Misery alone makes this book worth the read.
Albeit, I found that this book was not for me. The story felt unfocused at times, and the writing style frustrated me to no end. It was obvious that Yang had many ideas that they wanted to explore while writing a complex story religion, spirituality, heretics, identity, and power. Unfortunately there were SO many ideas, that a lot of it felt under developed, or frustratingly vague. I especially had this problem with the Throne/Church dynamic.
But I would have been willing to forgive the lack of focus if it were not for the writing style. I understand that the books is written in a lyrical style, but to me it felt as if I was being bombarded with metaphors and similes that made me feel lost within a single paragraph. Is not that they were hard to understand, is that their presentations was convoluted to the point that they felt like a waste of time.
To this we add the jarring inclusion Gen Z modern language such as "yeet" "it was not the vibes" and "Asceticism, but make it fashion" and I wanted to cry. I am aware that te purpose of this language is to provide us with Misery's perspective within the narrator POV, but this method was used so sporadically that it does not necessarily provide insight into Misery. Instead it takes the reader out of the story and creates further confusion.
At the end of the day, book is the kind of book that you have to read for yourself to know if you will like it. My experience is not universal, and it has enough good that for others it may be easier to bypass my own complaints.
TW: death, violence, torture, bodily harm, death of a parent, abuse, drug abuse, incarceration, religious extremism.
Their masterful work is at its most effective through the character of Misery . Yang is not afraid to make the reader uncomfortable , putting us in the mind of a character that does not neatly fall within the categories of good or bad . Misery alone makes this book worth the read.
Albeit, I found that this book was not for me. The story felt unfocused at times, and the writing style frustrated me to no end. It was obvious that Yang had many ideas that they wanted to explore while writing a complex story religion, spirituality, heretics, identity, and power. Unfortunately there were SO many ideas, that a lot of it felt under developed, or frustratingly vague. I especially had this problem with the Throne/Church dynamic.
But I would have been willing to forgive the lack of focus if it were not for the writing style. I understand that the books is written in a lyrical style, but to me it felt as if I was being bombarded with metaphors and similes that made me feel lost within a single paragraph. Is not that they were hard to understand, is that their presentations was convoluted to the point that they felt like a waste of time.
To this we add the jarring inclusion Gen Z modern language such as "yeet" "it was not the vibes" and "Asceticism, but make it fashion" and I wanted to cry. I am aware that te purpose of this language is to provide us with Misery's perspective within the narrator POV, but this method was used so sporadically that it does not necessarily provide insight into Misery. Instead it takes the reader out of the story and creates further confusion.
At the end of the day, book is the kind of book that you have to read for yourself to know if you will like it. My experience is not universal, and it has enough good that for others it may be easier to bypass my own complaints.
TW: death, violence, torture, bodily harm, death of a parent, abuse, drug abuse, incarceration, religious extremism.