Andrew Lawrence > Recent Status Updates

A beautifully restrained series of vignettes which reveal much about the narrator's life whilst keeping a lot unsaid. The writing is subtle and masterful.

I found each chapter to be utterly immersive, the author has a fantastic sense of pacing and style.

It is like a rich three-course meal, I find myself not wanting to rush through, but to stay and chew over the settings and the characters.

A sturdy, executive salon of a book, the writing feels walnut-lined.

Due to having limited time in my life to read, I've been a bit daunted by its 487 pages, but in fact it is a lovely well-paced read.

This book has ushered me into its quirky world more quickly and thoroughly than anything I've read in the last couple of years.

Pausing this book for now. Not enjoying it enough.

I understand why I liked it before: there are moments of breathtaking beauty, and Kerouac's enthusiasm imbibes everything with a sense of wonder.

But it has yet to hook me, and I've got more interesting books on my shelf.

There are moments of beauty in here. The whole book is a whirllwind, and it's narrated with the breathless enthusiasm of a child at a funfair.

The first time I read this book I was inspired by the travel, the wild, free nights, the jazz.

This time I'm left a bit cold by it. I just want this character to settle down and tend his garden.

This is a re-read for me and I loved it first time through.

So far not feeling the same joy. It's a fantastic frenetic pace which I like, but it's also just a whirlwind of place names (which mean little to me as a non-American) and transient characters who appear, have a couple of lines of dialogue, and then disappear forever.

It's hard to know who I'm meant to remember or why.

The author just has a real knack for pulling you into a scene and knowing exactly what things are going to be most sensuous.

Despite being a short book, it is quite slow-burn.

It's kind of a series of vignettes or moments from the alternating perspectives of George and his father Howard.

Those moments can be quite immersive, like you find yourself in a sunny field, feel the heat on your skin, hear the buzz of the bees, the sway of the grass, the interplay of the sunlight in the branches.

But the lack of plot so far has meant it's not a page-turner.

Bit of a slog. Was recommended to me as someone's favourite book and I can't for the life of me think why.