A review by karishall18
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mayflies is a reflective, nostalgic, and extremely sad novel. It’s interesting because half of the novel is about teenage boys which I am, quite frankly, a bit disinterested in reading about. Which is maybe a flaw of mine. Anyway, I liked James a lot as a protagonist, I liked the dynamic between the teenage boys, even if I did not understand 90% of the 80’s references of the section of them being younger. I found the section where they are middle-aged to be more engaging personally. O’Hagan really strikes a fine balance of making this novel such a lighthearted exploration of male friendship and a soul-crushing, nauseating story of loss. I did feel sick at times reading this because of the realisation that Tully was going to lose his life and James was going to lose a platonic soulmate. You feel through this novel how cruel it all is on everyone. Basically, it is very upsetting. But I loved and really appreciated the ending, because as you read towards the end of the novel, it inevitably feels like hurtling towards Tully’s death, towards his absence, towards an unknown. So to make Tully’s ending (and his death, so to speak), full of life, O’Hagan leaves the novel lively and joyful, which is who the character was. It is really worth a read. 
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