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Antoinette's Reviews > Wellness
Wellness
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by
“Come with”- are they not just the most perfect two words? Jack says these words to Elizabeth and with these words they fall hopelessly in love.
Twenty years later, they are stagnant and stale. Their perfect marriage/union no longer feels that way. Nathan Hill, in this book, explores “many” themes. The primary one is marriage and how your past and your secrets and everything you bring into it can affect it. He explores how the internet/ social media inundates a person with information, some of it useful and lots not even true. Today’s couples are bombarded by information overload, whether it be about relationships, child rearing, nutrition and even having dual master bedrooms.
Nathan Hill takes us back to Jack and Elizabeth as youngsters- we get to know them then and what shaped them. Both are insecure in their own way. Both never seemed to belong. When they meet, they feel like they have finally found their soulmate.
Nathan Hill has done an awful lot of research for this book- there is an 8 page bibliography at the end of the book. He told me a lot about studies and algorithms- some of it was interesting, some definitely was not. There were moments when my eyes glazed over, especially in the Facebook algorithm section. Less is more sometimes!
An uneven book for me. But at its heart, the story of Elizabeth and Jack and Toby (their son) captured my heart. I loved getting to know them. He knows how to build his characters!
Nathan Hill is an excellent writer but I wish he had not felt the need for information overload. But thanks to this book, I knew an answer on Jeopardy this week, that I would not have otherwise known.
“ And the only thing she was certain of was this: that between ourselves and the world are a million stories, and if we don’t know which among them are true, we might as well try out those that are most humane, most generous, most beautiful, most loving.”
Here, here!
Many thanks to my buddy readers, Candi and Lisa, who definitely added to my enjoyment and understanding of this book. It was a pleasure you two!
Published: 2023
Twenty years later, they are stagnant and stale. Their perfect marriage/union no longer feels that way. Nathan Hill, in this book, explores “many” themes. The primary one is marriage and how your past and your secrets and everything you bring into it can affect it. He explores how the internet/ social media inundates a person with information, some of it useful and lots not even true. Today’s couples are bombarded by information overload, whether it be about relationships, child rearing, nutrition and even having dual master bedrooms.
Nathan Hill takes us back to Jack and Elizabeth as youngsters- we get to know them then and what shaped them. Both are insecure in their own way. Both never seemed to belong. When they meet, they feel like they have finally found their soulmate.
Nathan Hill has done an awful lot of research for this book- there is an 8 page bibliography at the end of the book. He told me a lot about studies and algorithms- some of it was interesting, some definitely was not. There were moments when my eyes glazed over, especially in the Facebook algorithm section. Less is more sometimes!
An uneven book for me. But at its heart, the story of Elizabeth and Jack and Toby (their son) captured my heart. I loved getting to know them. He knows how to build his characters!
Nathan Hill is an excellent writer but I wish he had not felt the need for information overload. But thanks to this book, I knew an answer on Jeopardy this week, that I would not have otherwise known.
“ And the only thing she was certain of was this: that between ourselves and the world are a million stories, and if we don’t know which among them are true, we might as well try out those that are most humane, most generous, most beautiful, most loving.”
Here, here!
Many thanks to my buddy readers, Candi and Lisa, who definitely added to my enjoyment and understanding of this book. It was a pleasure you two!
Published: 2023
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Reading Progress
December 8, 2023
– Shelved
December 8, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 9, 2024
–
Started Reading
April 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
american-literature
April 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
american-author
April 19, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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rated it 4 stars
Apr 21, 2024 04:04AM
I love that quote! It's such a brilliant truth to live by. You've managed to convey the essence of this novel and its heat. A brilliant review!
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Antoinette, so basically, and correct me if I'm wrong, this is an overwritten novel about information overload, right? :DI was one of those few people who didn't think The Nix was a masterpiece, so I'm going to leave this one alone.
Excellent review!!
I'm with Pedro, it might be too uneven for me, so I'll pass.
It’s funny as I heard Katie Couric this week say “come with” and I had to flip through my head as I knew I read those words. I finally realized it was from this novel! Ha! Yes, some of it was long winded but overall I enjoyed this one too! Glad it worked for you as well, Antoinette! Great review!
Thanks so much, Lisa! There were so many quotes I could have pulled, but this one topped them for me. He is a brilliant writer even if a verbose one:)
Pedro, I guarantee you would hate this book:)🤣🤣.
The sad thing , Diane, is that it is a very truthful exploration of today’s society and the influence of social media. I wish that all that information he fit in that made it seem I was back in school had been shortened. Then the book would have been perfect.
Thanks so much, Jen. I really liked reading your thoughts on this one.
