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A review by louismunozjr
Brother & Sister Enter the Forest by Richard Mirabella
3.0
Pride Month 2023 Read #2: 2.5 stars.
I knew this book would not necessarily be a "happy" read, given that Justin, one of the two main characters struggles with severe mental health issues as the book toggles back and forth between when he is 17 and another timeline that starts when he is in his mid-thirties and then progresses forward in the book into his forties. His relationship with his sister Willa, the other main character and his godawful mother, are also depressing, but worst of all is the car wreck of a relationship he had in high school with Nick, a couple of years older than Justin. Without giving anything away, Nick involves Justin in a horrible tragedy, one with reverberations for Justin and his mental and physical health for decades to come. Basically, it unmoors him and sets him up for many years of difficulties relating to people, holding jobs, etc.
There is a lot of great writing in this debut, and at one point I thought this book would end up rating 4 stars, but I'm giving it only two, "It was okay." I could see this book being praised for its literary qualities, but it didn't take me anywhere better for having read it. Not always what I need from a book, but again, not to give away any spoilers, this book served up a lot of bleakness and pretty much no way out of it for the characters, nor for me, the reader.
I knew this book would not necessarily be a "happy" read, given that Justin, one of the two main characters struggles with severe mental health issues as the book toggles back and forth between when he is 17 and another timeline that starts when he is in his mid-thirties and then progresses forward in the book into his forties. His relationship with his sister Willa, the other main character and his godawful mother, are also depressing, but worst of all is the car wreck of a relationship he had in high school with Nick, a couple of years older than Justin. Without giving anything away, Nick involves Justin in a horrible tragedy, one with reverberations for Justin and his mental and physical health for decades to come. Basically, it unmoors him and sets him up for many years of difficulties relating to people, holding jobs, etc.
There is a lot of great writing in this debut, and at one point I thought this book would end up rating 4 stars, but I'm giving it only two, "It was okay." I could see this book being praised for its literary qualities, but it didn't take me anywhere better for having read it. Not always what I need from a book, but again, not to give away any spoilers, this book served up a lot of bleakness and pretty much no way out of it for the characters, nor for me, the reader.