Extremely substantive in portions, but wildly uneven due to the structure. People are alive or dead, depending on where the train of thought is running. It feels more like a pile of short essays than something cohesive. This patchwork framework method seems to be gaining steam. For me, it’s more like a shotgun, see what sticks combined with short story methodology constructions. Set things up the strongest for the first and last.

Themes emerge somewhat organically, but again, it feels to me like it’s exercising less craft than more. I’m a child I’m an adult I’m retreading ground many times over, but because the reframe coalesces a different tangent to approach it. Had there not been sections that focus on cultural aspects and trauma that were more interesting than the distant, cold writing I would have had this as a 2.5 rounded up, rather than a 3.5 rounded up. Mind you, this is a casualty of the writer narrating the book herself, probably. I almost always think their delivery is robotic and only further removes colder writing. Great that they’re being paid to do the narration. But it is not a natural skill people usually have.