A review by vrstal
-30- by Clinton W. Waters
4.0
4/5. Highlights may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
House of Obscure Reviews
Edited: 5/17
I came back to edit because now I don't have a cry headache and can actually think words.
A friend recommended this to me because it was thought-provoking for them, and I was intrigued. I knew it had a romantic subplot (in general, I read only MM romance), and I was intrigued by the concept and admittedly, it's length.
Waters' writing is really well done. Not only do they know how to excellent pace a novella and use the pages they've put down, but they also have evocative writing. Through the first half I didn't feel like I was touching on emotional beats, but as we got along further, suddenly all the emotions came! There is also some sci-fi worldbuilding in here that was woven within the narrative, so nothing felt like an infodump. Despite it's futuristic and fictional premise, there was a lot of that rang true to life now: thoughts about technology, memories, and grief.
I cried a lot in this story. Having known the pain of loss, personally, and also the way that desiring death during those dark moments, and how complex that can be too. The mixture Greg had with thinking of taking his own life, or relief there might be should he not actually make it -- well. It felt close to home.
I was also reminded of a song, Try to Remember, Forget, that I felt resonated with this novella.
Overall, I highly recommend this book! Bring tissues and some tylenol.
House of Obscure Reviews
Edited: 5/17
I came back to edit because now I don't have a cry headache and can actually think words.
A friend recommended this to me because it was thought-provoking for them, and I was intrigued. I knew it had a romantic subplot (in general, I read only MM romance), and I was intrigued by the concept and admittedly, it's length.
Waters' writing is really well done. Not only do they know how to excellent pace a novella and use the pages they've put down, but they also have evocative writing. Through the first half I didn't feel like I was touching on emotional beats, but as we got along further, suddenly all the emotions came! There is also some sci-fi worldbuilding in here that was woven within the narrative, so nothing felt like an infodump. Despite it's futuristic and fictional premise, there was a lot of that rang true to life now: thoughts about technology, memories, and grief.
I cried a lot in this story. Having known the pain of loss, personally, and also the way that desiring death during those dark moments, and how complex that can be too. The mixture Greg had with thinking of taking his own life, or relief there might be should he not actually make it -- well. It felt close to home.
I was also reminded of a song, Try to Remember, Forget, that I felt resonated with this novella.
Overall, I highly recommend this book! Bring tissues and some tylenol.