‘Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World’ is pure catharsis

Oh my goodness. Cover by Simon & Schuster

You ever heard of a book being like therapy? Well, after A Little Life (and then My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, a four-star read in itself but brutal, would recommend), this book was the therapy I needed. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I dove into A Little Life in my actual therapy, and we talked about that at length, but I really needed a soft book about soft gays growing up and becoming adults. There are no dead gays here, which is not a real spoiler as the author outright stated he wouldn’t kill his gays, just… people. A quick note, I will be referring to this book Aridante #2 for the rest of this review (and Aridante #1 for its predecessor, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) because names are long, and Aridante is a beautiful ship. But first!

What I’m Reading: St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury (Lionel Smithett Lewis — James Clarke Books) / Unravel the Dusk (Elizabeth Lim — Hodder & Stoughton)

What I’m Watching: Technically I’m about to dive into it, but I’m not watching anything else now that Foundation is ended, so The Expanse (SyFy for the first couple seasons, Amazon Prime for the rest)

So, my world outside of literature is not in the best of shapes. My NaNoWriMo project is in the middle of a major tantrum, meaning I’ve stuck it in the corner until it calms down. I am now in the process of writing a soft post-apocalyptic splice of life sort of book (plus I really just want to write some good sapphic soup), and I have the exhausteds. Chronic fatigue, yo, it’s a real bitch. That said, I’ve been listening to a lot of cottagecore lofi mixes on YouTube, as well as a fab Achilles and Patroclus Spotify playlist to bide my time. I was also sure I was never going to see my preordered copy of Aridante #2, which I’d ordered as a self-birthday present, hardback and signed and all. But then it showed up, and it was so pretty, and I felt like I was home.

Years ago, in what is now a deleted blog I used to run, I reviewed Aridante #1. I discovered it in 2018, and it became a paperback I could call home. I have read that book through my old paperback and through my audiobook copy, just… at least three times. I would put on the audiobook to fall asleep to, and I would reach the end of the paperback and return a few days later. And yes, it was beautiful prose and a strong story, but it was in Ari that I felt such a kinship. He was someone who didn’t know if he was a person yet, much less if he had a place in the universe. Awkward, anxious, considerably introverted, I fell in love with him and Dante… ah, Dante, that tiny droplet of sunlight in winter, that cloud of rain in the desert, I adore him. And mostly, I loved watching them fall desperately in love with one another. Is it perfect? Well, nothing is, I wouldn’t even say the 1999 Mummy movie is perfect, but it’s still the greatest movie OF ALL TIME!

One of the biggest issues many people have with Aridante #1, I will add, is its reference to a transgender woman. She is referred to as a transvestite and not correctly gendered in the discussion Ari and Dante about how Ari’s brother, many years prior, committed murder in a “trans panic”. And while I think it could have been handled better in the book, that very fact is also addressed and significantly improved upon in Aridante #2. The woman in question is finally referred to as a trans woman, her name Camila, and Ari is very active in referring to her as such, not as a transvestite or as a ‘he’. There is a confrontation where Ari is challenged on this by a decidedly transphobic, homophobic character, and he shows no hesitation in standing his ground and defending Camila. This is the most spoilery I will get into this book, but given it has stood as such a point of contention in the past, I felt it necessary to address it.

Okay, so, the rest of the book. I’ve seen some people say this sequel wasn’t necessary, and technically it wasn’t — I mean, Aridante #1 ends really nicely — but there is so much here in growing up and righting wrongs and tying up loose ends that it doesn’t read as a cash grab. Ari continues his journey of questioning if he is a person, and as he lives in a world of seventeen, he comes a long way. Genuinely, the boy at the beginning of book one and the young man at the end of book two are different people. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Ari is still a very introverted person, and…

Wait, you’re telling me introvertedness isn’t a fatal flaw and doesn’t need to be cured at the end of one’s story for them to successfully evolve and mature?

Still, you ever have that moment where people are happy, and you’re happy, and then you realise you’re only 50% of the way through, and the section you’re reading is called, ‘Between the Living and the Dying Is the Loving’? Anyway, moving on.

I genuinely love Ari and Dante’s parents. They are just perfect parents, continuing to have an active and meaningful presence in both sets of lives. I think my favourite of the four is Ari’s mum (sorry, mom) Liliana, but his dad’s pretty incredible.

And och, the writing is still beautiful. I read this both via my hardback and the audiobook, basically picking up the audiobook when I couldn’t read my hard copy, and the audiobook is just stellar. Both books in the duology are narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and both are 5/5.

Really, I genuinely have no significant complaints. The closest I get to it is in the first half when it’s basically Ari and Dante going through simply being in love with one another, and at times it feels like that is the only thing that’s happening. And it’s lovely, and I want them to forever be happy and in love, but I was also eager for other things to be happening in the middle of that.

One thing that was definitely different was that there’s a lot less of Dante in this book, despite what I just said. I mean, he’s a major presence for, you know, reasons, but there is a lot here that lies separate from him. I don’t think it’s a bad thing per se, as we get to dive into the worlds of other characters (Gina, Susie, Cassandra — who was new and I quite liked — David — also new, also good — and even Ari’s teachers). While there are moments where characters feel like they share a singular voice, as opposed to their own unique voices, their characteristics outside of that are strong enough that I don’t lose the sense of who is who.

I’ve read a few of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s books in the past — The Inexplicable Logic of My Life being an outstanding and emotional story, as is He Forgot to Say Goodbye — and I’ve never been disappointed. On the side of poetic prose, he always seems to find the most beautiful things to say. And yet, his exploration of identity, be it through family, sexuality, race… it’s never simplistic or simplified, full of so many layers that ye ol’ onions would look and say, “Damn. Das alright.”

I admittedly have not waited for book two for as long as some, Aridante #1 exploding into the world in 2012. Reading his acknowledgements after the book — yes, I’m one of those nerds who do that after finishing reading a story — was lovely, and I can tell it was quite the journey for Sáenz to write. And indeed, this does feel like 516 pages of soul poured out for the world to see. Vulnerable, moving, and one of the more cathartic experiences of my life, this is everything worth reading and more.

— Charis.