I can respect a lot of this book, especially the parts about the Asian American experience, but it was gruesome and sad and not very enjoyable to read. I honestly am confused why reviews have it listed as funny, even as a fan of dark humor I didn’t find anything in this book funny at all.

Pretty sad from start to finish!

by the time I figured out Nelson was probably Gee I was really wishing he wasn’t. I don’t feel like I’ve ready many books where the sweetest character progressively gets worse.</spolier>

This book brings up a lot of interesting things to think about, and I think ultimately argues for the inherent value of humans as humans, regardless of their “contributions” to society. However, I felt like a few plot points, either about Dorrit’s life or the universe that the book exists in, were brought up and never fully explained or wrapped up. The writing also felt very emotionless in a way I can’t put a finger on. Even though it’s a first person narrative, it’s written in a very matter of fact way that you don’t always know how Dorrit is feeling. I’m not sure if this is a reflection of the original author or the translator’s style.