It’s been maybe,,, 6 1/2 years since I last read this in high school for AP Literature & Composition. Honestly, it’s still just as great as it was back then!

Lowkirkenuenly still just as delusional as Gatsby when in love.

I can't tell if I want to rate this 3.75 or 4.25 It definitely took me a while to get through certain chapters, especially with the glaring misogyny in this novel. I always try to read novels as products of their times instead of through the lens of someone reading in the modern age. However, there were some chapters that genuinely took me multiple days to get through. Overall, I still did enjoy the novel. I liked how it wasn't chronological and was contrarian to show the chaos of war. I more specifically liked Milo's chapters a lot, he was probably the only character I really liked. The chaplain I feel is supposed to be the only "level-headed" character in the novel that the reader is supposed to empathise with because of the whole "what the fuck is happening" thing of the chaplain's character. Lots to think about and mull over. There definitely were chapters that contributed absolutely nothing, which is why I lean closer to 3.75, but the good chapters were definitely very enjoyable.

It took me a few months to finish this novel, not due to it being bad in any sense of the word, but due to not really having the time to finish it. Throughout reading I was astounded by the writing. It was clearly not meant to be read literally, and I love media that it not meant to be taken literally. It's hard to put my feelings about this novel into words, but the fundamental existentialism of this novel did strike a chord with me. I used to be extremely nihilistic and existential back in middle and high school. I decided to read this due to the current USA administration and I believe the context in which I read it did contribute to my enjoyment of the novel. I think we're all on a trial, in a sense, everyone is the main character of their own life, believing everyone is watching them, judging them, and cares about them. Life is a trial, life is bleak, life is what you make it. No one is a main character. We are all the supporting cast of everyone else's lives.