How wonderful to read this with Candi and Lisa! I love that last quote. Great review. Yes, less is sometimes more.
I love it when buddy reading adds to my understanding of a book. Lovely and thoughtful review, Antoinette. I’m hoping to get to this one this year. I’m a little worried about the information overload but hope I’ll connect to the rest for he story too!
Fantastic review! I have this one and your review makes me want to read it, even with the unevenness you described. I can overlook that with quotes like the one you included.
Thanks so much, Laysee. It was great to read this one with Candi and Lisa! Have you read this one?
Thanks so much, Jennifer! Based on your profession, I think you will really enjoy this book. There is much to love in this one. You just have to excuse the over abundance of information.
Thanks so much, K. I look forward to seeing what you think of it. I really liked it. I just didn’t absolutely love it:)
Antoinette, "Come with" wasted no time in winning my own heart, and I'm glad it resonated with you, as well. For everything else that doesn't pertain to the main relationship under scrutiny, I had to smile at that Jeopardy comment, and I understand what you're saying. By comparison, I felt like a fish in water with this story, and indulged without reservation; your excellent review does justice to what I enjoyed most about it, thank you!
It’s funny, Charles, as I’m a bit of a psychology nerd. I love to think about what makes people tick. I worked in mental health in my career. I just felt it read like a prepared lecture at moments. Too bad as that lowered my rating. The heart of the story was brilliant. I’m never going to forget that expression. “Come with” to my next read:)Thanks so much for your very kind comment.
Great review, Antoinette! I read The Nix by Hill last year and it had quite a few tangents — Once I became familiar with the style, it grew on me. I plan to read (or listen to) Wellness sometime this year.
This is a stellar review Antoinette - you've made this one sound really enticing, lots of good, powerful stuff in this one right? I will add this - I hope I can find it in my neck of the woods!! Also, wonderful to see you had two top class buddy readers to share this with, I bet it created a lot of discussion. Great stuff :))
Thanks so much, Brandice. I’ll look forward to seeing how this one compares to The Nix for you. My son liked both but preferred the Nix.
Thanks, Mark, you are too kind. Yes there is powerful stuff in this one- he looks at today’s society with a satirical eye. Always good for an eye roll or two:)
Such a wonderful review, Antionette!! This is on my TBR and now 3 trusted friends say read this!!! Ok!! I may try to put this on my book club list next month. We are doing books with one word titles, but I also want to try for Hamnet. Either one would be a win for me!!(I just saw it’s over 600 pages so my book club won’t go for it)🤷🏼♀️
Thanks, Lori. This is an excellent discussion book, but you can’t go wrong with Maggie O’Farrell. I loved Hamnet.
So not only is this a fine story of two people coming together and falling apart in the course of a lifetime, it's educational too :) You marvelously highlighted all that spoke to you in this novel, Antoinette. With such reading partners, it must have been a very fruitful buddy read!
Thanks for your comment, Violeta! Well put! I was glad to have buddy readers to get through some of those educational bits.
"Come with" is a perfect phrase for the start of a relationship (and a review!) and would be perfectly paired with Lisa's questions at the start of her review: "Are these stories big enough to live in? Can we change them as we change?" Perhaps if we could continue to say "come with" to one another as we grow and change then life would not become stagnant :)My reading experience was greatly enhanced by gaining your perspective along with Lisa's, Antoinette. And you've written a splendid review!
“Perhaps if we could continue to say”come with” to one another as we grow and change then life would not become stagnant.” Perfectly said, Candi!! Thanks for your great comment and for being part of the buddy read. Your perspective is always sound and astute.
Having read gorgeous reviews of Candi and Lisa, I came here with high expectations and I am not disappointed at all with your lovely write-up. Now I am convinced that this books should be on my TBR. Thanks for sharing it, Antoinette :)
Thanks so much for your kind words, Gaurav. I look forward to seeing what you think.
Lovely review, Antoinette. I'm glad that despite its size and info dump, you still appreciated it.
Antoinette, you cracked me up with that Jeopardy bonus! Loved that quote, too. Glad you felt the heart in this underneath all the info…. ☺️
Thanks so much, Bianca! I liked the heart of the book a lot.
Sometimes less is more, Jennifer. He had a very strong story that he derailed with his over abundance of information.
As with Candi's and Lisa's reviews, I feel both attracted to and warned off this book after reading your wise take on it, Antoinette.Maybe the clincher for me might be the 'Come with' line. It reminds me of the very annoying Tilly character in the English comedy series, 'Miranda':-)
Sorry for the late reply, Fionnuala. It’s not a book I could 100% recommend. Read the reviews of people you feel a reading kinship to, and then decide. I’ve never seen Miranda. Should I search it out?
