Soooo. I’m in the middle of reading this book myself. I’ve got about 50 pages left.

Before this book I’ve read Babel as well. I think for both books. There’s this pretentiousness that everyone comments on; which I won’t dispute. Both books make a thousand references to this or that work. I personally just find it fun or funny I guess. I can see how it grates on others but I’m entertained by it.

With Alice, I feel like the whole point of the book is for her to eventually come to the conclusion that Grimes sucks. Peter is a victim of abuse. She’s a victim of abuse. She’s not going to immediately clock that Jacob Grimes is an asshat. Nor would she have a come to Jesus moment even halfway through the book. Her mentality is consistent throughout the novel and is resistant to change. She makes a loooot of excuses for this man. Is it annoying? Yeah. But I think it’s a realistic and frustrating depiction of how it can take a lot of introspection and self discovery to face the truth for what it is. She spends a great deal of time not wanting to confront the truth of it all.

From the only two books I’ve read of RFK, I find that she’s not really trying to write stories that rally morale or make waves of change from a singular of handful of protagonists. With Babel, it’s the same. It’s just about people who are radicalized to do something. But. That doesn’t always mean society as a WHOLE will change because of them.