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brittbat 's review for:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
This is one of those books that lingered on the periphery of my mental to-be-read list, but it took a friend recommending it to make it personal and motivate me to finally read it.
In some ways, this novel did not live up to the hype surrounding it. I had only heard glowing reviews, so it was sort of impossible for it to live up to the reputation of perfection it carried.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is, reduced to its most essential elements, the story of how two boys become a couple. However, this doesn't happen until the next to last page. The other 300-odd pages are about growing up, family, identity, and avoidance.
SO MUCH AVOIDANCE. Designating Ari as the narrator is a really interesting choice because he is so reticent to speak about truths he recognizes, even to himself. As a result, most of the important action in the book happens off the page, or is relayed to the reader in a highly simplified, obscured manner. It's impressive, and makes this novel unique in the world of gay YA narratives, where voices like Dante's are (in my reading experience) more common. However, I can see how this might frustrate readers. Because this is so character-driven and the plot focuses on slow, subtle changes, it sometimes feels like almost nothing is happening.
But I kept reading! I couldn't stop reading! For the first third of the book I kept thinking that the narration felt stilted, that the dialogue was unrealistic, that I didn't know where it was going... And then a thing happens, and I couldn't stop reading! Even when I continued to have reservations about it, I couldn't stop!
So I suppose this book wins, which is why I gave it four stars. I couldn't settle for three, for whatever reason, but I wasn't as blown away as everyone else I know who has read it, wasn't blown away enough to give it five stars. For whatever reason. It's probably for same reason why I would look back at my progress after a reading session and realize I had devoured huge chunks of pages.
To steal a word from Ari and Dante, the appeal is sort of inscrutable. But it's there.
In some ways, this novel did not live up to the hype surrounding it. I had only heard glowing reviews, so it was sort of impossible for it to live up to the reputation of perfection it carried.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is, reduced to its most essential elements, the story of how two boys become a couple. However, this doesn't happen until the next to last page. The other 300-odd pages are about growing up, family, identity, and avoidance.
SO MUCH AVOIDANCE. Designating Ari as the narrator is a really interesting choice because he is so reticent to speak about truths he recognizes, even to himself. As a result, most of the important action in the book happens off the page, or is relayed to the reader in a highly simplified, obscured manner. It's impressive, and makes this novel unique in the world of gay YA narratives, where voices like Dante's are (in my reading experience) more common. However, I can see how this might frustrate readers. Because this is so character-driven and the plot focuses on slow, subtle changes, it sometimes feels like almost nothing is happening.
But I kept reading! I couldn't stop reading! For the first third of the book I kept thinking that the narration felt stilted, that the dialogue was unrealistic, that I didn't know where it was going... And then a thing happens, and I couldn't stop reading! Even when I continued to have reservations about it, I couldn't stop!
So I suppose this book wins, which is why I gave it four stars. I couldn't settle for three, for whatever reason, but I wasn't as blown away as everyone else I know who has read it, wasn't blown away enough to give it five stars. For whatever reason. It's probably for same reason why I would look back at my progress after a reading session and realize I had devoured huge chunks of pages.
To steal a word from Ari and Dante, the appeal is sort of inscrutable. But it's there.