The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing on October 15, 2019
my rating: ★★★.5
Goodreads avg: 3.72 (as of 2020-05-25)
Spoiler-free review
Goodreads | IndieBound | Author Website
I was frightened of everything in the past and whatever was going to happen next.
This is a short novel that packs quite a punch. The first half feels slow, and a little strange at times, but everything is suddenly turned on its head in the second half. There is so much going on and yet it never seems like too much for the page count. A lot of the writing is very simplistic, which I think works. Had it been more complex, I think it would have been easy to get lost in. It’s hard for me to say much about this without spoilers, but I do think this was quite a worthwhile read although I was left wanting. Not a new favorite, but I can see why this has been so highly lauded and perhaps worth an eventual reread to see if that ties things together a bit better.
content warnings: domestic abuse; nazi mentions; homophobia.
My current 2020 Women’s Prize Squad Longlist rankings:
- The Body Lies
- Girl, Woman, Other
- My Dark Vanessa
- The Man Who Saw Everything
- Ninth House
- My Name is Monster
- Frankissstein
Sarah Ames-Foley 
“… a worthwhile read although I was left wanting. Not a new favorite, but I can see why this has been so highly lauded” – This was my exact response too!
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ah, i’m sorry you didn’t love this but glad you understand! it was one where i wished i had liked it more because i saw what was so appealing but just didn’t *feel* it.
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Yes, exactly!
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Great review, I’m glad you liked this one! I was completely sold on the basis of the unusual structure device, but initially I had the same thought about the first half feeling slow while I waited for that to fall into place. I do think this would be a book that could reveal more on a second read, I’ve been considering trying it again at some point too.
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Thank you! I’ll probably wait at least a few months, maybe longer, before coming back to it but i think it’ll be worth a shot to see if things come together for me better then.
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