Imagine. Reading. A. Book written like. This. That's not ideal, right? That's why, although the fact that the author employs short sentences is praiseworthy as it means that you can read the book quickly (contrarily e.g. to Auster's 4321), the fact that such brevity permeates the whole book disrupts the author's storytelling, and as a result the reader's understanding of what is going on. Jumping from one topic to the other made it even harder for me to follow the narration. Writing style aside, I found the book lacked a clear story. In the first chapter, we are told about a young boy named Iggy who sets a church on fire. Iggy then fades out, and in each chapter we are told the story of a different person. These characters are all connected to Iggy for sure, but in exploring the lives of different people and forgetting about the main character I felt there was no overarching story. Relatedly, I found the book also lacked a message. Not that it had to have one, but whilst I was reading I got the impression the author was trying to convey a message which I struggled to understand, let alone clearly identify (what really is The Constant, by the way?). All in all, a good choice if you are looking for something to read quickly, less so if you are looking for something clear and inspiring.
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