Readers United Book Reviews | The Nix and The Case Against Sugar

Caroline Rispoli '20 returns with two reads that will change their readers’ outlooks not only on the subjects of the books but on their own lives as well.

The Nix by Nathan Hill

The life of Samuel can only be summed up in one word: complex. Written by Nathan Hill, The Nix is the story of a boy who grows into an unaccomplished writer addicted to video games, and his mother, who becomes the headline of every news source in the world. It is her, and the rocks that she throws at a Republican presidential candidate, that begins the journey through time in the novel as Samuel explores both her past and his own.

Abandoned, betrayed, but intrigued when he has the chance to find out why she abandoned him all those years ago, Samuel is given the opportunity to write about this mystery woman, whom he doesn’t know well enough to call his mother, the face of whom has been on replay across the country. Hill tells of his childhood as Samuel, a delicate boy who would cry at anything and immediately grabs the reader as he zips back into the present.

The stories seem unorganized, discombobulated even, but it is exactly this confusion that leaves the reader wanting more. The Nix itself is a ghost, a spirit that finds a person like Samuel and never seems to leave, a reminder that things go wrong and never fully recover.

Verdict: A must read; Nathan Hill captures his readers and doesn’t let them go. Readers will be thinking about The Nix long after they reach the final page.

The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes

Sugar is a drug. Or at least that’s what Gary Taubes writes in his book, The Case Against Sugar. For most, sugar may seem like no more than a flavoring that brings memories of childhood, but Taubes makes a new connection as he sets sugar’s destructive potential not only equivalent to cigarettes, but to modern diseases. As he snakes through the history of sugar, and the increasing demand for it, he highlights that this villain is hidden everywhere and in everything.

An investigative science and health journalist, Taubes delves deep into the facts through an insightful analysis of today’s sugar-infested world and the effects of its consumption. While the thought that everyone’s favorite food could be the one thing hurting them the most may be depressing, The Case Against Sugar is not merely an attack on the food industry of today. Rather, it is an informative, yet thought-provoking, book that enlightens readers on the subject of sugar. There is no hiding from the truth: sugar is a silent killer that eats away at you as you eat away at it.

Taubes’ intellect and intense knowledge of the subject are evident through his thorough synopsis of the world of sugar today, the harm it brings to the health of those who consume it, and the ever increasing demand for what is becoming the main ingredient of more and more foods.

Verdict: Informative yet interesting, The Case Against Sugar is not at all what you would expect. Highly recommend for those who enjoying sitting down with a good book in hand, ready to learn.