I always say I do not cry when reading ….welp, this made me cry some big ole fat tears. Annnd cue the book hangover.
All I can say about this book is that I loved it. There is a quote in the book where Jo says to Kurl, “You undid me.” And that’s what this book did to me – it undid me. Watching these two boys reveal their vulnerabilities to each other inch by inch until they became unlikely friends and then to lovers made my heart feel like bursting. It was just so beautiful. You felt it in your bones that these two had a deep soul connection. The romance was just heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
“A word kept flashing in my head. One word, over and over, like a flashing neon sign. Lucky. I don’t know how to describe it, Jo. Lucky lucky lucky. My whole body wanted to crawl inside your whole body, just to share all this luckiness with you.”
One thing about this book that I think will bother some reviewers is how the author has the characters rehash the conversations and events they were both involved in their letters to each other. For example, if Kurl and Jo were hanging out after school, one person will write in their letter something like “you said this..and then we did then.. and I was thinking this so I said this…” Obviously, that’s not how people write letters, but honestly, I did not mind one bit. The entire novel is told in letters and without the recounting of events and conversations, I would be lost. And even though they are recounting things, they also write about how they felt during said moments and that’s where we gain all the beautiful insight into their feelings towards each other.
I don’t know why but it’s always harder for me to write a review the more I love it. And I loved We Contain Multitudes so much. Honestly, it might be my favorite book I’ve read this year. Something about it really moved me. If you like books like Call Me By Your Name and I’ll Give You the Sun you will love this.
TW: Homophobia, bullying, physical child abuse
** Thank you to The NOVL for providing me an arc to review. Any quotations used are taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change.
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Reviews with images
Epistolary Novel, A Song of Myself
As part of a project for English class, Jonathan “Jo” Hopkirk and Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky are required to write a weekly letter to each other. Through these letters between a sophomore and a second-year senior, we learn about these two characters. Jonathan is a young, gay kid who has a love of Walt Whitman and dressing up from the period. He spends most of his time by himself, trying to escape the bullies that surround him at high school. He lives with his musician dad and his older sister. Kurl is repeating his senior year after an incident that prevented him from graduating. He’s known as one of the stars of the football team but he seems to keep everyone at a distance. He lives with his mom and uncle and has two much older brothers. This epistolary novel (told in letters) we get to know these characters as they get to know each other. We learn about their difficult pasts, current challenges, and who they are as individuals. Over the course of the year we see their friendship develop and change, and we see the characters grow.I didn’t know what to expect from this novel, but I’m so glad I got it. An epistolary novel is challenging, but in this young adult novel, the format really works. I did see a number of flourishes and explanations to remove some plot holes and make the format work, specifically why they were narrating events where both were present. It was noticeable but not heavy-handed. For the most part, the format worked really well. It was like a good novel told in the first-person from two characters’ points of view. The voice for each character was very compelling, I really felt like I was in the minds of Kurl and Jo. The novel took some surprising turns. The end was darker than I expected, with some really difficult but important themes for young people. It wasn’t melodramatic and it wasn’t inappropriate, but it was unexpected. There are some instances of sex, drugs, drinking, abuse, and other trauma that might be difficult for younger kids, but I think it was all handled sensitively for high school aged young adults. I really liked this book and I hope a number of students read this books. It’s heartwarming and loving, but it also is a novel about not being alone, a message about overcoming loneliness and stopping pushing others away. I really love it and I highly recommend it to others. ★★★★★ • Hardcover • Fiction - Young Adult, LGBT • Purchased online. ◾︎
Top reviews from other countries
Casey Carlisle
Heavy content for YA...
Reviewed in Australia on June 6, 2023
Casey Carlisle
Reviewed in Australia on June 6, 2023
The story is compelling, and the writing style is definitely engaging. There were parts where I could not put the book down, and others where it was difficult to read (because of the content.) I was a little confronted with all of the sex – I can see a couple of scenes being relevant for the developing storyline, but the rest felt gratuitous. Plus the actions described in some did not feel particularly passionate or enjoyable in my own personal tastes. I also took issue with some of the latter events in the story – I mean if felt implausible.
It also felt like there was something in the water and everyone was on crazy pills. Some realism and common sense would have gone a long way. It’s like their reality was warped through the romanticism of Walt Whitman’s poetry. A lens that didn’t quite make sense in context.
Some of the character choices really rubbed me the wrong way – challenged my sense of trust, so the ending of the book left a rotten taste in my mouth. Even having said that, ‘We Contain Multitudes’ is an intriguing read – a little pretentious, but I enjoyed how it affected me deeply and brought out so many emotions. It tells a tale of something that has a great plot and interesting characters.
There are a number of trigger warnings for this novel – abuse, assault, bullying, homophobia, PTSD, drug use, death, grief, loss, sex, dysfunctional families... like I mentioned earlier, at times this was a difficult read. That’s why I’m of two minds, It did not really feel like it was written to a YA demographic, but more to an adult audience who enjoys YA. There are a lot of themes, literary subtext, and trigger warnings that bring me concern. As a high school teacher I can confidently say that half of my students would have difficulty grasping the full meaning of this novel.
Told in alternating perspectives through the medium of letters, our protagonists Jo and Kurl are both flawed and had a habit of dumping something big on the reader (and on each other) and then ignoring it until they are forced to deal with things. It felt as though they made a cry for help and then did nothing. That frustrated me no end.
I was a bit uncomfortable that it was an 18yo and a 15yo in a sexual relationship... legally that is paedophilia.
As with the mixed feelings I have over ‘We Contain Multitudes,’ so too do I have over recommending it. It’s not for all readers, I had issues with the form and function of the delivery; and yet it was compelling, drags out some raw emotion, and is a traffic accident in the nicest way. So I’ll just say... maybe?
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