Took me a minute to get into, but then…I cried. The good kind.
It took me until around 20% of the book to get on with it properly. I was struggling to even want to pick up the book. It's well written, but the subject, end of life, was so unappealing that I found myself wanting to avoid reading the book.
At some point around 1/5 of the way in, this feeling settled and I was swept along by the narrative that the main character, Bo, gives us.
I think reading this there's going to be different aspects that hit different people hardest. I'm not a dog person, so the thread about Sixten, his dog, though sad (the dog doesn't die!) it didn't gut punch me.
I did however relate hard to the inner monologue not linking up to what's actually said. Something I suspect most people can relate to - which I suspect is the reason this book is well recommended.
The book is told almost exclusively from the thoughts of Bo, the elderly 89 year old man (which took me quite a few pages to actually work out). From his thoughts we travel back and forth in his memory which worked really well. I didn't feel lost at all, maybe because Bo's memories felt like they flowed naturally back and forth.
The story really does feel like it's being faithful to the human flaws many of us share.
It also, for me, did an excellent job of building up my relationship with Bo and gently brought me to tears right at the end in a way that made me message my kids to tell them I love them.
2 Highlights
there are days when my first few years with you feel closer than last week. Old teachers and classmates come to visit, and memories I've long repressed come flooding back
but every single part of my life is precarious now. I feel a sudden fondness for the old man in the mirror. It's not bloody easy, being human.