Shawn Eubanks

If I hadn’t been reading this for a book club discussion, I would have quit reading it about 4 chapters in, if not sooner. The book is entirely form over substance— an interesting idea (a book written by and showing the interplay of translators), but an utter failure in execution. There is no plot to speak of, only vapid pseudo-intellectual stream of consciousness by a stereotypically self obsessed millennial. What little plot exists is so underdeveloped that you won’t (can’t?) care what the outcome will be. Is Irena alive? Who cares - she’s a terrible character. Will they translate the book? Who cares - the book doesn’t matter. What about the 4,000 social issues superficially raised as problems? Who cares - the author apparently didn’t. The only satisfaction I got from this book was the relief of knowing I bought it used and my purchase cannot be misinterpreted as a vote of confidence in the publisher’s decision to deface the flesh of a tree with this unbearable drivel.