this book was great! I love the themes of socioeconomics, class, privilege, and all the encompassing themes that surround that. It was very well written, and called out a lot of unjust things, which I love. It was very spot on and eye opening!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This book's topic is much heavier than the romance stories I've been enjoying recently. However, it is a stunning work by a very talented author. The characters and plot aren't something you will fall in love with, but it will keep your interest. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Near Paducah, Kentucky, in a vast distribution center for a global shipping giant, Emmett spends his days unloading boxes on an assembly line. He has returned home—again—after yet another six-month cycle of hope and failure, another job and dream that didn’t work out. This time, he starts off back with his mother in his childhood home, forced to confront not only his own disappointments but the presence of his brother, Joel, the golden child.

Joel, a successful author, views the world through the lens of leftist ideology and intellectual abstraction, retreating into research and philosophy as his personal life crumbles. His wife wonders if she can endure a man who seems more invested in his ideals than in their marriage.

Cole’s writing is stunning, sharp, and deeply observant, capturing the tensions between success and failure, ambition and stagnation, privilege and self-awareness. The characters, frustrating yet compelling, fumble for meaning with answers sitting right in front of them. They are cushioned by safety nets they barely acknowledge, making their struggles feel both tragic and maddening.

This novel isn’t easy—it doesn’t give you characters to love, only to understand. But it is an undeniable achievement in storytelling, and I was completely taken in. The ending? Absolutely perfect.
#KnopfPantheonVintage #Fulfillment #LeeCole