A review by natesea
The Instructions by Adam Levin

4.0

Writing a concise review of a 1,030 page tome about a ten year-old Jewish boy genius, who may or may not be the messiah, is proving difficult. This is an astounding book that seems people love or hate (I loved). Adam Levin's writing produces the kind of magic that kept me glued to the pages, the plot, the characters. In the main character Gurion, and Levin's writing, I was reminded of Jonathan Safran Foer's Oscar Shell in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, though Gurion a more brutal likeness. There is so much Jewish religious and cultural reference/framework that I found myself wishing I was more educated on such matters, though the book is still remarkable. I love the narrative structure as well. There are aspects we can all relate to in this story - memories of our childhood experiences in school, the social code, authority, and the odds stacked against us at one time or another. You will find yourself rooting for the misfits here, and if the underlying religious tone is lost on you as most was on me, you will at least discover an incredible story of a boy trying to manage his place in his family, his friends, his love, and overcoming injustices in wonderfully unbelievable ways.