no one writes like yiyun li. a stoic, brutal, and intensely loving book for li's second, quieter child, james. extraordinary.

i could see this book as a salve and gift for any person grieving death, suicide, the loss of a child, or any person who, even in life, felt elusive; though li, herself, eschews the word "grief", about which she writes:

“I am against the word “grief,” which in contemporary culture seems to indicate a process that has an end point: the sooner you get there, the sooner you prove yourself to be a good sport at living, and the less awkward people around you will feel. Sometimes people ask me where I am in the grieving process, and I wonder whether they understand anything at all about losing someone.”

I would like to start this review by saying that writing a review, for a book such as this, feels pretentious. Yiyun Li's superb writing abilities, her courage to face reality, to grapple with it, are all awe-inspiring. that she would allow us as readers into her experience feels gracious and generous. The last sentence of the book is heart-breaking. Every sentence of this book feels written from a place of deep understanding of life, of suffering and of indomitable courage. I am deeply grateful for the chance to read this.

Such a beautiful book -- deeply felt and beautifully wrought. In the face of unspeakable tragedy, Yiyun Li is somehow able to make sense of the insensible. A grief memoir unlike any else, comparable only to Joan Didion's BLUE NIGHTS in my mind. Yiyun Li is one of the greatest writers working and thinking, THINGS IN NATURE MERELY GROW is a testament to that.

If there is only one book you read this year, let it be this one. If there is only one book you read any year, let it be this one!!! If I was given a max quota of 1 book I am allowed to read, it would be this one. THINGS IN NATURE MERELY GROW is a behemoth. I have a much longer, much more eloquent and erudite review in the works, but nothing, no review, can ever meet Yiyun Li with where she is at in terms of content, her children and life experience she is writing about here, nor her level of craft. But I will try anyway. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER YOU LOVE, READ THIS BOOK!!!!

A breathtaking memoir; a very difficult read, but radically sincere. Yiyun Li has experienced things no one should have to, and the book is anything but a series of platitudes about moving on; instead, it's a deeply honest account of what life is like after a world-shattering loss.

I don't have the vocabulary to review this memoir in a way that does it justice. It's raw and honest, and filled with so much pain and sadness, yet it is somehow hopeful. Life goes on despite what happens to us, and we must actively choose to continue living—if that is what we decide to do. 

I cannot imagine the pain of losing both one's children, but death is something that will touch everyone at some point. This memoir shows that grief takes many forms and gives people the agency to express it in whatever way feels right for them, regardless of what others may think. Life is hard, and we are all doing the best we can to get through it.