I know camaraderie and individuality are kind of opposites, but in my lived experience they are heavily intertwined. I recently read Kaveh Akhbar's Martyr! and I really enjoyed the character development and the general concept of a 20ish year old protagonist reckoning with who he is in the modern world(and how it relates to his friends). Although I didn't love the ending, it opened up my eyes to how much appreciation I can feel for characters that go through a very well done emotional reckoning with who they are and how they can feel contempt in the undoubtedly shitty world we all live in. I'm not looking for a crazy plot, just some really well done characters who figure themselves out. Please don't recommend me classics unless they are something that truly don't get talked about. I want some more contemporary stuff.
by NoRisk4129