Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I think I'm not the target demographic and yet it somehow hit deep.

First things first. I think that marketing this as a love story/romance is misleading, it leads to an expectation of the romance being the main topic of the story. Yes, Dante is in love with Ari. Yes, their relationship somehow develops throughout the book. However, I'd say that it stays more in the background until the very very end.

The main focus is the angsty inner world of the POV protagonist, Ari. It feels iceberg-y. I feel like it's aimed at people who are going through the same thing (or have gone), of endlessly doubting yourself, feeling like you don't belong, that maybe you're not fit for this whole life thing etc. Those people read one sentence and feel a thousand things. I have to admit that at times it hit home too. My favourite relatable moments were winding someone up just so you get any kind of reaction, “I thought that if I chose the right words in the right language, he will hear me” and the most of all “You go to a councilor, dad goes to a councilor. And maybe after that, I'll go to a councillor.”

But I also have to admit that quite often I was at the limit of how much depressing, self-deprecating dialogue and pushing away your loved ones just cause you're angsty I could bear. The sentiment “the problem with my life is that it was someone else's idea”on page 8 pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book. Don't get me wrong, it is illustrated very well why Ari is the way he is, why he's used to running away from communication and closeness and opening up - his parents have done it to him his whole life. Still, sometimes Ari's behaviour got really fucking annoying. Nevertheless I can imagine that maybe if I had read this 10 years back, I would've found it mostly relatable, so I'm putting this annoyance aside, knowing it's one of the books that I might just have read too late.

That aside, other things I liked was the character of Dante and sometimes I thought his POV might've been more interesting as Ari's often got repetitive and honestly, at the beginning of the book I thought that their POVs are going to switch intbetween chapters, might've been interesting if they did. I liked the portrayal of two families, one troubled, one less so, the gentleness of Dante's parents was so nice. Also the subtle touch on immigrant struggles was cool.

concerning the format and pacing - the chapters are short (and I am a fan of shorter chapters), there is quite a lot of quick exchange dialogue. The beginning was pretty light, the middle section got pretty heavy with all the injury and depressiveness. I felt the ending was the strongest - it made me tear up.

All in all, I don't think I'm going to re-read this or read the sequel. And even though it was at times too angsty for me, I still gotta give it 4 stars.

tropes: troubled family, coming of age, teenage angst, fear of intimacy, inability to connect
lit mentioned: Heart of Darkness, William Carlos Williams poetry, Bless Me, Ultima, The Grapes of Wrath, War and Peace, The Sun Also Rises