At one point, Jo describes a novel he’s reading by saying, “I can’t even summarize the plot it’s that strange and sad and marvelous a story.” There’s no better way to describe Henstra’s own novel. Their quotidian lives are riveting and their story unforgettable. Written by an award-winning Aussie journalist, the story delves into the challenges of coming to terms with your sexuality as a fourteen-year-old boy, when you’re surrounded by rugby-obsessed schoolmates and rigid views of masculinity. Kurl and Jo are characters to die for, emotionally compelling and empathetic. We Contain Multitudes Sarah Henstra 3.74 8,094 ratings1,583 reviews Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets I'll Give You the Sun in an exhilarating and emotional novel about the growing relationship between two teen boys, told through the letters they write to one another. This is an absolutely extraordinary work of fiction that illustrates how artful epistolary novels can be. Read 1,431 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe m. However, this is not the denouement but rather the beginning of a closely examined relationship that, as the two unusually introspective boys describe it in their letters, becomes almost philosophical. We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra We Contain Multitudes book. Both boys are gifted writers, and their letters grow increasingly artful as they get to know each other on and off the page-and subsequently fall in love.

Little Jo is a short, slender, openly gay boy, who idolizes the poet Walt Whitman, whose words become a leitmotif of this remarkable novel. Kurl is taciturn, expressionless, and an erstwhile football player who has quit the team under mysterious circumstances. Adam Kurlansky and Jonathan Hopkirk (or Kurl and Little Jo, as they address each other) make an unlikely couple. Where to begin? This novel’s conceit is that it consists entirely of letters exchanged by two boys as part of a sophomore English class project.

We contain multitudes book