This book is kind of terrible (I’m sorry!) An endorsement quote on the cover describes it as “profound and unforgettable” but I have to disagree with that assessment. I didn’t find The Undying nearly as groundbreaking or eye-opening as other readers seem to.

I know this is going to sound mean, but it feels like Boyer was simultaneously trying too hard and not hard enough, with more of a focus on appearing erudite than on actually demonstrating that intelligence. Her writing style sometimes resembles that of a teenager – an intellectual aesthetic which lacks real substance, angsty attempts at poetry, reels of anecdotes that don’t flow together at all, and countless tangents that probably make sense to her but seem completely irrelevant to the reader. It’s a mess.

Boyer also has a tendency to come across as incredibly unempathetic – not to mention hypocritical – making the book downright unpleasant to read at times. She repeatedly brings up horrors she doesn’t face (eg: racism, drone strikes, AIDS) just to make a point, and yet she acts like it’s appropriation when people express grief for loved ones with cancer when they themselves don’t have it. There are a few passages where she casually talks about doing some pretty awful things, such as guilt tripping an obviously distressed and uncomfortable friend into looking at her body.

I don’t know... I really don’t like this book, and I don’t understand how my opinion of it differs so drastically from mainstream views. Did we read the same book?