I honestly don't even know what I just read. I do know that I didn't like it, it was not at all my style of writing. The story honestly made no sense to me. I'm sure someone may find this great but that's not me.
I don't usually write reviews like this but I really don't know what else to say.

I was able to read this book through NetGalley and it definitely followed suit with its name. The Art of being Difficult was indeed difficult to finish for being a short story and even more difficult to follow. The one plus was that it did have short chapters. I have it a two star purely because it kept me reading trying to figure out the actual plot to the book. Maybe I missed it? I really wanted to love this book based on the description and I unfortunately couldn’t.

Thank you again NetGalley.

Difficult Read

“The Art of Being Difficult” by William Chekhov truly lives up to its own name. There is a difficulty in following the multiple storylines because the chapters jump all over the place. Some chapters are give us substance to go off of and satiates the need for a story. Other chapters share the heartache and longing of characters. There are short poetic-style chapters thrown in the mix.

Maybe that was point in writing it this way. I also understand why the novella has been given its title. I read it twice to get a better understanding of the characters but I don’t think it helped much at all.

Three stars for the difficulty of following, the confusion, and the pensive thought process to try to understand everything going on.

Thank you to Mendelssohn Press and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

I’m not really sure what this book was. There was some nice bits of poetry in there that I related to, but overall I spent the entire time with the feeling that there was a plot and a message that I somehow kept missing. I had no idea who was who or what was going on at any point, and as soon as I thought I had a grasp on it, the perspective changed and I was back to not knowing.
Maybe I just don’t have the brain cells to comprehend the book, but I digress.
2⭐️ for the nice poetry

A Loveless Child. A Loveless Woman. Sweet Romance. Murder. Satire. Desperation. Fate.
That's it. That's the whole back cover description. I suppose the ominous, mysterious ambience was partly what drew me in, but that's what made me lose interest, too.
Hey, I'm Paige, and this is a review of "The Art of Being Difficult" by William Chekhov. I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review, but these thoughts are my own. Thank you, Mendelssohn Press!

*it was confusing to read*
I don't know how to describe Chekhov's writing style, except that it's a tough read for those seeking a straightforward narrative. To me, it looked like a bunch of scenes. There was no storyline. I think there might have been a hidden meaning or something, but I couldn't figure it out. The lack of clear structure makes it challenging to follow the author's train of thought.

*it got boring soon*
Aside from the whole 'I don't know what's going on' thing, there was another issue. The majority of this book (if it can be called a book, and not a jumble of scenes) was trying too hard to be fancy and poetic. If a book starts with explaining the plot, like this one did, there needs to be a compelling reason for readers to continue. That was unfortunately missing from this novelette.

*the lack of coherence*
One of the most frustrating aspects of "The Art of Being Difficult" was the lack of coherence. While I expected a challenging read, I also anticipated a cohesive narrative that would gradually unfold. Instead, the book felt like a series of disconnected vignettes, with no clear direction or purpose. Characters appeared and disappeared without explanation, and the timeline seemed to shift arbitrarily. As a reader, I struggled to piece together the puzzle, ultimately feeling more perplexed than enlightened by the end.

*conclusion*
In conclusion, "The Art of Being Difficult" by William Chekhov could have been an intriguing exploration into the complexities of human nature and societal norms. However, the delivery and writing style of this book was extremely confusing. While there may be hidden gems buried within the text, they are overshadowed by the overwhelming difficulty of the reading experience. Overall, I found myself struggling to stay engaged and ultimately lost interest in the book.

Kotan has always been lonely, but when he meets Inyoku, his life changes forever. Inyoku has never been in love, and neither of them has any idea how to navigate a relationship. Adultery, murder, and depression threaten to derail what they have built. Will they learn what it means to truly love before it is forever too late?

This was an enjoyable read with short (some super short!!) chapters, which I love. The story was confusing to follow, jumping between points of view and times, past vs. present, but it still held my interest. I wanted to know what was going on with the characters, even though some weren't named and didn't seem to belong.

I rate this book 2.5 🌟

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable novella. It had a winding path and was a good bit confusing, but I knew that before starting. There was a good message on there (but it’s going to ruminate in my mind for a bit before it arrives).

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I gave this a 3 star as this is well written and is very unique.

I did like some of the topics explored in this book, but this wasn't my favourite writing style.

If you are going through some level of existential crisis or having some inner struggles, you may resonate with this and connect. But unfortunately, this did not click with me.

This book/story was so jarring and confusing. I felt like I had no idea what was happening at all. There were some insightful parts and some good poetry. But overall too confusing

This is a book about hating women. I can attempt to hide that in carefully placed words that sound less harsh but why hide the reality? It seeped into every page.

It's also simply poorly written. I'm not just talking about the poorly executed idea of the time jumps. It could have been good but now it just read like a fever dream.

