The Last Enchantments

by Charles Finch

[ibeforem]

This book was not the least bit enchanting. Will is incredibly self-absorbed, and unable to commit to anything other than completing his degree. Can’t commit to his chosen job path, or to his girlfriend, or to his hookup, or to his new job, or his new new job, or even to the crush he’s obsessed with. He changes his mind at the slightest whim, without any thought to how anyone else may be affected.

And he’s a jerk! He guilts his EX-girlfriend into not seeing anyone else (or at least, not telling him about it), even though he’s the one who strayed. And he treats most of his friends like they are below him, though I confess that some of that feeling may be because of how the author treats them. Frankly, Anil and Timmo are his most interesting friends, but they are treated as jokes.

Oxford is the most compelling character in the book. Learning about the school and how it is set up and operates was the only part of the plot that was actually interesting. And speaking of the plot, oh my god I kept waiting for something to happen. Especially because the author continually seems to foreshadow some sort of major happening, but I never figured out what it was supposed to be. Other than his friend Tom’s family tragedy, the only thing tragic about this story is the praise it has received.

If people like this are the result of “grow(ing) up as an American in the twenty-first century”, then we are in a lot of trouble.