Ricky
When I started this I was initially pretty optimistic. I like stories about gay expats. As it went on, I found myself rolling my eyes more and more often until I eventually just became annoyed by it. It's hard not to compare it to the work of Garth Greenwell, and the comparison doesn't do any favors for this book. I found myself really appreciating how comparatively well written and constructed Greenwell's books are, even the one about his hospitalization. Tbh, the writing kinda felt amateurish to me, and I get impatient with books where so many of the interpersonal interactions feel petulant. There are also longish sections that felt completely pointless to me. I just kept thinking about how smooth Greenwell's first two novels were. I suppose my biggest trouble though is that the characters and situations seldom felt real to me. From my perspective he doesn't have a good ear for dialogue. While reading this, I kept thinking the author must be another navel-gazing millennial, though I haven't gotten around to finding out if that's true yet.
When I started this I was initially pretty optimistic. I like stories about gay expats. As it went on, I found myself rolling my eyes more and more often until I eventually just became annoyed by it. It's hard not to compare it to the work of Garth Greenwell, and the comparison doesn't do any favors for this book. I found myself really appreciating how comparatively well written and constructed Greenwell's books are, even the one about his hospitalization. Tbh, the writing kinda felt amateurish to me, and I get impatient with books where so many of the interpersonal interactions feel petulant. There are also longish sections that felt completely pointless to me. I just kept thinking about how smooth Greenwell's first two novels were. I suppose my biggest trouble though is that the characters and situations seldom felt real to me. From my perspective he doesn't have a good ear for dialogue. While reading this, I kept thinking the author must be another navel-gazing millennial, though I haven't gotten around to finding out if that's true yet.