No the sentences, everything. It's just bad. "Your flowers are at their same place". That sentence made so little sense it induced me to rage and I found myself rage reading most of the book after that. I really truly wished I could have been more positive but I found little redeeming about it. Just. No.

There were some existential gems scattered here and there, but the majority of this story (if it can be called a story, and not a jumble of exposition) was trying too hard to be esoteric and artful. If a book starts with a TLDR, a compelling reason for readers to read on must also be offered, and that was unfortunately missing from this novelette. Thank you to Mendelssohn Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was not for me, I found it really confusing to read.
There didn't seem to be a plot to follow and the chapters with the dogs were weird. I hated the layout of the novel and the chapter novels. Definitely not something I would pick up again.

Thanks for the ARC copy of this novella. I was a bit confused, however, as to what I read. It seemed like a jumble of thoughts, kind of poetic, a story but not really a story. Super hard to figure it out, I was disappointed.

“The Art of Being Difficult” by William Chekhov was a thought provoking novelette.

The synopsis of this book starts right in the beginning of the book in the “TLDR” chapter! Without that chapter I wouldn’t have been able to follow any of this story.. The art of being difficult is a great title for this book since the short chapters provide little info about who is talking, why there are talking dogs, and why there is gun violence.
While this book wasn’t really my cup of tea, this is great to read in one sitting!
Thank you to NetGalley and Mendelssohn Press for a copy of this ebook to review.

The Art of Being Difficult lives up to its name – traversing through the contents of the book and seeing glimpses of Kotan’s unfulfilling life and other varying perspectives can feel like a complicated venture. But nothing in life is ever easy.

From the start, the spoilers in the first chapter create the foundation to help us as readers understand the chronological timeline of events involving our protagonist Kotan. The introductory warnings in the first few pages also establish the form this book takes; primarily poetic, serious in tone and intent with a slight hint of humour, emphasizing the different components that come close to defining “life.” And if the rest of the passages weren’t complicated enough, we’ve also been given a unique numbering system for the chapters in the book.

The first read-through was mostly for literary appreciation; a lot of the lamentations hit close to home. Some aspects of life – work, relationships with people, giving and receiving our own definitions of love – are universal experiences in a way. The second read-through gave me a better idea of how all these narratives were related and allowed me to revisit moments that I must have missed the first time around – which feels a bit like cheating since life can only truly be experienced once. You blink and you miss something, and it’s gone forever.

Those who have gone through (or are currently undergoing) existential crises could find a lot of value in this book. Even those who are looking for something profound and hard to unravel can appreciate the poetic paragraphs.

I can't even give a proper review on this book as I couldn't follow it at all or make sense of it. It's written in a jumble jumping between stories and characters and timelines that does not add up or make sense at all really....

this was a different and short read.

if you're expecting a traditional book with an easy-to-understand storyline, this may be a tad hard to get into. but i see the vision the author was trying to tell. there's no discernable timeline and it's chaotic. much like life, it's very much a rollercoaster. it's like getting clips of different happenings in multiple people's perspective, but they're all intertwined and really tell one story. nothing makes sense, but also does. it's almost poetic... very much an artistic telling of several stories.

there are characters who are living lives they know is not what they want or not what they're meant for, feeling like they're on a path that they were merely led to live. they are miserable and react in much angst, but also feel defeated that they feel some sort of acceptance. kind of like them saying, "oh well... it is what it is." i'm sure some of us can relate.

now, would i recommend this book? it depends on who i'm recommending it to. this may not be fitting for most of my bookish friends. so to find the right crowd who might appreciate this may very well be a bit hard.

so why 3 stars? it wasn't bad, but the complex timeline and stories took a bit to really grab me. once i took the time to make sense of some of it, i realized not to dive too much into the details... but more so to follow the train of thoughts. it's still interesting to read something different.

thank you to NetGalley and Mendelssohn Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. i received this as an ARC and leave this review voluntarily.

Cleverly written, unique and genuinely beautiful in parts, The Art of Being Difficult is a quick, compelling read. Abstract and complex, it reads more like poetry than a plot-driven novel and I struggled a little to follow the storyline but I think this is more of a fault with my own expectations than any issue with the book itself. I’d love to read more by this author.

This was a quick read that had promise, but the execution just felt very scattered. It's clear the author was trying to be very stylistic with this story, which can work, but there wasn't enough of anything to ground it. The style feels similar to A Visit from the Goon Squad, but those chapters were multiple different mediums and styles so you could at least still find the plot. I feel like I have a vague idea of what this story was (thanks to the TLDR at the start of the book), and some "chapters" had sentences that stuck out to me, but overall I was basically just skimming as I had no real idea of what was happening.

The title really sets the tone for this book. It's witty and very different from anything I've read before. If you are a fan of satire, different styles of reading, and need something a little different this may be a good read for you!

Thanks to Mendelssohn Press for the early Arc copy!