I’ve had the chance to read a variety of fiction lately. Trying to expand from always reading science fiction and fantasy — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Here are my thoughts:
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
literary fiction, friendship fiction
Most of us have experienced unrequited attraction. Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital as kids. Their friendship is on and off over the years until they meet in at Harvard. Their love of video games and creating them becomes a sort of synergy and they try to take over the gaming industry. But Sam’s love for Sadie is hard to define. And Sadie makes some bad choices to get what she wants. Is she or is she not taking advantage of Sam?
Zevin explores how friendship can be both platonic and loving. But is that what is best for Sam and Sadie? I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this story, one of whom I really hated (but this character deserves it). This was one of those books that, when I finished it, I was sad. I’ll miss Sam and Sadie.
Stoner by John Williams
general Literature, classic
With social media such a big part of our world today, we may feel like we need to be larger than life. Such bushwa. Before Instagram and Facebook were a thing, John Williams wrote a novel about how upstanding the ordinary life can be.
A former coworker recommended several books to me before he unexpectedly passed away. Every one of them ended up being fantastic reads. This was the last one. Stoner falls into the classic category, so I’ve read at least one this year.
Here’s the story: William Stoner is a farm boy in the pre-WW1 era who finds his calling as a professor of literature. His innocence and naivete leads him to being involved with some difficult people. Will he stand up for what’s right?
From the beginning of Stoner we know the protagonist is not memorable to those around him. It’s a story of living the best life, even when not sticking out in the crowd. William Stoner is a hero, and I cheered him on when he was dumped on by everyone else.
My coworker is gone, but once again he recommended a winner. I’ll always be thankful for his book suggestions.
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
dark academia, murder mystery
This group of friends became a family in their four years as drama students at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. But like most families, a drop of dysfunctionality existed. Maybe more than a drop.
Oliver is the everyman in this family and the narrator of If We Were Villains. His little group of college seniors take their drama productions seriously as they go around quoting Shakespeare to each other in pretentious ways.
But Richard is the main star and narcissist of the class. As he becomes more and more abusive to Oliver and the others, Richard becomes everyone’s object of hate. But something happens. Something bad. And Richard won’t be a problem anymore. But was it an accident or not?
If you liked The Secret History, you’ll probably like If We Were Villains. While IWWV is not quite as subtle and nuanced as TSH, it is entertaining nevertheless.
Photo by EYÜP BELEN: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-man-sitting-on-camping-chair-during-dawn-1428626/
Andrew M. Friday 
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