leekaufman's Reviews (426)

Helen Oyeyemi gets weirder and weirder with each book. I think this one pushed my limit.

I really wanted to love this book. Trains, mongooses, theremins--right up my alley. There were so many elements that were close to being great, but a book that shows this much potential is more frustrating to me than something that is just mediocre. The first half is a confusing hodgepodge of world building and recounting memories. The actual plot (I use that word very liberally) isn't introduced until about halfway through, but then things were really looking up for about 50 pages. There were inklings of discourse on what it means to be really seen in a relationship. Unfortunately, the ending fell flat because of heavy-handed absurdism and a disappointing lack of character development.

An extra 0.5 star for dear little Arpad.

Overall, a great premise, strong writing, and a ton of potential but ultimately a disappointment for this Oyeyemi fan.

I came to care so much more about Jared than I thought I would. Robinson writes teenagers beautifully, balancing the desire to be independent with a longing to be cared for. This is a slow burn heavy on character, with the “magic realism” content not coming in until well into the book. But it’s worth it to see Jared grow and change along the way.