OK it may seem like I’m about to contradict myself, but just because I like books doesn’t mean I’m an ‘intellectual’. The reason I didn’t like this book was because it had that sort of rarefied, self-serious reverence for cleverness that’s very cringe. Their devotion to ancient Greek which in theory I should admire as an aspiration, rang false to me. It’s not a bad book ( and I really liked The Goldfinch which is why I went back to read this one) I just found personally something a bit off and… a word which I hate but I’m going to use anyway… pretentious.
