I am finished with “J” by Howard Jacobson, and here are my first thoughts upon completion.

1. My vocabulary has expanded tenfold.
I rarely closed my dictionary app while reading this book. 

2. This novel was not written by an American.
Between the style of writing (did I mention there were a lot of big words) and the style of the novel in its entirety, I could tell fifty pages in that this book was written by someone of a different culture. Between the colloquial phrases, such as snog, the random German spattered throughout the book, and the overall style, you can tell it’s written by someone with a different perspective on life and writing. (I will explain more in-depth in an upcoming review.)

3. Books teach you unexpected lessons.
This was a very different book for me to be reading and it challenged me in unexpected ways. There were the usual challenges that come along with starting a new book, like figuring out who the characters are and where it’s taking place. But this book brought some new challenges up for me. A very basic challenge to be quite honest: I needed to slow down. I was so focused on finishing the book and figuring out what was going on that I was speeding through and not enjoying it. Until I told myself to slow down and enjoy the journey of the novel, I really struggled with it.

Stay tuned for a full review coming out soon.