courtsbooknook 's review for:

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

5.0

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The City Beautiful was exactly how it sounds, completely beautiful. this book was beautifully Jewish and queer and I couldn't get enough of it. I was captivated from the first page to the last and this is definitely one of my favorites. When I say beautifully Jewish, I mean it, the whole book was associated with predominantly Jewish languages, folklore and history tying into a really well written narrative. Polydoros brought out so many emotions and the writing was so lyrical. I couldn't put it down and I'm just so so impressed. This truly was unlike any other book I've read and the combination of the fantastical elements with the historic and the familial and friendships was effortless. The book was seamless. I loved Alter as a main character and his relationships with his roommates, Frankie and Yakov were exceptionally done and I enjoyed seeing the growth in each of them. I highly recommend this book, it was absolutely stunning and I loved it.