I didn’t expect as much from this book as it had.

I have seen critiques of Vuong equally to praise, and I think I see where people’s ambivalence: his way of writing reminds me in a way of Paolo Coehlo’s, in that it can be magical but cliched. Simple and obvious. Vuong’s scope of vision is definitely more expensive though, and it comes through in his characterization and genuinely at many times beautiful prose.

He made the world and sold me on it, and I fell in love with the characters, thanks also to the great narrator of the audiobook from Libby that I listened to. I’m excited to read “Briefly Gorgeous.”

Yay!

It’s giving boomer but also valid

Jonathan is like a weird uncle talking about politics at the family reunion, except he has a sociology degree from the 80’s and hasn’t read anything since then.

Some great references to modern studies and some introductory (not in amount of words… but in breadth of vision) social/cultural analysis of the effects of iPhones, but then interspersed with random political hang-ups like

“Maybe iPhones are why we have so many gays now! Also men are so oppressed because women have jobs now! And college students must learn critical theory because they were pampered as children, feed them raw milk!”

These are exaggerations, but iykyk

Ad another acronym:

TLDR: iPhones bad. We knew this, and this book gives a few reasons why that fact is based in reality—although not comprehensively (for example, an economic critique necessary for the collective decision making faced by “corporations” which are victimizing children [???]).

The prescriptions at the end are a little like throwing water at a fire, setting real politik in the realm of reducing screen times during school and ?making playgrounds metal and pointy again? (the man has a fetish, I swear). Stopping short of structural analysis required by the subject matter. It’s a good conversation and a good addition to the conversation. Just doesn’t have the necessary focus