I think it would be challenging to dislike this novel when narrated by Matthew. He is earnest and vivacious in recounting his own words. It is better than I expected.

As far as the wisdom he imparts, his life is interesting and gripping, and sometimes this translates to something that is somewhat profound. But the problem is that when these parts go on, the privilege shines through. What I mean by that is that this is an attractive white guys journey to a tee.

It all feels a lot like a buddy telling you their story when you’re getting to know them. For better and worse this somewhat degraded what his goal for the book is. I think had it eliminated this idea of a Texas redneck-truth philosophy, the story would be better bookended and better allow the reader to come to take what they want from it, rather than him screaming out what it all means.

It’s valuable to know what he took away from these moments, but they are apart from his thesis, imo. I like him even more as a person and I like this book a lot, however.