A review by kens_
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner

5.0

My brother read me an excerpt from the first chapter from this book, and I knew then I would love it. Once I got to reading it myself, it took less than a chapter for this to instantly become one of my favorite novels. I would say the reading can be heavy at times, but in all honesty, it's heavy all the time; however, it's worth every second of looking up words and re-reading passages. Finishing Leaving the Atocha Station was the first I truly experienced book hangover. I didn't know where or how to proceed and missed the characters any time I was away from them. Ben Lerner writes overtly about the emotions we wish we didn't have, the ones we feel guilty about experiencing, like the sometimes childish jealousy that haunts us in adulthood. He gives us an opportunity to absolve ourselves of the shame carried in our reactionary emotions by giving us a character that admits to the things we'd never say and deals with the internal consequences of the unspoken the same as all the rest. Lerner takes us into the mind of a man who has many thoughts with no way to organize them and many questions with no answers to them. The main character does enough thinking to convince me he is real. Nothing other than a genuine human conscience could have such a capacity for insistent worrying, analysis, and fear. These characters kept me company and provided me with understanding. I have three or more bookmark tabs on just about every page of this novel because every moment is captivating enough to never want to forget. Give this book a shot.