Lovelorn by Jon Athan

5/5 stars

I’ve just finished Lovelorn, and I’m sitting staring at my phone, wondering how I’ll write a review for this. Lovelorn is a once in a generation read, and I mean that with the utmost respect and sincerity. It’s one of those books that you go into thinking you know exactly what is going to happen, then you come out the other side realizing that you had absolutely no idea.

This book follows Micah, a man who falls obsessively in love with a waitress he sees at a diner. His love is entirely one-sided, and she rejects him when he begins to pursue her. This leads Micah down a dark path as he becomes an incel and sets out to punish all the “Chads” and “Staceys” he can find.

Lovelorn chilled me to the bone. It was brutal, shocking, and horrifying, but that isn’t what got to me. What hit me hard was the dose of realism that undercurrents this book. How often have we seen mass shootings and other horrible acts of violence on the news? For days, we see these terrible things, but once the shock value has collapsed, it’s radio silence until the next tragedy. Jon throws an absolute gut punch with Lovelorn in that it’s so easy to think of something like this happening; easy, and extraordinarily heartbreaking.

Jon has delivered a story that is gritty and raw and so hard to get through. Not because of the violence, of which there is plenty, but because Micah and his actions embody so much of the terror that is swamping the world. Jon represented the dangers that women face every day, whether on dating apps or just trying to live our lives, in such a way that you have no choice but to take notice and understand.

Like I said, this is a once in a generation story. It’s heartbreaking and violent, and it won’t be easy to get through at all, but it’s so very important. If you can see through the brutality, I promise you won’t regret giving Lovelorn a read.