Infinity + One
4.5StarsI took me 4 days to read this. Which is mighty long even for me (slowmo deluxe). The reason is not because I didn't like it, but because of my expectations. See I never read anything by Harmon. Yet I kept meaning too. So many friends, even authors, keep telling me her books are amazing. For some reason I expected a cute&fluffy. Which is what I was feeling for.
But Infinity+One, though a romance, is not cute & fluffy. It is not a quick funny and swoony read. At all.
Rather this is heartbreaking. On every level.
Heartbreakingly beautiful, heartbreaking plot and heartbreaking, well everything
.
It's despite all the action slow paced, there are many flashbacks and even more working through things. The build up was killing me, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. I was eternally crinching tense, knowing that things will not end well, hoping they would be ok.
The romance as well is kinda slow, even if the entire book is spanned over a couple of weeks. Which one could consider rather insta, especially when one considers the end. Still the romance is very unique and the connection is believable, there is a slow build up- no insta anything.
The story line is pleasantly different and has an adventure and traveling side to it, I really enjoyed. Then there is the parallel to Bonnie and Clyde. Yet it is so very different than the story we all know.
I'm not sure how I feel about the whole priest's dream thing, I kinda felt it was a bit unnecessary. A small detail, that was a tad bit too much for my taste.
The slow plot is underlying the character building. And this is all about the characters. Especially Fin and Bonnie. They are so well thought about, each detail perfectly added that I felt like they were real. They are flawed and broken, yet together they are whole. In fact I can't believe I am saying that, it's so against my own being. But yet there is truth in this and I wholeheartedly accepted it. I felt their connection, felt their despair and also felt how they helped each other overcome all of their brokenness.
Harmon's writing style is simply gorgeous. It hold all of the above together, enhances the beauty of the story, is thoughtful, soulful and thought provoking.
This is not cute & fluffy.
It is an ode to the unique, a reflexion on the obsession of society with certain characters, an insightful view how our perception is changed all the time, a love letter to math and most of all a beautiful & touching love story.
Simply heartbreakingly beautiful