What readers think of Discipline, plus links to write your own review.

What a passionate, enchanting, and tender coming-of-age novel. Frankly I didn't know what to expect when I was approved to read this ARC (thank you NetGalley and Random House) and even the beginning threw me off, but once Cynthia's voice reached out to me, I was hooked. This is my first book by this author, though she has published a nonfiction book (essays). Pham tells a story with such honesty and clarity.

Cynthia, a young writer, is on a book tour for her novel which is appears to be autofiction of her affair with her graduate art mentor. Cynthia chronicles her tour stops and her experiences filled with exceptional observations of places, things, art and observations of people she sees or meets. In doing this we enter into Cynthia's inner turmoil, wrestling with her earlier decisions particularly the one that took her from painting to writing. In a moment of insight, she goes to Maine to confront her former mentor whom she now calls the "old painter." While the ending may be a bit expected, it still wrenches the heart.

This short novel is beautifully written. While I usually don't like reading long paragraphs, somehow there was a fluidity and pacing to the works that I didn't notice length. I loved the art description and how each piece aligned with Cynthia. And the poetic introductions to each character was so clever.
Highly recommend.