Title: Why She Left
Author: Kenton Bartlett
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary
Dates read: 19th July – 6th September 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Publisher: Lulu.com
Year: 2020
5th sentence, 74th page: She thanks me for the picture and tells me I’m precious.
This is the story about why she left, and every relationship before and after.
With themes of loneliness, infatuation, and heartbreak – and a harsh learning curve from ages 9 to 30 – this deeply personal, semi-fictional autobiography will make you remember everyone you’ve ever loved as the author shares his gruelling pursuit towards romantic fulfilment.
I found this novel completely self indulgent. Which sounds kind of bad, but I don’t actually mean it in that manner. There is something about the indulgence of telling ones’ own story that works perfectly in Bartlett’s writing. Normally I get frustrated by self indulgent stories. But in the case of this, I actually found that I kind of loved it…
I loved the brutal honesty in this story – it was a little intense at points, but I really enjoyed the ways in which this highlighted the pitfalls and difficulties of relationships. Although Bartlett does have a tendency to portray himself as someone who is ultimately filled with good goals (I thought he needed to own up to more moments of anger or selfishness, which we all have)… ultimately the journeys he goes on highlights the reasons why I’m just so damn glad that I’m not single…
As someone who really hasn’t dated much, it was kind of fascinating to read a story about dating. And it was even more interesting to read it from the point of view of a man. I know what my girlfriends have experienced in dating and what pitfalls they frequently come across, but not so much what the men I know experience. It just keeps striking me as something that is completely confusing and convoluted.
Ultimately, I did really enjoy this. As I said, it felt completely self indulgent. And there were moments when I felt that Bartlett was being a little soft I suppose on his drives. But ultimately, it was a great way to look back at one’s dating life and experiences. It was a lot of fun and I would definitely read something else written by this author – maybe in hard copy this time. I just can’t get the hang of reading an ebook…
Earth and Skye 
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