A review by nate_meyers
Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
5.0
Absolutely phenomenal book, worth all its hype. It's well-written, deeply funny, immeasurably sad, but also tremendously hopeful. As Khosrou writes near the end, "What you believe about the future will change how you live in the present." This is strong truth that tends to get lost in today's world.
I want to say two more things. Not sure you'd call this a proper review, but who cares. Skip it and read the book - that's all I care about.
One. This is the first YA novel that I've read that I fully intend to shelve for my children to read when they reach the appropriate age. I think this is a book they absolutely have to read, even if they don't understand the wonderful JCVD references. (Although they do love the video of his semi-truck splits stunt). It's more important they read it for the hilarious poop stories and even more important to learn/sympathize with the plight of refugees including how our country treats them.
Two. I was reading two hella long, hella dense books (Ulysses and Ducks, Newburyport) when I needed a break and picked up this book. While Everything Sad is Untrue is a "middle school read" not like the others - it's the only one that I absolutely recommend and think you'd be silly not to read. Ducks, Newburyport is tremendous and maybe the best book to capture modern American anxieties. You should read it, but it lacks hope and I would understand if you skipped or stopped reading it. Ulysses is a classic work that marks the invention of modern fiction, with writing that varies between brilliant and insane. Ultimately, it's more boring than funny and often uncomfortably blasphemous. While it may be crazy to say, I'm not sure folks outside of Ireland *need* to read Ulysses. But everyone *needs* to read Everything Sad is Untrue
I want to say two more things. Not sure you'd call this a proper review, but who cares. Skip it and read the book - that's all I care about.
One. This is the first YA novel that I've read that I fully intend to shelve for my children to read when they reach the appropriate age. I think this is a book they absolutely have to read, even if they don't understand the wonderful JCVD references. (Although they do love the video of his semi-truck splits stunt). It's more important they read it for the hilarious poop stories and even more important to learn/sympathize with the plight of refugees including how our country treats them.
Two. I was reading two hella long, hella dense books (Ulysses and Ducks, Newburyport) when I needed a break and picked up this book. While Everything Sad is Untrue is a "middle school read" not like the others - it's the only one that I absolutely recommend and think you'd be silly not to read. Ducks, Newburyport is tremendous and maybe the best book to capture modern American anxieties. You should read it, but it lacks hope and I would understand if you skipped or stopped reading it. Ulysses is a classic work that marks the invention of modern fiction, with writing that varies between brilliant and insane. Ultimately, it's more boring than funny and often uncomfortably blasphemous. While it may be crazy to say, I'm not sure folks outside of Ireland *need* to read Ulysses. But everyone *needs* to read Everything Sad is Untrue