A review by madsreb
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

4.0

First read for 2023 ✨ I was kind of surprised by how much I loved this. The basic plot - country boy struggles to fit in at elite school, falls in love with manic pixie dream girl - has been done to death, but Groundskeeping is so self-aware, tender and funny that it absolutely works. Lee Cole presents readers with a suite of stereotypes that he then cracks apart one by one, tackling ethical questions that have crossed the mind of every writer, as well as questions of love and class and race that attempt to push just a little bit further than feels comfortable. I feel like I haven’t read this kind of Uber-honest depiction of hetero relationship dynamics from a male writer in a while, and it was refreshing—sometimes infuriating, but genuine and thought-provoking. There are moments from this book that will stick with me for a long time. Highly recommended for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld, Lily King, and Elif Batuman.