Reviews and Comments

Parts of this were interesting and worthwhile. I appreciated the focus on specific studies and examples of positive changes that have been made (and are still being made!) toward the beginning of the book, and the historical and cultural context discussing why some cultures and locations have robust third places and why others don't in the middle of the book.

I was really put off at various points by the lack of depth in the author's analysis, however. Particularly at the end when he discussed the "Polis Stations," I found myself yelling "PLEASE read Angela Davis or ANYTHING about prison abolition!!" at the audiobook as it played. I feel like the book suffers from having been published in 2019, and in many ways it feels quite dated just six years later. The bits about "reaching across the aisle" feel trite and a little nauseating in April 2025. And, as someone who is from and still lives in the Bay Area, much of the authors' final chapters made me roll my eyes. His criticisms of various tech corps and the billionaires who built their wealth from them are incredibly mild, and frankly read like reputation laundering (and I would've said the same had I read the book in 2019, because all the same people still sucked pondwater then and we'd all had years to recognize it by that point) and also tainted by a misguided belief that tech barons and megacorps are telling the truth when they say they want to do any kind of good in the world and not just extract every ounce of value they can. Capitalism and capitalists might be bad and destroying social cohesion actually!!

Basically: there are some nuggets in this that made it feel worthwhile for me to read, if only to give me a jumping off point to dive into the work of the researchers the author cites, but altogether the analysis felt shallow and at many stages like it missed the forest for the trees.

Parts of this were interesting and worthwhile. I appreciated the focus on specific studies and examples of positive changes that have been made (and are still being made!) toward the beginning of the book, and the historical and cultural context discussing why some cultures and locations have robust third places and why others don't in the middle of the book.

I was really put off at various points by the lack of depth in the author's analysis, however. Particularly at the end when he discussed the "Polis Stations," I found myself yelling "PLEASE read Angela Davis or ANYTHING about prison abolition!!" at the audiobook as it played. I feel like the book suffers from having been published in 2019, and in many ways it feels quite dated just six years later. The bits about "reaching across the aisle" feel trite and a little nauseating in April 2025. And, as someone who is from and still lives in the Bay Area, much of the authors' final chapters made me roll my eyes. His criticisms of various tech corps and the billionaires who built their wealth from them are incredibly mild, and frankly read like reputation laundering (and I would've said the same had I read the book in 2019, because all the same people still sucked pondwater then and we'd all had years to recognize it by that point) and also tainted by a misguided belief that tech barons and megacorps are telling the truth when they say they want to do any kind of good in the world and not just extract every ounce of value they can. Capitalism and capitalists might be bad and destroying social cohesion actually!!

Basically: there are some nuggets in this that made it feel worthwhile for me to read, if only to give me a jumping off point to dive into the work of the researchers the author cites, but altogether the analysis felt shallow and at many stages like it missed the forest for the trees.

I'm going to say up front that this book is absolutely flawed, in ways many will not find redeemable, and it's not even something I'd necessarily recommend to most people.

First, the flaws: It is racist, point blank. The one black woman in the cast of characters is written as if she's a slave caricature straight out of Gone with the Wind, and though there are references made to her actually being well-educated and quite smart (she is noted to speak "perfect" French, among other things), the narrative largely paints her as ridiculous. Kudra, one of our main characters, is Indian and sexualized in a very orientalist way throughout the novel. Because we get more time with her, she does have actual depth and a compelling arc, but I can absolutely understand anyone who feels that the racism overshadows that.

The novel is also absolutely sexist at times. All the female characters are sexualized in ways that the male characters aren't, and much ink is spilled describing female bodies at length. In reviews I've read more recently, people have also brought up the fact that one of the core relationships in the novel could be considered grooming. I actually heartily disagree with this, but it's worth mentioning.

The novel rambles and meanders. I love every word of its prose, but it's maybe the most purple prose out there. If you aren't in love with the writing style from the first page, you will be miserable when you get to the last 100 pages when the author gets philosophical to the point of near-parody.

It's also, often, fucking gross. I personally love the gross bits--they're visceral and often funny, reframing situations and feelings and textures in a way that to me feels refreshing, creative, honest, interesting. But if lines like "Alma gnashed her semen-greased teeth in her sleep" are too off-putting for you to continue--skip this one.

But even with all that said: I fucking love this book to pieces. This is my second time reading it, and the last time I read it I was probably fifteen or so. It worked its way into my soul then, and it did the exact same this time around, reading it with fairly fresh eyes.

It takes itself too seriously and doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's incredibly funny, and poignant at the same time. Robbins does linguistic acrobatics I could only ever dream of achieving.

The way the story weaves together such an odd cast of characters across centuries is fabulous. I love every character in this story desperately. This book made me learn how to make my own perfume, at one point. The characters' obsession with scent and sensation is so rich and familiar to me as someone who experiences those sensations so deeply, and it's incredible to have those feelings described. I also find the characters' motivations so compelling--who doesn't want to live forever?--and I love that every character is so deeply messy. Priscilla, our queer-baiting waitress with a thing for older men (so real of her). Alobar, a king out of time. Kudra, passionately pursuing life. Wiggs being... Wiggs. (Wiggs' dialogue is also a very "they're-after-me-lucky-charms" Irish stereotype, but that's sort of part of his charm.) V'lu, Marcel, Madame Devalier--all pursuing scent single-mindedly. Seattle and New Orleans are both richly realized here, too.

Mostly, I love that the beating heart of this story is an exhortation to simply fucking enjoy life and absorb as much pleasure out of it as you can. I find any call to joyful hedonism deeply meaningful, especially now.

tl;dr: This is absolutely not a book for everyone. But I think this is actually my favorite book, and it was such a pleasure to revisit it and find it was in many ways better than I remembered, despite the fucked up bits that made me cringe this time around.