I started this book because I loved The Vegetarian and I had heard some reviews that We Do Not Part was better than The Vegetarian. I read 147/189 pages, so I really gave it a try. It felt silly to give up with only 40 pages to go but I couldn't keep slogging through when I have so many books waiting that I really want to read.
We Do Not Part gave me this very specific feeling that I haven't felt since high school when I was forced to read books for English class. This mix of ambivalence toward the characters, confusion over the backstory, and annoyance at the prose. Because I can easily admit that it was very well written, just as I could with classics back in school. And I have enjoyed classics and well-written books. But great prose doesn't get me invested in a story, the plot and characterization do. And a story being told in such an abstract way distances me from the events and emotions rather than pulls me in.
That blend of "the writing is beautiful but I just didn't get it" makes me feel a need to justify myself, to prove that I'm not dumb. Again, it's a very immature, teenage feeling bubbling up.
by FuckingaFuck