leftofthedialmp3's reviews
62 reviews

So, this is a novel about a gay boy of colour being repeatedly pressured into putting himself through conversion therapy? I read this book maybe two years ago, and I don't think I've ever been this disappointed and upset and betrayed by a novel. This book was boring and poorly paced until it became painful. And not in the way that good, compelling storytelling is painful, but in the "I was a scared gay kid and I didn't need this" way. This book ended up hitting a vein in the worst way possible. 

A title like "More Happy Than Not" implies that this would be a bittersweet story, but it wasn't in the slightest. It was very realistically written internalised homophobia set in a world that read kind of absurdist (think Slaughterhouse Five or Grasshopper Jungle) and as such was completely unimmersive. The main character was surrounded by a thorough lack of sympathy in the supporting cast, and they blended into the shallow, heartless setting. This novel wasn't anything other than sad and frustrating. 

I always get excited to see LGBT fiction by a non-straight author, which makes this even more of a let down. I struggle to understand why somebody would want to write a book life this.