A review by kitnotmarlowe
The Living Is Easy by Dorothy West

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

reading reviews for the living is easy has my jaw on the floor because so many people are like 'this novel is difficult to read because the protagonist is Horrible and Callous and Unlikable and Insufferable i wanted it to be over as quickly as possible' and like. That Is The Point. cleo is supposed to be a nasty, manipulative, cruel snob, she destroys her family and for what by the end. idk how people go through life thinking that the protagonist or pov character of every work has to be morally upright and, even so, cleo does not end the novel with a leg up in the world. her pride and obsessions with colour, status, and control eat her alive by the end! she's an absolute tour-de-force of characterization. even while i condemned her actions, i still understood where her hunger was coming from. i don't have the book with me, so i cannot highlight specific passages, but this novel is sharply observed and written with a real spark to it. west has a talent for pulling the rug out from under your when you least expect it and delivers an emotional walloping. there's a short paragraph toward the end about cleo's father that made me whisper "oh no :(" out loud. however, the pace does stagnate a bit, and if cleo's sisters had more sense of character and relationships outside of those with her, the novel would have been stronger for it.

very grateful to the feminist press at cuny for reprinting this book, which i otherwise would not have  encountered if someone i follow on twitter didn't recommend it. it's a real gem of a novel! dorothy west writes books which i don't necessarily love but i do find endlessly interesting. reading her biography gave me imposter syndrome.