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A review by katykelly
Bystander by Mike Steeves
3.0
Morally vacuous? Sociopathic? Endemic of modern society?
3.5 stars
A hard one to review. Peter Simons, sadly, hit home with me. Feeling 'outside' of others, unable and also unwilling to connect with them, wasting time, keeping up appearances - it may not just be me, but I read the entirety feeling some sort of kinship.
Though Peter is also very much a singular creation. We are never really sure what he does for a living, but he's sent overseas for months at a time to exotic and prestigious locations, returning to acclaim that he feels is unjustified, then doing little besides read online articles until his next assignment.
In the same rundown apartment he's lived in for over a decade, a neighbour quietly commits suicide. Peter is unaware of this, even when the smell begins...
This starts a rather long monologue where Peter attempts to transfer and explain away the small amount of guilt he feels over not acting sooner, the worry he feels over being found out at work for, well, not working. And the ridiculous amounts of self-analysis he does when interacting through email, conversation and text.
It's short but also exhausting and a bit of a slog. Nothing really 'happens', Peter doesn't experience enlightenment or any sort of transformative event, he doesn't fall in love or have to find himself. The only humorous parts I found were the telephone conversations he has with his quirky parents.
It's quite dark and really won't be for everyone. It may or may not have something to tell us about contemporary living and society. I was both empathetic towards Peter and disgusted by him. He sees himself, as we all do, as the hero in our own story.
"I had always seen myself... as not only the hero in my own life story, but the hero in everyone else's life story as well."
He gets irritated by small talk. We all do (I hope?!). He lies to make himself look better in the eyes of others.
"In every situation... all I would think about was whether I might get caught saying or doing something wrong."
You can see the world as Peter sees it, then will probably worry about what that says about you. It's not a comfortable mirror view. And if you don't see that, you'll probably dislike this book.
It feels pessimistic, downbeat, and does not give a conclusion or final act denouement with a lesson or momentous act. It's left me feeling quite glum.
Which means it did affect me, but I am quite sure this is for a niche audience with its niche narrator. One I'll remember by how it made me feel.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
3.5 stars
A hard one to review. Peter Simons, sadly, hit home with me. Feeling 'outside' of others, unable and also unwilling to connect with them, wasting time, keeping up appearances - it may not just be me, but I read the entirety feeling some sort of kinship.
Though Peter is also very much a singular creation. We are never really sure what he does for a living, but he's sent overseas for months at a time to exotic and prestigious locations, returning to acclaim that he feels is unjustified, then doing little besides read online articles until his next assignment.
In the same rundown apartment he's lived in for over a decade, a neighbour quietly commits suicide. Peter is unaware of this, even when the smell begins...
This starts a rather long monologue where Peter attempts to transfer and explain away the small amount of guilt he feels over not acting sooner, the worry he feels over being found out at work for, well, not working. And the ridiculous amounts of self-analysis he does when interacting through email, conversation and text.
It's short but also exhausting and a bit of a slog. Nothing really 'happens', Peter doesn't experience enlightenment or any sort of transformative event, he doesn't fall in love or have to find himself. The only humorous parts I found were the telephone conversations he has with his quirky parents.
It's quite dark and really won't be for everyone. It may or may not have something to tell us about contemporary living and society. I was both empathetic towards Peter and disgusted by him. He sees himself, as we all do, as the hero in our own story.
"I had always seen myself... as not only the hero in my own life story, but the hero in everyone else's life story as well."
He gets irritated by small talk. We all do (I hope?!). He lies to make himself look better in the eyes of others.
"In every situation... all I would think about was whether I might get caught saying or doing something wrong."
You can see the world as Peter sees it, then will probably worry about what that says about you. It's not a comfortable mirror view. And if you don't see that, you'll probably dislike this book.
It feels pessimistic, downbeat, and does not give a conclusion or final act denouement with a lesson or momentous act. It's left me feeling quite glum.
Which means it did affect me, but I am quite sure this is for a niche audience with its niche narrator. One I'll remember by how it made me feel.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.