Early Morning Riser, by Katherine Heiny

While searching for my first book of April, I stumbled upon Early Morning Riser, by Katherine Heiny. One review compared this story to Seinfeld and said, “it’s a story about nothing, but yet so much.” I, being a Seinfeld fan, had to give this one a shot.

Early Morning Riser is a story about normal, everyday life. Specifically about the life of Jane, a teacher in Boyne City, Michigan. The story follows Jane through two decades and those with whom she has relationships. Quirky characters. Ordinary happenings. No real arc. Just a simple story told in 7 parts.

I think I might be in the minority when I say I didn’t love this book. I wanted to. I really did. But I just didn’t love it at all. Really well written, but it just dragged on for me. It took me so long to actually get into the story and feel invested in what was happening. Not enough to DNF, but just not incredibly compelling either. I think my hopes were too high going in and it fell way below my expectations.

I don’t think I’m a huge fan of literary fiction that’s overly character heavy. If you aren’t either, this might not be the book for you. A truly well written story (reminds me of Anne Tyler’s writing style), but just not a story for me.

I gave this one 3 out of 5 stars.