The Boys

Content warnings: death of parents; COVID-19 related isolation, loneliness, grief. It's best to go into The Boys knowing as little as possible about the plot. I thought it was going to be a “quirky introvert finds friends and/or love” story like [b:Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine 31434883 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493724347l/31434883.SY75.jpg 47327681] or [b:The Rosie Project 16181775 The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1) Graeme Simsion https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371651741l/16181775.SY75.jpg 22084678], but it was much darker than either of those novels, with significant amounts of grief and repressed trauma. I was transported back to those first horrifying weeks and months of COVID, when social isolation, loneliness and the fear of the unknown future shook the foundation of our lives. The book does have some beautiful scenes and quite a hopeful ending. But getting there requires reading about a lot of painful experiences, and I felt sadder when I finished the book than when I started it. Which is not something I want these days. YMMV if memories of 2020 don't still haunt you.