I don’t typically read a lot of dystopian novels, but Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse was chosen by one of my book clubs, and I’m always open to encouragement to read outside my usual preferences. That said, while I’m glad I read it, this novel ultimately wasn’t for me.

Perhaps some of this is because I read I Cheerfully Refuse around the same time as I read Andrew Krivak’s The Bear, another book set in a world after a future collapse, and the comparison, even though The Bear was sparse, made Enger’s novel feel lacking in some ways. I loved The Bear for its unique, insightful, and beautiful take on a familiar setting, while I Cheerfully Refuse, though written with a lovely softness, often felt like a series of episodes showcasing the worst of humanity when goodwill runs thin.

In this future America, the populace has recently elected their first illiterate president, “A MAN UNSPOILT as he constantly bellowed,” and the power rests in the hands of a few super-wealthy families who have little concern for the broader world, as long as resources flow upward. The dystopian backdrop is unsettling and too close for comfort, yet it never quite reaches the emotional or philosophical depth I was hoping for.

But I did really like the narrator, Rainy, a soft-spoken man whose voice, often poetic and introspective, adds a contemplative layer to the story. “As enemies go, despair has every ounce of my respect” or “I am always last to see the beauty I inhabit” or “It’s not easy to make a friend let alone lose one”: Rainy’s reflections are poignant. His wife, Lark, is another of the novel’s bright spots. A bookseller in a world where books are increasingly dangerous, Lark is the embodiment of radical kindness. Her deep empathy for others, which both captivates and frightens Rainy, adds complexity to the novel’s exploration of human nature and its darker sides.

I don’t want to give too much away about the plot, but suffice it to say, when Rainy’s fears about Lark’s unyielding care for others prove true, the story shifts into a journey novel. As Rainy travels from place to place, encountering one desperate situation after another, the episodic nature of the book started to wear on me. Each new encounter felt disconnected from the last, and though I understand the thematic connection to the myth of Orpheus (explicitly referenced in the book), the structure began to wear thin. I found myself losing steam as the narrative unfolded.

Ultimately, I Cheerfully Refuse presents a chilling (if familiar) dystopia and a narrator whose voice I appreciated. I’m glad I read it, and many others in my group connected with it in ways I envied, but the episodic nature and predictable emotional arcs made it hard to stay fully engaged.