I tried to enjoy this book, I really did but I just could not connect with Nas. I just did not him & his egotistical attitude.

Introspective and hopeful, with richly visualized characters.

Between the Perfect Lights explores those darkest corners of our thoughts that we tend to keep hidden for fear of being seen for who we are, misunderstood, and then rejected for it. It's a story about what it means to love, be vulnerable, and truly connect with others.

Nas is an artist obsessed with putting his best face forward and can't help falling in love with those he views as equally "perfect" and who are complementary to how he views himself. The only problem is that he's only willing to settle for however long it takes to find someone better matched (or until he discovers some flaw he's unwilling to tolerate any longer).

There's a brilliant scene in which Nas's long-time friend Tracy calls him out for mistaking lack of connection for finally seeing someone's flaws. She goes on to tell him, 'You shouldn't just settle with anyone. But love is an act of settling. So many people attribute a negative connotation to the word. But it's a good thing. It means to rest. To find someone and say, "Home is where you are."' This is one of the best explanations of love I've personally come across and it squarely points out what Nas's hang-up has been all along.

The growth Nas experiences from start to finish is satisfying as he slowly learns what it means to connect and love people. He goes from something as trivial as disliking Melanie's toe hair—something immensely shallow and nit-picky (hence it irritated me)—to learning how to connect empathetically through Vera's plight. The conversations in which they discuss luck and privilege and purpose and meaning are just some of my favorite scenes, and readers will find a whole trove of deeply poignant thoughts and life philosophies if they're craving such topics to ruminate on.

I enjoyed the elements of magical realism employed to have this string of relationships ghost on Nas, and I thought the ending was left open enough to allow the reader to take away their own interpretation. It did feel hopeful and definitely happy for now, which is all any of us can really ask for when living life moment by moment.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I can say that it turned out to be one gorgeously written literary fiction crafted around themes of love, connection, and acceptance.

My only critiques are some minor grammatical issues I came across and missing prepositions (the latter of which might have been a style choice), that took me out of the story.

Diaz has a talent for depicting characters as flesh and blood people with authentic dialogue and seamless atmosphere. The screenplay background makes him especially shine in these areas. Also: that cover art perfectly captures how this book feels! Huge props to the artist/designer.

A beautiful exploration of what it means to really love and connect.

"Listen: endings suck. There's no getting around that. But if you measure everyone's worth against their eventual absence, then you'll never be able to love anyone. Accepting someone here and now is what matters. However it ends doesn't erase what happened. There's a million reasons something real doesn't work out. But, the way I see it, it's a miracle it happened at all. In all the chaos of being alive, two people finding each other is proof of something bigger."

I really enjoyed reading this book and how it managed to show the truth of love within all its heartache and belonging.