Oh William!

From the outset, I got sucked into this book. There's something so relatable, yet fascinating about the narrator's consciousness — the way she describes her perception of herself and others is true to the experience of personal relationships. The smallest, most random things about a loved one — like showing up to lunch with pants that are too short, or a sad look of disappointment— will suddenly overwhelm you with a crushing love for them. Similarly, small slights or gestures — a certain twitch of the mustache, a distant look, a dismissive response — will make you hate them.

Relationships are complex, mysterious. We can spend our lives with people and continuously learn new things about them, and have revelations about relationship dynamics 30+ years on. This book is really a fascinating exploration of all that, and something about the writing made it hard for me to put down.