Review by railway1721 - The Tragedy of Felix and Jake

railway1721 's review for:

The Tragedy of Felix and Jake by J. Daniels

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

You know what’s even better than getting high? Landing the guy you want. That is so fucking dope. They should talk about how great this is at meetings. Maybe this is what all addicts need to hear, because I guarantee no one will ever want to use or abuse drugs again once they find out about how good this feels."

Plot: 3/5 (Romanticized look at addiction)
Spice: 3/5 (Open door explicit, but limited scenes)
Characters: 4/5 (Felix is king)

Overall reco: The characters in the book felt very immature, but that kind of felt like the point. They make terrible decisions throughout (

Jake getting a sponsor so much younger than him, developing a relationship with said sponsor, jakes anger, their choices at some moments

) but I honestly felt like that was the point. The author writes at the beginning that they themselves were not an addict but loved someone that did. At that moment I wasn't expecting realism in terms of the drug use or the programs (12 step and other) and the writing about that was mostly vague so I was able to suspend my disbelief about it.
Really, the story was tragic. I was expecting something very dark and sad and it it was sad and frustrating. It felt a lot like a Romeo and Juliet situation where bad shit was just compounding and compounding. I was in the mood for something sad and I was truly frustrated by the book until the very end. The last 2 chapters absolutely killed me. I fucking cried and then I cried talking about it.
In the end, this book is a really romanticized look at addiction. If you are looking for something realistic, this isn't for you.
Also, I could leave Jake. Felix was the star of this book.

(Other Notes)
I didn't realize how little time had passed in the book until closer to the end. I think most of the twists and turns happen over a a few days. I kept thinking it was happening over weeks or months. But once Felix and Jake meet it apparently goes fast? Which.. boggles me a bit.
There was something I really hated in the book:

On the way to rehab, I understand why the bathroom sex. Jake was freaking out and Felix wanted to calm him down. I thought the whole scene was fucking stupid but 'understood' when I didn't understand was the point of the old man in the bathroom. That felt gross and unnecessary, especially the fight they get into with him about it. Like you are ON YOUR WAY TO REHAB. LEAVE

Content Warnings