I felt similar to you. The story certainly isn’t based on any form of realism and is meant to be representative of certain themes in humanity. That being said the amount of simple communication issues was off putting to me, and there was a severe lack of empathy throughout the story which is deeply human. It did hone in on the dangers of ego and power, but to me fell flat in its attempt to make that point. Overall I think the book is quite overrated. I don’t hold it to be a classic or even much more than a story for kids, and I am hesitant to find much utility in it even for children.

I’ve got his collection of short stories and read one, but am eager to dive into the rest. So much to read haha not sure when I’ll get to em

Idk I read AFTA and found it to be an unconvincing love story. The woman has no personality and maybe one quality that is admirable. The protagonist is probably more dull and has less to work with. The only interesting thing I took from it was the setting and overall perspective of the war. FWTBT is better and TOMATS is probably his best imo. Both have better characters and better plots.