The subject of this book is how to be a person in the complex and shifting world we live in. It starts off slow, but once it gets going I couldn't put it down- not because the plot is so engrossing but because I really came to care about the protagonist, whose issues came into focus once he started caring about others and recognizing his own powerlessness in the face of the overwhelming. I think the point is about pushing on and doing your best regardless, even when your best doesn't make the difference you hope it might. Because you never know the difference you might make, you have to try, recognizing we're all lost and confused and need each other in the end. I started the book feeling like it was indulgent and trite and ended up being really moved. ( )

After losing his teaching job at a college because of his very peculiar assignments, Jonas Anderson moves to Sweden to change perspective and to have a fresh start. Even though he is some years older than the students there, he socialises with them easily and leads the life he had in his early 20s. After the break-up with his German girlfriend, he moves from Lund to Malmö, the town where 2015 masses of immigrants from the Middle East arrived. Seeing the hottest political topic in front of his own door, Jonas decides to get active and to volunteer in the work with the migrants, too. He soon realises that all that is meant to be supportive and good, doesn’t necessarily turn out to be such a good idea in the end.

Johannes Lichtman’s novel isn’t easy to sum up or to describe since his protagonist goes through tremendous changes throughout the novel which also affect the plot and the tone a lot. I really enjoyed the first part a lot when we meet Jonas trying to be a creative writing teacher. The tone here is refreshing and the character’s naiveté makes him sympathetic and likeable. With moving to Sweden and becoming a stranger and outsider, his role changes, yet, he still needs more time until he actually grows up and does something meaningful with his life.

The last part, his work with the unaccompanied minors, was for me personally the most interesting because I could empathise with him easily. Having myself worked with those youths when they came to Germany in 2015 and 2016, I went through the same emotions that Jonas went through. And I had to do exactly the same learning process: you want to help and you have good ideas, but actually they sometimes go past the needs of the refugees. The struggle between the news where all the immigrants were treated as a homogeneous mass and where the focus was put on the danger that came with them, and the everyday experiences with real people made it often hard to cope with the situation. In this respect, Lichtman did a great job because he depicted reality as it was back then.

All in all, a novel that addresses so many different topics with a lively and highly likeable style of writing, a great read not to be missed. ( )

Such Good Work addresses the topic of opioid addiction. Obviously, this has become an epidemic, so it's refreshing to read a story about it. The struggle of getting and staying clean is terrible. This book shows the protagonist going through many trials and trying to also help others. It's a fast read and the story is engaging and informative. I recommend for anyone interested in the subject of addiction. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review. ( )