The Weight - Likewise Book Reviews

" ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Maybe I’m too old for this book. It seems to primarily be about the aimless discontent of living in your 20s..and really..not much happens. Julian, the MC, hates his job, gets high a lot, plays music occasionally, and pines over a few women leading to some angst with his bandmates. There’s a good deal of inner dialogue about god and guilt due to a repressive childhood, and some incidents of the sort of west coast casual racism delivered in microaggressions often from surprisingly close sources. Occasional macroaggressions of course, but not resulting in violence, at least not of the body. As a Black man existing in a mostly white but fairly inert space, Julian still navigates the kind of violence perpetrated on the psyche and the underlying fear danger can be only one moment and the wrong person away. In this PNW environment though it’s a brand of racism resulting from ignorance more generally than outright vitriol. Unfortunately none of this is explored very deeply. As Julian’s life blithely meanders along so does the book and any moments hinting of potential tension are quickly deflated. I was waiting for growth and depth, for maturing to develop, for catalysts. Perhaps though that’s the point I seem to be missing. That life just meanders? That some people just remain entrenched? I don’t know. Maybe? If so, I need more meaning than that. I do look forward, however, to trying future books from the author as the writing was good and the story hinted at wanting to go somewhere. Hopefully plot and tension will be woven more fully into the next one. "