The Art of Being Difficult

The Art of Being Difficult by William Chekhov was not at all what I was expecting.

It's quirky, experimental and really quite fun. It's the kind of quick read that you have to step back from, tilt your head and cover one eye and you will certainly get it

Tarantino would be proud

Thank you very much to Netgalley, Mendelssohn Press and the author William Chekhov for this very interesting ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

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.

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.