Nathan Hill

While I found this novel a bit difficult to enter, ultimately it was incredibly rewarding. It unfolds the story of two individuals and their partnership, revealing the secrets they keep from each other and, often, themselves. I found this story of how we can begin to see ourselves clearly, and how that allows us to finally truly connect with others, moving and hopeful, "heartbreaking" blurbs on the back of the book notwithstanding. There are funny moments and sad moments, moments of insight and moments of confusion. This is a novel about humanness, the ways our pasts and the stories we tell ourselves about our pasts shape us, and the opportunity we have to "try out those [stories] that are most humane, most generous, most beautiful, most loving."… (mer)