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A review by frasersimons
The Arrest: A Novel by Jonathan Lethem
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This story is really elegant. Focusing on a man simply ascribed as Journeyman, in an isolated rural community post-event disabling all tech from working, save for a strange nuclear drill, we follow a simple moral dilemma. An outsider enters the otherwise well community and entangles himself in the personal life of the MC. Fallout ensues.
It’s just executed really, really well, though. Characterization is great. I have always enjoyed ideologues done well. Here it is the crux of the well turning plot. It’s also hard to pin down. It’s weird enough that you’re never completely sure about anything, so it’s mysterious, which in turn whets the appetite for more information about the world building, done organically. It’s easy to picture the strange world, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
It’s just executed really, really well, though. Characterization is great. I have always enjoyed ideologues done well. Here it is the crux of the well turning plot. It’s also hard to pin down. It’s weird enough that you’re never completely sure about anything, so it’s mysterious, which in turn whets the appetite for more information about the world building, done organically. It’s easy to picture the strange world, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.