Wow! I've never quite read anything like The Day Aunt Gina Came To Town by John Schoneboom. It's highly inventive, frequently hilarious, occasionally poignant, and always surprising. I see that some other reviewers have found the narrative confusing, which I can sort of understand if you're expecting something realistic and sensible. But to me it becomes clear very early on that this is not your "normal" novel with a simple single-line plot. So, for me anyway, I was able to just kind of roll with it and had no trouble following the flow of what, you may be sure, is indeed a story. It makes its own kind of sense with a kind of poetic logic rather than one where a leads straight to b and then on to c. I laughed out loud several times at the sharpness of the absurdities involved. I found the world Schoneboom conjures to be thoroughly engaging and enjoyable to inhabit. Such a refreshingly original work, with a very lively and unique voice. This is an author to watch, in my opinion.

wtf did i just read. I honestly have no idea. The book plays with the blurry line between reality and delusion & while many of those points i thought i fully understood & enjoyed.. i have no freaking clue what the overall point of this book was. Was there a point? Or was it merely written to put you in a place of absolute madness& doubt? It follows multiple people in a family & their independent lives & I tracked their individual struggles with this line but together..? As one solid book with this random Aunt Gina character? I think the point is to absolutely be lost. I almost DNF’d many times.. kinda wish i did, kinda glad i didnt.
I enjoyed the themes this book explored, but it needed…. Less depth?

Thank you to John Schoneboom, Collective Ink Limited, Roundfire Books, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The concept was interesting and I love the stripped back book cover art. Unfortunately the book just did not work for me. I understand what it was trying to do and I do see potential in the story though.

I’m sorry to say that this book was not for me. The times when the writing tried to be mysterious or witty just confused me. I liked that there were a lot of fun facts in the book. I enjoyed the detail in the stories about the different Ginas. I felt there were interesting characters that got lost in the way the story was being told. I can imagine and respect what the writer was trying to do, but it did not work for me.