A review by notrachel
Dogrun by Arthur Nersesian
4.0
4 stars is generous but since I can't rate in increments...
This built to an end where I almost loved...something about it, the way I loved Chip Kidd's The Learners and The Cheese Monkeys. It was poignant without trying, a sort of effortless reverberation. I loved what the author did with the story...or maybe what he allowed the story to do.
It fell just shy of ending totally cheesy without stripping the characters of hope. Throughout there were was cynical, skeptical and temptuous. I held my breath, I dropped my jaw. He told a story and I was on the edge of my seat for every word. It was not flawless. At times, it faltered and flew far off track. But it would recover, it would settle back into its gait. The progression, the development of the main character felt nearly natural, unforced. A lot of this story felt unforced (except that scene with the foot-sucker. major WTH moment there) and that was a joy.
Yes, it also benefited from me being where I am in life, from my identifying with certain aspects of the main character's mentality (some...not all). Only a reread by some future me will show if this moments-after review stands the test of time.
This built to an end where I almost loved...something about it, the way I loved Chip Kidd's The Learners and The Cheese Monkeys. It was poignant without trying, a sort of effortless reverberation. I loved what the author did with the story...or maybe what he allowed the story to do.
It fell just shy of ending totally cheesy without stripping the characters of hope. Throughout there were was cynical, skeptical and temptuous. I held my breath, I dropped my jaw. He told a story and I was on the edge of my seat for every word. It was not flawless. At times, it faltered and flew far off track. But it would recover, it would settle back into its gait. The progression, the development of the main character felt nearly natural, unforced. A lot of this story felt unforced (except that scene with the foot-sucker. major WTH moment there) and that was a joy.
Yes, it also benefited from me being where I am in life, from my identifying with certain aspects of the main character's mentality (some...not all). Only a reread by some future me will show if this moments-after review stands the test of time.