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A review by lwgreen1
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The good: really liked the first half when the group was in Manchester. I was there. I was in the sweaty, beer-soaked, dimly-light clubs with the lads. I loved seeing them have the best weekend of their lives. Despite the constant banter, you can tell they all cared for one another and that was lovely. In the later half, there was a chapter where Tully and James visit Tully’s mom and that was such a tender and heartfelt chapter. 5 stars for that chapter. I annotated quite a few times throughout the book which is always a great thing.
The bad: even though the banter between characters is part of what I liked about the book, it also contained a lot of movie, music, and political references that I, being born in the US in ‘99, did not understand. So much so that sometimes it took me out of the story dampening the reading experience. I also understand that my lack of knowledge is not the fault of the author and if you grew up in the UK you’d probably get alot more out of those scenes than I did. And the biggest thing that bumped it from a 4.5 to a 3.5 is I feel like the second half dragged on. I think there are several events in the second half that could have been cut out without sacrificing nuance or plot. I feel like the characters had more or less the same conversation about 8 times.
One memorable quote: “He was a friend to friendship itself and never expected people to be better than they were.”
The bad: even though the banter between characters is part of what I liked about the book, it also contained a lot of movie, music, and political references that I, being born in the US in ‘99, did not understand. So much so that sometimes it took me out of the story dampening the reading experience. I also understand that my lack of knowledge is not the fault of the author and if you grew up in the UK you’d probably get alot more out of those scenes than I did. And the biggest thing that bumped it from a 4.5 to a 3.5 is I feel like the second half dragged on. I think there are several events in the second half that could have been cut out without sacrificing nuance or plot. I feel like the characters had more or less the same conversation about 8 times.
One memorable quote: “He was a friend to friendship itself and never expected people to be better than they were.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol