The Nix by Nathan Hill
A book that turns out to be about itself. . . entertaining, for sure, but a bit schizophrenic. Parts are fascinating and moving, but at other times it seems to work in intentional caricature that’s basically a parody. It felt like the book couldn’t decide what kind of book it was. It did tie together, with the necessary plot twists and whatnot, but I felt like there were too many strands. It might have benefitted from trimming out the details or points of view of Laura Potsdam, for instance, or Ponage, and Elfscape–they were there for reasons, but I think they ultimately distracted from the richer material of Samuel and Bethany and Bishop, from Faye, who was the center of the book. Their sections felt shallow, where during the sections about the other characters, I was riveted.
Amy P. Knight 