"Wellness" by Nathan Hill is a deeply moving and thought-provoking novel. Hill's storytelling skillfully explores the complexities of mental health, family dynamics, and the human quest for well-being. A compelling and introspective read.

Well this was lovely.

Nathan Hill’s ‘Wellness’ gives us a glimpse into the lives of Jack and Elizabeth as their marriage/lives/worlds slowly begin to crumble before them as they come to the middle section of their lives. Having been together since they were very young, they start to question whether they are right for each other after all, and whether such a thing as a soulmate actually exists.

This is a novel that really shines in its character development. At over 600 pages, Hill gives himself plenty of space to create fully-realised, relatable characters, and to observe them as teenagers through to married parents of an 8-year old decades later. Told in a non-linear format, the novel jumps frequently from showing the characters as adults and then flashing back to decades before, as though to justify their actions and show why they are the way that they’ve ended up. The storytelling is impressive, and results in two central characters who you completely side with even when they’re wrong, and genuinely care about.

There are so many smart, philosophical ideas at play here - it’s rare to find a novel with such a thorough bibliography of psychology papers and academic articles, but Hill’s efforts create a novel that really feels like it has something to say about the human experience and the human mind. Texts are even occasionally cited within the novel as characters justify their thinking with reference to relevant literature, but never in a way that feels forced and only adds to the realism of their neuroses.

Hill’s prose is witty and smart, perfectly balanced against a subject matter which is also deeply emotional and, in some flashbacks, genuinely devastating. This is a really intelligent, perfectly pitched and beautifully written novel about ordinary human lives, and well worth the time invested in reading. I’ll be sure to check out Hill’s previous novel ‘The Nix’ too.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for the e-ARC!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Wellness
by Nathan Hill

When I received a copy of this a few months ago it went towards the back of my TBR because it doesn't publish here in Ireland until January, but in the meantime it has been published in the US, it is Oprah's October pick and early reviews piqued my interest so much that I broke my own rule and promoted it to next-up.

I had to. Here's why. I am very much a "go in blind" kind of reader. I rely heavily on what several of my most trusted sources have to say about a book because they never spoil, but when they say certain things, I know I'm onto a winner. So when, to a person, they say about this story "I don't know how to talk about this book", "I am still trying to work out what this book is about", that's not because these are inarticulate reviewers. They are some of the smartest readers I know, so I had no choice. I had to read it for myself.

And guess what? I SIMPLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK.

Take a midlife couple, in mid marriage. Alternate perspectives to reveal their relationship origin with a very 90s setting. Take a scalpel and a microscope to every. little. detail of their partnership and parenting. Cram in every possible element that defines the parts of our culture that are integral to this particular generation. Translate it into wikispeak and therapese. Set aside 15 to 18 hours of reading time.

You will laugh, you will cry, you might see yourself, you might see your partner. You might even seek your partner to say "See? Not just us". You might see some of the people who make up your family and your community and perhaps laugh at all the things we have thought and practiced and maybe your eyes will be opened and hopefully we will all be a little kinder to ourselves.

But you'll have to read this book yourself to know what it is about.

Publication date: 25th January 2024
Thanks to #netgalley ⏬ ⏬ ⏬

The proof copy I was sent was totally unreadable. Not the quality of the work. But the text is all over the place, random codes down the page, weird spacing, text scattered, missing punctuation.

I'm giving the book 5 stars because I don't want this review to effect the author and his book. I'll just buy a copy when it is out. But do look into the Proof you're sending around maybe.

This was a really interesting novel, funny in places but also touching and a great insight into life.

It is lengthy at over 600 pages however it is not one of those long books which feels like a struggle to finish.

Highly recommended to all

Wellness opens with as perfect a beginning to any book I’ve ever read, it instantly grabbed my attention and I knew immediately this was writing I would enjoy. It reminded me of the short story the 100% perfect girl, the only Murakami I recommend.

The book moves from one perspective to another between the two main characters, husband and wife Jack and Elizabeth. We are given insights from their careers, their childhoods, their family history (Elizabeth’s being particularly interesting), lessons on psychological behaviour, art history, farming, some more interesting than others but it made for a varied reading experience, keeping this reader on her toes, never quite sure what to next expect.

It felt rather like three books in one, what might have happened if Elizabeth Strout had combined her Amgash series with Lucy into one singular work. It was occasionally disorienting but I’d struggle to identify any content I’d remove. It all felt so necessary, so relevant, all tied together in gloriously clever, intricate ways as we learn more and more about what brought Jack and Elizabeth together and what’s tearing them apart. I devoured every single word relating to this tortured, pained pair, their secrets and their traumas. I loved it until the closing chapters, which I didn’t feel feel did the rest of the book justice, the only reason this isn’t 5*

“It is an odd feeling, to sense one’s aliveness, for perhaps the very first time, to understand that life up until this point was not being lived, exactly; it was being endured.”