I do not know what to write about this book. This is a hard one. The writing style and the writing itself is very good, it is the story itself-well that is if there really is a story in here. It seems to be lacking. There is no point to the book. Peter the main character and narrator is a self-centered, egotistical, lazy loner who feels "apart" from everyone else he comes into contact with, which aren't many because he avoids everyone. For example, he lives in the same rinky dink, run down apartment that he has lived in since college, but he doesn't know any of his neighbors, the reason for this? The same reason that he doesn't move to a better place although he can clearly afford to do so, it would require too much effort on his part, too much effort to meet people and he just isn't interested enough to put the energy into it.
Peter does consider himself to be a person who when faced with an emergency situation would be the one to rush in first and save the day. He sees himself as a hero even though he has never actually been faced with such a situation. When he is eventually facing a situation such as this he folds under pressure, not rising to the occasion.
As Peter never comes to any self-actualization, there is no aha moment when the light goes on over his head, he is already aware of the way his life has no real purpose or aim, that he avoids any actual work and lives in fear of being found out, but nowhere in his tedious monologue of his apathetic existence is there a solution or improvement offered up.
This book isn't for everyone. Peter is a totally unlikeable protagonist who will irritate the reader to no end, but it is very readable, pleasingly well-written, despite Peter and his flaws. It is at times darkly humorous which makes up for what is lacking in Peter's character. The best parts are the conversations he has with his eccentric parents. These are truly amusing.
This is one I will let you judge for yourselves, it is too hard to say who will or will not enjoy this novel, it may be one that only appeals to certain readers and I am not one to deem whom those readers might be.
Thank you to Book Hug Press and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

I will accept that the point some books just goes over my head and Bystander was one of them. Maybe it needs a more intellectual brain than mine but in all honestly I did try to get something out of what seemed just an endless outpouring which I was bored with after a few chapters.

Morally vacuous? Sociopathic? Endemic of modern society?

3.5 stars

A hard one to review. Peter Simons, sadly, hit home with me. Feeling 'outside' of others, unable and also unwilling to connect with them, wasting time, keeping up appearances - it may not just be me, but I read the entirety feeling some sort of kinship.

Though Peter is also very much a singular creation. We are never really sure what he does for a living, but he's sent overseas for months at a time to exotic and prestigious locations, returning to acclaim that he feels is unjustified, then doing little besides read online articles until his next assignment.

In the same rundown apartment he's lived in for over a decade, a neighbour quietly commits suicide. Peter is unaware of this, even when the smell begins...

This starts a rather long monologue where Peter attempts to transfer and explain away the small amount of guilt he feels over not acting sooner, the worry he feels over being found out at work for, well, not working. And the ridiculous amounts of self-analysis he does when interacting through email, conversation and text.

It's short but also exhausting and a bit of a slog. Nothing really 'happens', Peter doesn't experience enlightenment or any sort of transformative event, he doesn't fall in love or have to find himself. The only humorous parts I found were the telephone conversations he has with his quirky parents.

It's quite dark and really won't be for everyone. It may or may not have something to tell us about contemporary living and society. I was both empathetic towards Peter and disgusted by him. He sees himself, as we all do, as the hero in our own story.
"I had always seen myself... as not only the hero in my own life story, but the hero in everyone else's life story as well."

He gets irritated by small talk. We all do (I hope?!). He lies to make himself look better in the eyes of others.
"In every situation... all I would think about was whether I might get caught saying or doing something wrong."

You can see the world as Peter sees it, then will probably worry about what that says about you. It's not a comfortable mirror view. And if you don't see that, you'll probably dislike this book.

It feels pessimistic, downbeat, and does not give a conclusion or final act denouement with a lesson or momentous act. It's left me feeling quite glum.

Which means it did affect me, but I am quite sure this is for a niche audience with its niche narrator. One I'll remember by how it made me feel.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Mike Steeves’ “Bystander” is the story of Peter Simons, a pretty unpleasant man who is, to all intents and purposes, a misanthropic pseudo-Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho” who feels nothing for other people and is reluctant to get involved in the problems of his fellow neighbours. When not on international postings for his job, he spends his days in his apartment lethargically observing his neighbours and watching online videos of atrocities. After an unpleasant smell in his apartment leads to an horrific discovery he is experiences a moment of weakness that has a profound effect on him.
The story is told in the first person, so we get protracted passages of the lead character’s inner monologue about his outlook on life, which is almost entirely that of an indifferent observer. His recognition of the purposelessness of his life may be wearying to some readers, and there is no doubt that his nihilistic avoidance of responsibility doesn’t exactly endear him to us. Expect to read very many pages about the setup of his company, emails and TV show bingewatching, usually to the accompaniment of alcohol and cannabis.
This is a very well-written book with many pleasing turns of phrase and snappy, economical language. It is incredibly readable once you get into its rhythms, and even though the protagonist is unlikeable there is some dark humour to be derived from him. I don’t know whether Steeves originally intended this, or whether it’s just me, but the protagonist is often hilarious. In fact, Peter Simons may be the neurotic (anti)hero we need right now.

I didn’t know quite what to make of this story. The writing is intelligent and and descriptions were accurate. This is the story of a man who spends most of his time out of town or out of the country, in luxurious hotels and surroundings for months at a time. Once he returns home to his apartment, he languishes, enjoying his quiet and privacy. He spots a neighbor on the balcony next door bringing inside a smoking hibachi grill. He pays no mind, and goes back to doing not much of anything. Then a smell arrives, and becomes worse by the day. Things go downhill fast from there. I did not get any point to this story. A self-absorbed man to the point of shutting out everyday life around him, things normal people would take notice of. He does much inner wailing and chest bearing, judging himself and those around him harshly. It reads like a descent into mental illness, madness, depression, take your pick. I wondered if he was making it all up. If you like stories about abject misery and depression, you might enjoy this, I wasn’t a fan. The writing format was vertical, like reading down a long, long list. Didn’t care for that either. There was nothing inspiring or uplifting about this story. 3 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley, Mike Steeves and Book*hug Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.