![]() ![]() The boy’s insight moves the narrator, reversing their mentor-mentee relationship. ![]() Eventually, he realizes that all feelings, good or bad, eventually give way in the current of time. The young man rejects the narrator’s view on pain and memory, arguing that he will never be so forgetful as to lose a sense of the depth of his former suffering. He assures the young man that these first pains of adulthood will one day be a story he can use to help others. During his lunch periods, he helps a young male pupil get through his adolescent heartache and come to terms with his sexuality. The first section, “Mentor,” seemingly references the narrator’s job as a teacher. The novel takes place in three sections, each of which consists of three chapters. The novel loosely tracks the narrator through an ill-fated love affair. The novel has been noted for its interesting use of temporality, narrative unreliability, and narrative fragmentation, capturing the chaos of modern society and subjectivity. ![]() ![]() The chapters are standalone and anachronistic, but gradually build a coherent picture of the unnamed man (who is the narrator). American author, poet, and literary critic Garth Greenwell’s second novel, Cleanness (2020) continues after the events of its prequel, What Belongs to You, following an unnamed American teacher who moves to Sofia, Bulgaria to work abroad. ![]()
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