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★★★★★Read Oct 18, 2022
This book is about 2x too twee for me. Also perhaps I am in this book and do not like it.
It's good, definitely, sympathetic and fun and poignant. But the story is such a silly setup. Middle aged writer suffering writing problems. A potted travelogue. Some clever turns of phrase around middle aged foibles. I'm being unkind, these things are executed very well, but the book as a whole comes together as such a cliche.
But then I find myself in the writing. And it is very well written. I'm glad we have gay fiction like this, but ultimately it felt a bit hollow.
Goodreads readers give it 3.62★, from 232,581 ratings. I gave it 3★, −0.6, where I'm usually −0.9: I rated it like most.
Readers call it LGBT, Contemporary, Queer, Romance, Literary Fiction, Humor.
Won Pulitzer Prize 2018, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) 2019.
Also nominated for Lambda Literary Award 2017, Andrew Carnegie Medal 2018.