On the surface, this seems like the perfect book for me: it centres on a therapist; it’s set in my city; it explores the human condition, in all its shades of grey. But unfortunately, I really struggled to get through this book, and may not have finished it if it weren’t for the fact I wished to review it.

The novel’s synopsis highlights the central mystery of the Agostino story and their mandated therapy. This is the closest the novel comes to having a plot, and yet, there were surprisingly few pages dedicated to unravelling this mystery. Its conclusion is ultimately unsatisfying.

My main criticism of this book relates to its overreliance on vignettes. Everyone Nina meets, from her colleagues to random people in a doctor’s waiting room, seems intent to tell her a long-winded anecdote about themselves or, more tangentially, someone else. The vignettes interweave topics such as parenting, the minutiae of long-term relationships, and intergenerational trauma. Though these vignettes are supposed to entrance the reader and encourage them to reflect on various aspects of humanity, I struggled to suspend disbelief. The anecdotes, as a plot device, felt so unnatural; dialogue is minimal, and the writing relies on summarising the interaction with a few interjections from Nina or the storyteller. So, on average, I did not find them compelling, which is a problem when they comprise the majority of the novel.

As a result, I felt incredibly disconnected from the characters. Though I know a little about her family, her past traumas and her work, I cannot tell you much about Nina’s personality – aside from her seriousness. Her supervisor, Erin, is somewhat more fleshed out (her anecdotes reveal some interesting tidbits about her home life) but the lack of boundaries in their supervisory relationship left me concerned – is this supervision or therapy? And who is providing therapy to whom?

Perhaps Resistance would have worked better as a series of short-stories, with time and space to dive into the characters within the vignettes, rather than trying to weave them together through Nina’s therapeutic lens. Alas, this format is just not for me. 

Review by Elise  from novelfeelings.com - where two psychologists take a deep dive into your favourite books