Devi Nair
I picked this one for the Goodreads Marathon Reader Challenge. You know, the "read a book over 500 pages" dare. Look, I'm not afraid of big books. If a book's good, I don't feel the weight. But this one? I went in ready to commit (19 hours is not casual listening) but I expected that slow burn payoff that makes a long book feel immersive instead of exhausting. That didn’t happen. This is one of those books where you keep waiting for the point to reveal itself, and at 40%, I was still very much waiting.
The themes are interesting on paper: marriage, identity, the absurdity of wellness culture, and modern disconnection. But the execution felt meandering. It’s introspective to the point of inertia. I didn’t feel anchored to the characters enough to care about where they were headed, and that’s a problem in a book this long. Ari Fliakos does a solid job narrating, but even a good narrator can’t save a story that refuses to hook you.
I know people loved this book. Goodreads reviews are full of five-star raves. And honestly? Good for them. Not every book is for every reader, and clearly, I'm not Nathan Hill's people. Maybe if I'd stuck it out, something would've landed. But life's too short to slog through nearly 20 hours hoping for a payoff that may never come. I quit. No regrets.
I picked this one for the Goodreads Marathon Reader Challenge. You know, the "read a book over 500 pages" dare. Look, I'm not afraid of big books. If a book's good, I don't feel the weight. But this one? I went in ready to commit (19 hours is not casual listening) but I expected that slow burn payoff that makes a long book feel immersive instead of exhausting. That didn’t happen. This is one of those books where you keep waiting for the point to reveal itself, and at 40%, I was still very much waiting.
The themes are interesting on paper: marriage, identity, the absurdity of wellness culture, and modern disconnection. But the execution felt meandering. It’s introspective to the point of inertia. I didn’t feel anchored to the characters enough to care about where they were headed, and that’s a problem in a book this long. Ari Fliakos does a solid job narrating, but even a good narrator can’t save a story that refuses to hook you.
I know people loved this book. Goodreads reviews are full of five-star raves. And honestly? Good for them. Not every book is for every reader, and clearly, I'm not Nathan Hill's people. Maybe if I'd stuck it out, something would've landed. But life's too short to slog through nearly 20 hours hoping for a payoff that may never come. I quit. No regrets.