The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas

I am very lucky to be under the tutelage of Scarlett Thomas for my Master's degree in creative writing, and I thought it would be prudent to read some of her work, which is highly praised. This book feels like it requires a literary background to understand fully, so (even though I have a literary background) most of the philosophy went over my head. The main character is a youngish woman named Ariel who is a PhD student. Her supervisor disappears and she chances upon the mysterious book The End of Mr Y, which might be the key to everything. I felt generally the plot was hard to grasp until about a third of the way through, and from there is does get pretty exciting. Thomas presents the magical landscape of the mind in a way that is convoluted and perfectly imaginable. (Spoiler, the subplot about mice is the best part). I would say that I found Ariel hard to relate to, in her insistence on judging the morality of herself and others, as well as the cast of characters all talking to each other about philosophy, reality, and quantum physics a bit beyond my ability to believe. Overall it's a very smart book that asks  tough questions and leaves yous thinking.

Professional Recommendation: 7/10  Personal Recommendation: 6/10