The Second Coming
by Garth Risk Hallberg
Pub Date: May 28, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From the New York Times best-selling author of City on Fire, an intimate epic that plunges us deep into the lives of a teenage girl and her father as they navigate love, grief, betrayal, and redemption.
I was so excited to get this book since I adored City on Fire, unfortunately this was not a good read.
I cannot recommend it.

I was so happy to get an advance copy of this book and wanted to love it since I adored "City on Fire" (a huge, lengthy book that flew by for me and I still remember all these years later). This book was shorter, around 600 pages, and the cast of characters was contained (not sweeping like CIF) and had alternating chapters that didn't resonate with me. I was more into the main story than those alternating chapters. I felt a distance from this book and was never really engaged - so sorry to say this as I was truly excited to read this on a long flight - and will still try more from this author in the future.

After 36 pages, I am not interested in this story. The story development is too slow. Don’t find the characters introduced so far interesting.I won’t finish reading it.

This book will definitely hit differently. I stopped after 4% but I like Hllberg’s creative use of prose. I can’t explain it, but somehow it’s simultaneously flippant, messy, and clean–ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I don’t have experience with this author, so I can’t note how it compares.

This feels like a solid three to four stars for the target audience with five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.