[Book Review] Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I really don't remember from where exactly I got this book. Maybe the cover of the book got me interested in it or it may be the name itself. I was definitely familiar with Aristotle because I had a whole semester around that guy and I vaguely remember Dante too. So what I meant to say was I really think it was the cover. The way the title was written and also the cherry red chevy pick-up truck at the bottom left, both caught my attention and I was glad for that because this book is "gold" and I really mean it.

"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Mexican-American author Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a small novel that lets you discover the universe by yourself. Funny and confused Aristotle sees the universe as an 'inscrutable' place where he cannot decipher neither his family and friends nor himself. On meeting Dante he decides to add Dante to his 'inscrutable' list even though the very word 'inscrutable' is something that Dante taught him. The forging of a friendship and its transformation into a beautiful universe is what this book has to offer.

“Through all of youth I was looking for you
without knowing what I was looking for”

― W.S. Merwin 

 The book was an easy read with its plain language but nevertheless enjoyable and gripping. The one thing I really liked about this novel is that it has got so many lines which will make you stop reading for a second and sit with that. Two of my favourite lines from the book were- "Turning on the radio and just sitting there was my version of praying" and "Too many intimate strangers"(sorry, I'm really into oxymorons). Talking about the characters- Dante is a sensitive, intelligent and likable guy while Aristotle is a hard guy but equally caring. The parents though similar were different in their own significant ways. To be honest, I really didn't expect anything from this book but it turned out to be the best one that has touched my heart not through the story really but through the thought flow (Stream of Consciousness) of Aristotle that the author has penned down. I also liked Ari's rendezvous in his pick-up truck but I really didn't get the deal about the Mexican thing in the novel but I get it now as the author Benjamin is part Mexican so he must have thought it would be fun but really, I didn't get it. 
This novel is a gnash of everything that's human emotion and touching. There's friendship, the infinite love of parents, the sensitivity of some souls and the stupidity of few others, there's love and there is the whole secrets of the universe waiting to be discovered. I would definitely recommend this one for a casual no-expectation kind of read. It's a small book so that's an added bonus for those looking for small ones (I finished it in two days). It might surprise you, it really did me. Anyway so I'm just gonna wrap this one with two more quotes from the novel.

“I didn't understand how you could live in a mean world and not have any of that meanness rub off on you. How could a guy live without meanness?”

“The problem with trying hard not to think about something was that you thought about it even more.”