This book was another debut novel, one that was hugely popular in Britain and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The author, Rachel Joyce, wrote it while her father was dying and it's easy to see how the long walk of the protagonist, who believes that it will prevent his friend from dying until he can arrive to see her, was inspired by the deals and wishes we irrationally make when our loved ones are dying.
I did not finish this book, and perhaps I would have loved it if I had. As it was, it seemed to me a strange combination of whimsy and despair. I simply never felt really engaged; again, I thought the mild-mannered, hen-pecked husband who rebels by doing some eccentric is a cliche and while I felt that the novel obliquely raised serious issues like grief and mental illness it didn't seem to me to say anything new or profound - nothing that would gave me that sense of immediate recognition.
I did not finish this book, and perhaps I would have loved it if I had. As it was, it seemed to me a strange combination of whimsy and despair. I simply never felt really engaged; again, I thought the mild-mannered, hen-pecked husband who rebels by doing some eccentric is a cliche and while I felt that the novel obliquely raised serious issues like grief and mental illness it didn't seem to me to say anything new or profound - nothing that would gave me that sense of immediate recognition.
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