All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost, by Lan Samantha Chang

Rodin gave me this book about a week ago, and I set out to read it today (it is short, only 208 pages).

The story is about a man in his late 20's who is attending graduate school to work on becoming a poet at the beginning of the book. It begins in his second year there (of a two year program), as he sits in the seminar class of a professor who is known around the school for her brilliant poetry and tough criticism of students' work. The main character, Roman, eventually falls into a relationship with the professor, which ends when he leaves the school. The echoes of that relationship are felt throughout the rest of the book as we follow him into adulthood and (some measure of) maturity.

The book seems to be about the perils of working only toward an unlikely profession with no backup plan, the pain of realizing that who you are/were to someone is not necessarily who you think you are/were to them, and regret upon looking back and seeing moments that you missed. Many of the main characters are incredibly lonely people, some without realizing it.

It was strange to me to read a book with such a small cast of characters - many of the ones I've been reading lately I need to keep notes to keep track. Even though the story spanned perhaps 40 years, it felt small and intimate. My main complaint is that the writing didn't make me particularly care about the characters, I was interested to read what happened next, but not pulled to. The lessons of the book resonated with me, but I don't seem to be able to articulate how or why. It's a quick read, and I imagine it will keep me thinking for a number of days.

6/10