Wellness

Nathan Hill's debut Nix blew me away, and Wellness is just such an assured follow-up that is so crammed full of ideas it requires its own bibliography. Hill manages to weave together so much without feeling overdone. Even when he brain-dumps, like the chapter on the internet, it reads at once obvious and yet utterly novel despite being a well worn topic. And Hill, with an abundance of confidence (seriously, the audacity to tackle any of these topics that have endured reams of examination and opinion across media) explores the challenges of parenting, marriage, gentrification, and of course, wellness itself. But what could be overly dour and heavy-handed is leavened by various hilarious recountings of Elizabeth's familial wealth, dot-com exceptionalism manifested as polyamory, and mean-girl school moms.

It's just a joy to be in the hands of such sheer writerly aplomb. From the pitch-perfect, Chicago fairy-tale, meet-cute first chapter to the abrupt jump ahead to marriage and the raising of an 8-year-old. It's a GenX reckoning that follows its own bookish logic, and while admittedly relying on some overly tidy epiphanies later on, I still can't be mad at the whole magnificent endeavor. Despite being a brick of a book, I'm still tempted to pick it up and read it again - it's that good.