mfrabbiele's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Written from multiple points of view across various timelines, this book is a solid work of art from start to finish. We jump through various situations of loss, grief, and different coping mechanisms. Challenging topics include infidelity and the loss of a love one, which leave the reader, hopeful.
Overall, lots of strong life lessons that will leave me reflecting for some time.
Overall, lots of strong life lessons that will leave me reflecting for some time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Infertility, Abandonment, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
nordstina's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Intangible is a book that is hard to summarize or tie to one genre. It has elements of mystery, medical unknowns, psychological issues, trauma, and a heavy dose of mathematics. Yes. Mathematics. What drew me to it was the premise that one of the characters is experiencing a condition called pseudocyesis, which is basically a phantom pregnancy, and I was curious to see how that would resolve. In Washington's book, he focuses on two couples- Amanda and Derrick and Marissa and Patrick. Both couples have experienced a devastating loss in their lives. Amanda was pregnant and then miscarried, but continues to show signs that she is pregnant including her belly continuing to grow in tandem with how old their fetus would be. A friend connects her with Patrick, a neuroscientist who studied another condition that involved both physiological and psychological aspects. Patrick feels alone after his wife and him experience a loss and Marissa, a renounced mathematician, copes with her loss and guilt by throwing herself into mathematical equations to the point that Patrick fears she is losing a grip on reality.
The mix of science and grief after a loss was interesting. That alone would be an interesting topic for a book, but Washington brings in other mysteries and whodunits. Amanda's husband Derrick is coping with her condition in unexpected and frightening ways. Patrick does not know how to balance his wife's brilliance and how unhealthy he thinks she is dealing with their loss. Patrick and Amanda grow closer as they struggle to deal with the complications in their marriage. Extended family bring additional complex relationships to the plot.
I appreciated that this book really kept me guessing throughout. Without spoiling, there were multiple unexpected plot twists. Some I felt probably were a bit extraneous and did not add to the overarching plot, and I'm not sure if the author quite stuck the landing with all the balls he was juggling, but this was an unexpected delight to read.
Thank you to Little A via NetGalley for the reader copy in exchange for honest review.
The mix of science and grief after a loss was interesting. That alone would be an interesting topic for a book, but Washington brings in other mysteries and whodunits. Amanda's husband Derrick is coping with her condition in unexpected and frightening ways. Patrick does not know how to balance his wife's brilliance and how unhealthy he thinks she is dealing with their loss. Patrick and Amanda grow closer as they struggle to deal with the complications in their marriage. Extended family bring additional complex relationships to the plot.
I appreciated that this book really kept me guessing throughout. Without spoiling, there were multiple unexpected plot twists. Some I felt probably were a bit extraneous and did not add to the overarching plot, and I'm not sure if the author quite stuck the landing with all the balls he was juggling, but this was an unexpected delight to read.
Thank you to Little A via NetGalley for the reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Child death, Drug use, and Mental illness
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