Alexandra’s Reviews > American Pastoral > Status Update

Finally picking up this gem again after months of stalling not just because of my reading rut but because the subject matter was getting heavier to read while I was stressing out with day to day matters too. Sigh. But there’s nothing like the healing powers of a good book so I’m here to finally see this journey through with Roth’s magical prose

The story is genuinely so heavy, it’s tough to read in large chunks but the writing is hypnotic and painfully realistic so it keeps me entranced to keep pushing forward even if means traversing over land mines. I’m finally at the final third of the book, aptly titled “Paradise Lost,” so let’s see how in tact I come out by the end lol

...So,... Simple isn't actually all that simple.

Jot that down.

(Things just got very serious and quite heavy, but the history of these imagined characters is SO rich and colorful and the writing so tragic and beautiful I can't help but marvel in wonder how such a story—no matter how unfairly depressing in its premise and conclusion—came to be.)

"Simple is never that simple" (68).

I don't really know what to say every time I pick up this book and read further along.... Every sentence is a journey in the best way possible and the lasting influence the Swede has imparted on Nathan since childhood is craaazyyyyy enigmatic and amazing