Reviews

Avoidance by Michael Lowenthal

quinndm's review against another edition

5.0

Michael Lowenthal has taken a heartbreaking subject matter and explored—and unpacked it—in a whole new way. And it is a subject that has always fascinated me: are abusers byproducts of their past trauma? Or can untraumatized people start a whole new cycle of abuse? Lowenthal explores those questions with tenderness and honesty, not judging his characters but presenting them as real people with shades of good and evil. And it is in that honesty where the power of this book lies because, if we want to understand people like this, we have to start seeing the layers of their humanity and culpability. There are passages in this book that I won’t soon forget.

silodear's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't expect to connect so intimately with a book about Middle-class boys and men at summer camp. I suppose this is a testament to the incredible writing prowess of Michael Lowenthal. I was captivated. I was there.